Spending Less on School Essentials

As of writing this post, I assume that most parents have already survived the hurdle of enrolling their children for the coming school year. But that's not the end of it. After the money spent on enrollment, there is the need to buy school uniforms and school supplies. It is just three weeks before classes begin here in the Philippines and I am already on the lookout for venues and opportunities where I can avail of my son's school essentials and either spend less or maximize my cash on hand.

Here's the list of what I will be doing to spend less on school essentials. I would now like to share these to my fellow mommies (and daddies as well):

1. I will reuse old school supplies. Last March, Ralph brought home a lot of school supplies that were stored in his cubby hole in school. During enrollment, we were given a list of the school supplies supposedly required in his grade level. I bought the whole lot from the school's supply store. Since I discovered that they may not use all of the required school supplies, I decided not to buy from the school this year. Ralph will be reusing his color pens, crayons, white glue, ballpens, and mechanical pencils that he brought home in March. He will also be reusing his old school bag as well.


2. I will take advantage of Back-to-School mall-wide sales this season. Almost all of the shopping malls will be having them. Robinson's Galleria will have their mall-wide sale on May 15, 2009 until midnight and during regular mall hours on May 16 and 17, 2009. I will be buying my son's white polo shirts, khaki pants, socks, and black shoes during the sale. It is inevitable for me to buy new school uniforms every year as it seems that my son gets taller and wider by the minute!


3. I will avail of a 0% installment on my credit card purchases. I am an HSBC card holder and I can buy school supplies worth at least Php 1,500 from National Bookstore at a 0% three-month installment. I can also buy some school stuff at SM Department store and avail of a 0% three-month installment on purchases amounting to Php 5,000 and above.

How about you? Do you have some ideas to share where we can spend less on school essentials?