School supply shopping

My boys have something like 59 days left until School starts up again. Is it just me or does summer vacation move just a little bit slower than it did when we were kids? Seems like they have already been home for ages! Don't get me wrong I love my kids, but I cannot wait until school starts again! We just function so much better when we are on our school schedule and routine. So, in my anticipation of school starting up again I tend to start shopping for school supplies early and this year is no exception. It is my goal to spend a little bit every week to get my boys everything they need to begin school come September. So I thought I would share with you some of the items I have picked up and some of the great deals I have come across!



Backpacks

My oldest son is 12 and going into 7th grade and he is HARD on his things. We've bought him a new backpack every year since kindergarten because by the end of the year they are trashed. In fact one year he had a zipper broken on his backpack by Christmas!! So this year we decided to buy him one that is a little bit better quality in hopes it might make it through the whole year and maybe even into the next. We went with Jansport but we did not want to spend 60+ dollars on a bag! So I did some hunting and came across the website ebags.com Oh man do they have some amazing deals on that site. And there were coupon codes! Jackpot! Even better, when I purchased this bag, ebates was offering 12% cash back! Are you familiar with ebates? If you're not you should stop reading this right now and go and sign up. Especially if you do a lot of online shopping. Ebates is amazing. You just do your regular shopping through their site and you can earn cash back on most of your purchases! It's all stuff you'd be buying anyway so it's really a no-brainer. You can sign up here: Ebates

Anyways, back to the bag. I managed to score a Jansport backpck in a color scheme my son enjoyed! It was on sale for $24.99 By the time I used my coupon code and ebates it came out to a total of $21.19 That's less than what I have paid for other, lesser known brands in the past!

When I went looking for a backpack for my youngest son (7, going into 2nd grade) I didn't have quite so many specifications. He's very gentle with his things. The 5 dollar character backpack I bought him to start kindergarten with has lasted him two years, and was actually still in good enough condition for another year, but he requested something new. The only thing I was looking at, other than a good price was his pattern preference. He requested a camouflage backpack.  My search led me right back to ebags! (I bought their backpacks on separate occassions) I found this everest brand backpack in a camo pattern for $12.99. I used a coupon code for free shipping and this time ebates was only offering 10% cash back, but still, every little bit helps! This brought this back down to a total of $11.68 after rebate. Not bad!

So the backpacks were squared away and ready for the new school year. Next it was time to hunt down some deals on supplies! Just as soon as I heard that walmart had started their back to school displays, I was there! I love shopping for school supplies. I don't know what it is. Even as a kid I loved buying new notebooks and pens. I guess it's the nerd in me. Anyway, the employees were still stocking the shelves while I was there shopping, so I didn't get everything I needed. But, that wasn't the plan anyway. I want to make multiple trips and space out the purchases on supplies and clothes so I am not dropping 200 dollars all at once. My wallet and budget will thank me! I did manage to score some decent deals, though!

Here's what I picked up and the prices I paid

A weekly and monthly planner for $.88! I am hoping this will help my oldest son actually remember his homework assignments!

Fiskars wooden ruler for $.25
papermate medium tip ballpoint pens in blue ink, 10 pack for $.97
papermate medium tip ballpoint pens in black in, 10 pack for $.97
pencil sharpener fpr $.47
Dixon no. 2 pencils, 20 ct for $.97
Bic brite liner Highlighter, chisel tip, assorted colors 5 pack for $1.74
Elmer's Glue stick, 2 pk for $.50
5 College Ruled 70 sheet single subject notebooks for $.17 each (These go as low as 15 cents closer to school time, but I find that if I wait that long they tend to be picked over and I can't always get the colors I want, so I pay the few pennies more now for the ability to pick and choose)
Remedy 3x5 Index cards, 100 count for $.48
2 Blue pencil boxes for $.25 each
5 tin organizer buckets for $.10 each (I actually bought 3 of these for myself to use for organizing my planner supplies and things, but the other two ARE school supplies, I thought they would be great in my oldest's locker for pens and pencils)

Grand total of this trip was $9.62 Not bad considering I bought 21 different items! I think I made a pretty great start!

Have yous tarted your school supply shopping yet? What was the best deal you found?! Are you, like me, counting down the days until school starts again? Leave me a comment down below and let me know! I'd love to hear from you!!