Back to School Shopping: How to Save the Most Money

Learn how to save the most money when shopping for back to school supplies! 

How to Save on School Supplies

Back to school time can get really expensive, really quickly. Binders, notebooks, pencils, highlighters, erasers, clothing, shoes, backpacks, lunchboxes….the list goes on! With 4 kids in school, I have to save money whenever I can.

This post contains affiliate links. 

One way to save money on back to school supplies is to stock up for supplies in the Fall, after the kids have already started school. School supplies tend to go on clearance then, so you can stock up for the next year. Same thing with clothing and back packs! Don’t forget winter coats or boots which tend to be a more expensive purchase. 

TIP: Shopping for clothing right before school? I usually only buy enough for my kids for the first week or so, and then wait until the prices creep back down in the fall to get more items.

Too late for that? You can use store loyalty clubs or programs, like Walmart+, Target Circle, Kohls Cash or Yes2You, Office Depot Rewards, CVS Extra Care Rewards, etc to save money on back to school items purchased during the summer and early fall. 

Check the clearance aisles while you’re in stores! I’ve found quite a lot of back to school supplies there all year long. 

And don’t forget about the dollar stores! They often have great items for back to school time, like tissues, hand sanitizer, pencils, and more. 

Another good place to get discounted back to school items is a consignment shop. You will find books, clothes, furniture and much more all at a fraction of the price. Most consignment shops try to sell like new or barely used items, so you’ll get great value for what you find. Perfect for finding dorm room necessities!

Buy too much last year and have extras? Swap supplies with other parents! If you have extra notebooks but you need binders, see if anyone in your school family is willing to do a swap with you. 

My favorite way to save money is to use a shopping app like Ibotta. I use Ibotta for almost every shopping trip, and I earn cash back on so many items I already use!

This back to school season, Ibotta is excited to be giving away FREE items to send kids back to school the right way.

That’s right – 100% cash back on a variety of school snacks and supplies. Ibotta has teamed up with some of our favorite brands to celebrate the new school year. When you download the Ibotta app or browser extension, get 100% cash back on back-to-school essentials to start the kid’s year off right with full backpacks and lunchboxes!

How Ibotta’s Back to School Free-for-All works:

1. Download Ibotta for free to start earning cash back on things you buy every day. Get the app on your phone or the browser extension for your computer (better yet: both!)
2. Choose where you want to shop for school supplies: Walmart Pickup & Delivery, Target Online, HEB Online, Instacart, or Shipt
3. Link your retailer account, then add back to school offers to your list (from the browser extension window)
4. Shop and check out like you always do. You’ll get your 100% cash back 24 hours after your grocery order is picked up or delivered!

Some of the brands participating include 5 Star Notebooks, Skippy Peanut Butter, Ticonderoga Pencils, Sharpie Highlighters, Goldfish, Del Monte, Crayola Crayons, Ziploc, and more!  

TIP: Shopping in-store? Don’t forget to check out Ibotta to get cash back for in-store purchases and gift cards!

Other Cash Back Shopping Apps for Back to School Shopping

Besides Ibotta, I use a combination of other apps to save money or to get cash back. Many of them can be used together on the same items AND you can use manufacturers coupons too. I save up my earnings in Paypal cash or gift cards to be used during the back-to-school shopping season (and BONUS, whatever you earn from back to school shopping can be used toward holiday shopping!!). 

My favorite shopping apps for cash back or gift card rewards include:

• Fetch– Great for grocery purchases. Get points for certain brand name items, and earn rewards. They even give points for any receipt you snap a photo of that is in their TOS. Earn gift card rewards. Get 2000 points when you join for free today. Use CODE MR5EG if prompted. 
• Shopkick– Get kicks for walking in certain stores, earn kicks for scanning items in-store, and earn kicks for in-store and online purchases. Works at stores like Walmart, Rite Aid, Target, Lowes, Wegmans, CVS and more. Get 250 kicks when you join for free today! Use CODE DEAL022590 if prompted. 
• Receipt Hog– Snap photos of qualifying receipts and get coins. Redeem coins for gift cards or Paypal. Super easy to use!! Get bonus coins when you join for free! Use CODE sapt5857 when prompted. 
• Receipt Pal- Snap photos of qualifying receipts and get points. Redeem for gift cards. SUPER easy to use. (Not accepting new members at this time. Hang tight!)
• Swagbucks Tada App– Get points for qualifying purchases. Redeem points for gift cards, PayPal and more! (You can actually earn SBs for more than just shopping!)  Join for free today and earn 150 bonus SBs!  
• Dosh- Link up your cards and earn cash back for purchases. Purchases automatically show up and give you credit. No need to snap receipts! Join for free today. 
• Rakuten– Shop through their app or Chrome extension and get cash back from retailers. Join for free and get a bonus $30 when you spend your first $30! 

TIP: Forgot to clip manufacturers coupons? Download the Coupons.com app and scan your receipt to get cash back for coupons!

Any Other Tips?

How do you save money on back to school shopping? Share your extra tips in the comments!