Tips for Saving on School Supplies

Have you realized that summer is half over already? After the tumultuous 12 months we’ve all had, it’s tempting to sit back and relax for a bit, but now is the perfect time to start thinking about budgeting for the next year of school supplies. We’ve put together this guide to help you reduce the costs of the school year by planning for it now.

Re-use items from last year

It’s fun to buy a whole new set of gear for a new school year, but it isn’t good for your pocket. You can discard old items that are past their best, but there’s likely to be many useful notebooks, binders, and sets of pens available from last year if you re-organize your kids’ rooms.

In particular, big-ticket items should last multiple years. Your school may ask you to supply expensive items like calculators, USB drives, backpacks, or even tablets. If your children have used these in the past, don’t go out and buy new ones just for the sake of staying current. They’re all going to take a beating in the classroom anyway.

If you have more than one child, think about the things you can hand down from one to the other. When an item becomes less useful for one child, it’s often perfect for the next child’s needs.

Budget and research

Your kids’ school may have already sent out a list of requirements for the next school year. If not, give them a message and ask for it, because now is the time to start buying.

Research the various places that sell the items you need. Kansas City discount stores are a good source of cheap items, and it also makes sense to check online for deals.

Bulk deals can make financial sense in the long run, especially if you have multiple kids. Online sales are especially good for bulk items. With a car title loan, you can buy in bulk now to save money.

School outfits

One of the biggest expenses for kids is clothing. They grow out of it so quickly, so it can make sense to first check thrift stores for deals on brand-name clothing. Otherwise, ignore expensive brands as the clothes are not going to last for much more than a year, anyway.

Missouri Back-to-School Tax Holiday

Of particular interest to parents in Kansas City should be the Missouri Back-to-School Tax Holiday, this year held from Friday, August 6th to Sunday, August 8th. Most items for the back-to-school season will be tax-free over this time, which makes for an additional 4.225% saving on prices.

During this time, you can get a discount on graphing calculators, computer peripheral devices like mice and keyboards, personal laptops and computers, computer software, school supplies, and back-to-school clothing. Be advised that back-to-school clothing includes any clothing that can be worn on the body, so it includes items like footwear and diapers. It’s a great time to get an extra few bucks off these items for your kids.

You can even use the tax-free time to make purchases online. Just make sure that you don’t go over any of the purchase limits that are listed on the Missouri Department of Revenue website. Also, some Missouri counties don’t take part in the school tax holiday.

Consider a short-term title loan

Title loans in Kansas City are an option for covering the short-term costs of school supplies you buy at the start of the school year. With a car title loan in Kansas City, it’s easy to use the value of your vehicle to borrow enough money to cover these expenses and you’re not locked into a long loan agreement. You can take out your Kansas City title loan and repay it a month later, saving you from months of accumulating interest.

If you’re considering searching for ‘title loans near me’ in Kansas City, you only need to know a few things. You get to keep your vehicle and no one will know you’ve taken out a title loan on it. The vehicle must be in your name and the title should have no liens on it. This means you must have paid off any car loans in full before taking out a title loan on it.

It’s that simple to use a car title loan in Kansas City to get you over the hump of buying the next school year’s supplies. If you have more questions, reach out to our loan experts at Midwest Title Loans. They’ll be happy to help you.