SALEM (WSLS 10) - Back to school is right around the corner, and for many families the process of getting ready is not just time-consuming, but expensive. Whether you're sending your first kid off to kindergarten or you're practically a pro at back to school shopping, it can be hard to find a balance of buying your child nice items without going over budget.
That's why we went straight to the source, speaking with West Salem Elementary School teacher, Lisa Sutherland, to get a breakdown of when to spend and when to go cheap on back to school supplies.
One item she says to always buy brand name, crayons. She says cheaper crayons can fall apart-- the tip breaks off or the entire crayon crumbles as the kids try to use them. Cheap crayons can also delay learning for younger kids as the colors don't come out quite right, with a red crayon showing up as pink or orange instead.
For items like that, she says the nicer brands are worth the money.
"Specifically scissors are a high-end item and rayons are a high-end item," says Sutherland, who teaches 3rd Grade. "You want those things because that's kind of like your car. You need to put good brakes on there and your crayons and scissors are the same thing. They need to last throughout the year."
Sutherland says a nice pair of scissors can last several years-- saving parents money in the long run when they don't have to buy the same item year after year.
There are some items that are okay to go cheap on, like binders and folders. The cheaper quality of these are just as reliable as the more expensive ones. You can also save money on loose leaf paper. For pencils and erasers, things that children tend to lose, she suggests finding the cheapest packs of those as well-- as you'll likely have to buy more throughout the school year.
With tax-free weekend kicking off on Friday, the next three days are a great time to save some extra money. From Friday to Sunday there will be no tax on school supplies $20 or less per item. Clothes and shoes under $100 per item are tax-free too.
One of the most important ways to save money for the new school year-- wait until those school supplies lists come out before you start shopping. Teachers say they put all of the items students will need on those lists, so there's no point in buying a bunch of supplies to turn around and buy more once the lists come out.
For items like book bags, spending a little more money now can help you save in the long run. Mrs. Sutherland says to check the quality, paying special attention to the zippers to make sure they work, so you don't end up having to replace the book bag halfway through the school year.
"If they buy a book bag that's nice, it will last several more years," she says. "It just depends on what the child wants, but the roller book bags-- especially for the elementary level, the kids are falling all over each other as they're trying to drag them down the hallway."
She says many of those book bags with wheels are too big to fit in their cubbies or under their desks, and elementary students don't have that much heavy homework anyways-- so a standard book bag would work much better.
It's also important not to wait too long, because as we get closer to the school year, many of the popular items start to sell out and parents end up paying more for whatever is left.