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Back to School Savings Challenge

What? It’s time to go back to school already? What happened to summer? That’s what I wanted to ask members of The Life Skills Network [1] when they suggested a back to school series in early August!

We have a law here that school cannot start until after Labor Day. So school is still a long ways off in the minds of most children around here!

I challenge you to save more then you spend this year getting ready for back to school. Here are some money saving tips to get you started.

Back to School Money Tips

Vacation Discounts. If you have a school calendar like ours, take advantage of vacationing in areas where kids are already back to school. For example, we’re thinking of the house boating trip next summer to be in mid or late August because kids there are already back to school and the prices go down.

Tuition Prepayment. Our preschool offers a 5% discount to prepay for the whole year. That beats any savings account rate right now and would even make it even more worthwhile using a no fee 0% balance transfer credit card [2]. Check with your school to see if they offer discounts for paying in advance.

Donations. We normally consider this time of year to be for back to school shopping and bringing more stuff into the house. As you buy new back to school clothes and supplies for the kids, purge all their old stuff. Donate them to charity, or have a yard sale to recoup some of the cost.

Redeem Upromise Money. If you are a regular reader, you’ve probably already signed up for a Upromise [3] account. Get your money out and use it for school. While you’re at it, open a new Sallie Mae Savings [4] account to boost your Upromise earnings by 10%.

Plan Ahead for New Drivers. If you have a teen who will be taking Drivers Ed this year, discuss the discount on car insurance for good grades. Consider implementing an incentive program so that your child will get some of the savings.

Shop Online. I’m a big fan of shopping online to save time and money. Check out the sales and shop for back to school essentials [5]. Through August 31, Amazon.com is offering $25 off a $59 purchase on a bunch of products perfect for school lunches and snacks (General Mills, Kellogg’s, Nabisco, and more). Just use the code BTSBASIC.

The Challenge

Look for other opportunities to save money, spend less, or generate some extra income. Add up all your expenditures on back to school gear and subtract it from the extra income and savings. How did you do?

Check out more articles all week in the Back to School series. I’ll add the articles each day.