Who doesn?t dread school openings? Aside from tuition fees denting the bank accounts, shopping for school supplies also sends stress levels up. And it?s such a drag for the kid who hasn?t had enough of the summer break or the mom who?s been enjoying longer nights of sleep.
But like the honking school bus, back-to-school shopping is just around the corner. Noella Maligaya, a manager for Lawson Philippines and a veteran shopper for her three kids, shares some tips you might want to consider even as they go against conventional practice:
Shop later. Go too early and you?re digging through last year?s supply. New products arrive on store shelves in the thick of school shopping frenzy. You?d have a wider array to choose from ? especially when it comes to school bags and shoes. ?There are more items to choose from and the quality is better,? says Noella.
What you?d want to do instead of advanced shopping is to sneak in at mall downtimes ? 2 PM or so ? even as school nears opening. Or better yet, completely avoid the malls.
Visit Divisoria and Condesa streets in Manila?s Binondo district for cheap finds and bargains on school supplies. You can haggle better a day or two after classes start ? anyway your kids won?t need a dozen notebooks in their first week of school.
Choose good brands. When it comes to staple school items, you can rely more on name brands. ?They have been servicing generations of schoolchildren even before I myself started going to school. It just shows that they have long and healthy businesses,? says Noella.
Think pencils that don?t break easily and crayons that last until the semester break. High-quality notebooks, even if P10 or so costlier than the budget variety, are better suited for yearlong note-taking. As a plus, superhero or cutesy covers handpicked by your kids can inspire them to really jot down notes from their lessons.
Purchase from the school. School uniforms purchased from the school store can prove cheaper than setting out to find the right colored fabrics and having it tailor-made. It also saves your child from having uniforms a shade too dark or with missing stripes.
The same applies with buying textbooks. ?It is more convenient because the school usually packs all the books together,? says Noella. This frees you up from jumping from one bookstore to the next in search of Adventures in English.
?Once, I tried buying textbooks in bookstores and ended up paying more than what the school charged for the textbooks. Some schools actually get big discounts from publishers, and that is why the school can afford to sell books at lower costs,? shares Noella.
Buy in bulk. ?Bulk buying is cheaper than individually packed items,? says Noella. Especially if you have more than one kid in school, save money by buying school supplies in boxes, rims, and packs. Pens and pencils, bond paper and pads, brown envelopes and cartolinas, these are some items that your kids -- even if one is in grade school and the other is in college -- can share. Stocking up on these items prevents return trips to the supplies store come mid-term. ?Not only does buying in bulk save me more money, it also means fewer trips to bookstores or the nearby grocery store,? says Noella.
Propose hand-me-downs that your younger one won?t sulk about! Calculators for math class, slightly used lunchboxes, and textbooks are items that can be passed down from kuya who?s off to management school. Raiding your closets for unused socks, handkerchiefs, and undershirts will also save you a few hundreds. ?It also teaches our children to be prudent and practical,? says Noella.
(This article is from MoneySense, the country?s first and only personal finance magazine. Visit www.moneysense.com.ph for more.)
