Money Rehab with Nicole Lapin - 5 Ways to Save on Back to School Shopping

Episode Date: August 23, 2022

Research shows families are anticipating spending more on back to school shopping this year— but you don't have to. Nicole shares five ways to save big.

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Well, it doesn't. Charge for wasting our time. I will take a check. Like an old school check. You recognize her from anchoring on CNN, CNBC, and Bloomberg. The only financial expert you don't need a dictionary to understand. Nicole Lappin. I almost can't believe I'm doing a back-to-school episode of Money Rehab right now

because that means that summer is almost over. How did that happen? Until Cher finds a way to finally turn back time, here we are, nearing the end of the summer and the beginning of the school year. U.S. News cites a recent survey from Deloitte that found that 36% of Americans said they're concerned about making upcoming back-to-school-related payments, and 57% of shoppers are worried about the increasing prices of back-to-school supplies. For a mix of reasons, families do have reason to anticipate spending more this year on back-to-school supplies. For a mix of reasons, families do have reason to anticipate spending

more this year on back-to-school supplies. First, we all got used to remote school during lockdown, where fewer school supplies were required. You don't really need a lunchbox if you're going to eat lunch in the kitchen, right? The second reason, of course, is inflation. Many companies are raising their prices on school supplies to keep pace with inflation. That same article from U.S. News, which I will link in the show notes for your reading pleasure, cites that the average family expects to spend $864 in 2022 on school supplies. That's $168 more than before the pandemic. This year's cumulative back-to-school shopping is expected to match last year's record high of $37 billion. And total back-to-school spending is expected to reach $74 billion, which is up $3 billion from last year. But I am very confident that we can absolutely

spend less than $864 on school supplies this year. Here are five ways to make that happen. Number one, don't shop solo. School supplies are often cheaper in bulk, but you might ask yourself, what do I need 10 notebooks for? To split them with 10 friends, of course. And if you lead the charge on bulk buying for your group, then you get the added bonus of helping your friends find the best deals. Number two, plan it right. This year, 19 states offer discounted and tax-free back-to-school shopping holidays. Yes, these are days where you could potentially not have to pay sales tax on purchases of school supplies. In some cases, that's like a six percent discount, so you're not going to want to miss doing that. Do a quick Google search and find out

if your state is participating and then mark your calendar. Number three, be loyal. Many big companies like Target, Walmart, and Macy's are trying to set themselves apart from competitors during the back-to-school shopping season. So they're going to entice shoppers with a loyalty discount. Do some digging online, and if you do need to opt into emails to get a 10% discount, do that. You can always unsubscribe later or right after you make the purchase. But if the store is offering a loyalty credit card, do your homework first. You need to know the APR, of course, and your credit score before signing up for an additional credit card. If the APR is super high or your credit score is signing up for an additional credit card. If the APR is super

high or your credit score is super low, please walk away. Number four, buying gift cards at a discount. I've mentioned this on the show before that a quick way to get a few extra bucks in your pocket is to sell unused gift cards for a cash discount. Well, now you can take advantage of that same system in reverse. If you haven't heard of this, there are several websites where folks sell unused gift cards for cash at a slight loss. So for example, you might be able to pay $90 cash for a $100 Target gift card. That's free money if you're planning on spending $100 at Target anyway. And we love free money. Number five, get your school's insider tips. If a big company like the aforementioned Targets and Walmarts of the world are going to give anyone a discount, it's going to be a school.

A short conversation with your office administrator at your kid's school could yield insider intel. Maybe the school gets a discount at a local supply store. Maybe the school has extra supplies that they're giving out on a first-come, first-served basis. Or maybe teachers keep a list of the cheapest stores around. When it comes to back-to-school supplies, schools themselves are excellent resources, so use them. For today's tip, you can take straight to the bank. If you're planning on back-to-school shopping with your kid, I don't have to tell you this, but more often than not, the biggest challenge is going to be your kid. Of course, your kid is going to want to spend your

entire back-to-school budget on shiny new sneakers instead of pencils and a calculator, obviously. This is an excellent time to teach them about budgeting. And listen, this doesn't have to be a stressful conversation or even focus on limiting spending. You can make it an exercise, a fun game, like a treasure hunt for the best deals. It's all about how you frame the conversation. You might trick yourself into having fun too. Money Rehab is a production of iHeartRadio. I'm your host, Nicole Lappin. Our producers are Morgan Lavoie and Mike Coscarelli. Executive producers are Nikki Etor and Will Pearson.

Our mascots are Penny and Mimsy. Huge thanks to OG Money Rehab team Michelle Lanz for her development work, Catherine Law for her production and writing magic, and Brandon Dickert for his editing, engineering, and sound design. And as always, thanks to you for finally investing in yourself so that you can get it together and get it all.