Save Money on School Clothes and Backpacks

If you buy school clothes for your kid, as my mother did for us every year, wait until the school year has already started. Same for backpacks.

As for the clothes, retailers are selling pretty much at full price now and in early August. Oh, they'll say it's on sale, but on sale from the high list price. You can bet in late August and early September, the sales will really be big to move unsold new school clothes. Plus, if you have a teen daughter, it gives her a chance to see what the other kids are wearing the first few days, and then she can choose clothes that she will want to wear and fit in. Better that then if she buys what she thinks will be hot, and then not wear them as she finds out it's not in style any longer.

As for backpacks, retailers will want to dump those unsold backpacks after school has started, just like retailers want to dump Christmas wrap the day after Christmas.

You don't have to wait a long time, just a few days after the school year starts.

As for school supplies, go ahead and get them now. Stores run that stuff as loss leaders to get you in the stores.