Skip to main content

It's That Time of the Year

Yup. It's that time of the year. That time when those three little words make me run, screaming, from every store...

"Back to School".


Why must summer go so fast? I dread the "Back to School" season for two reasons; 1. Because I LOVE the pace of summer and having my kids around 24/7 and 2. the cost.

Holy moly, the cost.

Four school kids.


Four "(Insert child's name here) and Mom Day"s...a day for each one of my school aged kids, to hang with me and get their school shopping done. Every year that I've added a "shopper" I've had to become more and more savvy with my shopping, or else, "good-bye budget".

Enter: store discount coupons. Kohl's coupons, Justice, Gymboree, Gap, American Eagle...they start rolling in and I start stashing them in my purse. I can NOT stick to a budget without these coupons. (And with a "clothes horse" like Belle and my weakness for adorable girls' clothes, these coupons allow us to get "just a bit more"...you know?)

So, I start to plan my shopping excursions around the valid dates of the coupons...Gap coupon valid from 8/x-8/y? That's when Belle and I will hit up the outlet mall. American Eagle jeans sale on a certain day? Enter "Pal and Mom Day".

And the shoes. Oh dear God, the shoes. Again, back to the coupons and or specials. The BOGO specials or the "spend x amount, save x amount" deals are my friend. As are "last season's models" that are typically heavily reduced and still just as stylish as the obscenely priced "current season's models".

When it comes to school supplies, I really try to get creative. I discovered that most of my children do not use all of their supplies up from the previous year, so I set them aside to send along again in the new year because, trust me, I do not need 6 bottles of Elmer's glue laying around my house.

This is another instance of watching for great sales. I've learned that if I wait until the last minute, not only do I end up paying full price for multiple school supply lists but, also, finding that nearly everything is picked over and/or out of stock.

Learn from me. Shop the early sales...your budget AND your kids will thank you...particularly your boys, who don't especially appreciate bringing "My Little Pony" folders to school. Ahem.

Remember aforementioned coupons? Well, I've got one for YOU! Who couldn't use Microsoft Office 2010 for the upcoming school year, right? Office 2010 includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote, everything your kids will need to help express themselves and succeed. Word has easy tools for photo-editing and creating bibliographies. Excel makes aggregating and analyzing data easy. PowerPoint helps kids give more confident presentations and OneNote keeps them organized, with a digital notebook that captures notes, images, video, audio and more. Buy Office today and save 15%. This promotion ends on 9/14.

Be sure to visit Microsoft Office 2010's brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ posts and see what Back to School money saving tips they have for you!


Comments

  1. Wow. Just doing all that for one child would boggle my mind. But four? Oh bless you!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

I love comments! And, I welcome your thoughts that aren't in agreement with mine...as long as they are respectful!

Most Popular Posts

Coming soon...

Come here looking for the tutorial? It can be found here:  Halo Braid Tutorial!  Let me know how it goes! I had something in mind to try on Baby Girl's hair the other day...my best bud, Dr. J, did something similar to it on Belle once, and I was trying to replicate it. Instead, I got this: Isn't it pretty?! It didn't take nearly as long as it looks and isn't nearly as intricate as it looks! Vlog tutorial coming soon...(for those of you waiting, I'm sorry it's taking me so long!)

Halo Braid Tutorial!

How appropriate, "halo braid", no?! ;) Finally, I have this ready for you...I apologize for the delay! This braid looks intricate, but is really quite easy and quick to pull off...the original video (prior to the warp speed braiding...watch the video to see what I mean) was just a bit over 8 minutes long...not too shabby! So, here you go...right in time for you to try it out on your little girl for Easter!

Crock-Pot Fajitas

You! Yes, YOU!! You must stop whatevertheheck it is that you are doing, and make this recipe. Right now. Tonight. Well...wait. You should probably finish reading this post first...you know...so you know how to make it... But then...STOP! STOP everything, make this, and thank me later! Oh, hold it...wait just a sec (again)...actually, I got this recipe from Melissa...yes, the Melissa of this story ! And this story ...which, well...is the same story, just told two different ways! ;) So, you can thank her...I guess. Well, in any event...prepare your tastebuds to be tantalized! You'll need this: And, this: You'll also need chicken breasts or steak, but since photographing your "main ingredient" is, like, soooo passe, I've left it out. ( Ahem... ) Just keepin ' up with the times, friend. So...slice up those peppers and onions into cute little strips... And...try your best to not slice up the little fingers that are sneaking away pepper strips... (Lemme just inte