I know it feels like school just got out, but before you know it, you will need to be school shopping. If you are like me, you are starting early so that you can save money and get it over with before it gets to be too stressful.

If you are ready to get started, here are 3 Ways to Save Money School Shopping:

Do an audit at home.  What do you have already?  It’s always smart to take an inventory of what you have already so that you don’t buy something and waste money on something that you already have.  

Spread out your shopping. Yes, I know it’s only June, but I assure you that you will save money if you go earlier.  This way you have time to buy things when they are on sale instead of grabbing everything at once because you are doing it last minute.  I love summertime because stores often have weekly deep sales on specific items, so you can grab a one or two items each week and save big.

Shop second hand.  When it comes time for clothes shopping, head out to some thrift shops to save big on cute clothes!  I have a teenage daughter that loves to thrift shop and she always has in style clothes. Here’s how we do it.  We hit up Goodwill only on Sunday or Monday (after they rotate in new items) and only buy clothing that is the color tag sale color (meaning that they are half off).  We also shop at high end thrift shops such as Plato’s Closet to get inexpensive, yet high fashion clothes. We also occasionally hit up yard sales in the high price parts of town.  You would be surprised at how cheap people will sell expensive clothes for. A couple of years ago, when MissMe jeans were all the rage, we snagged 3 pair for $1 each!

What’s your favorite back to school shopping hack?