We actually start our school year early. We will be starting on July 13th this year. This gives us the opportunity to take a nice, long Christmas break which is so nice because December is just too busy to really focus on school. July, on the other hand, is just too hot to do much anyway.
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Back to school in our homeschool
I have been working on my Back to School wishlist. It is a wishlist because as long as we have textbooks (we do), something to write on, and something to write with, everything else is really optional. Isn’t that nice? When my children attended public school, we had such ridiculously specific lists. Most items specified a color, style, or some other attribute that made the item that much harder to find and less fun to pick out.
We still have notebooks and pencils left over from last year. We can always use more, though, especially since I use notebooks for lists, brainstorming, meetings, etc. We don’t think twice about grabbing a spiral notebook for almost anything. Since I bought about 30 of them last summer about this time for less than $.20 a piece, we can do that with little guilt.
I love shopping for school supplies this time of year. Right after the 4th of July, the stores need to fill their seasonal section. Back to School is the next season so they stock up on school supplies. However, most schools don’t put out their supply lists for another few weeks. During this gap, school supply prices are at their lowest. (At least, this is my humble observation.) This is when I stock up.
To help with my planning, I have been using the WalMart app. First, let me say that I am not getting paid for this endorsement, nor am I getting anything for free. I am only endorsing this because 1) it really has been helpful, 2) I wish other stores would make their apps more competitive with WalMart’s app, and 3) it is free, and that is one of my favorite words.
Here is an example. I am interested in buying a glue gun, but since this isn’t a typical purchase for me, I had no idea how much to budget for one. I did a search on the app for glue gun. I found one that I wanted, and it tells me how much it costs at my local store.
I have also used this to compare prices when I’m shopping at Target or other stores to see if I’m really getting a good deal. You don’t even have to type into the search, you can just scan the bar code.
It also tells me whether or not this particular product is available at my local store. I just had to scroll down. I have also used this feature in the store to determine if I was wasting my time to continue searching for a random item. I have been known to search for 10 minutes or more before I remember to check the app, though.
Once I have finished shopping and checked out, I can use WalMart’s Savings Catcher. I just use the app to scan my receipt and wait a few days. After a couple of days, I will get an email letting me know if they found a lower advertised price anyplace else. If they do, they add the difference into my account. I have $29.72 so far. I will probably use it for Christmas stuff. I consider it to be easy free money.
I can’t wait to do my Back to School shopping! My wish list is complete. My budget will remain in tact. My school year will start off on the right track.
