One of the first things students think about when they are about to go back to school is buying school supplies. Students have a false notion in their minds about school supplies. They believe if they buy a lot of their school supplies before school starts, they will do better in school. It is true that these students might be better prepared for school, but buying school supplies is not needed. When you go into higher grade levels, you start to realize that there is no need for spending a great amount of money on school supplies. There are other ways you can go to get the school supplies you need.

Let’s start with the basic school supplies. Most schools require you to have supplies like scissors, pencils, pens, tape, glue, white paper, and Kleenex boxes. Most people, without thinking, will go to a nearby department store like Office Max or Staples to buy everything on the supply list. Before buying all of these supplies, you should look for them at home. I’m pretty sure you probably have a pair of scissors, rolls of tape, and bottles of glue at home. These things are commonly used, and they don’t have to be “new” to use them. You will also find white paper in your printer too, so you can just use that type of paper. You will find that more than half of these basic school supplies can be find in your home.

Binders, folders, tabs, and pencil bags are the next set of materials that you might need for school. As most of you know, these supplies can be quite costly if you buy a lot of them at one time. Have you considered using old binders and folders that can still hold papers? This is a good way to reuse your materials that you might have bought two years ago and used at school. As long as the binders or folders are not damaged, they can be used. This will save you a lot of money and less time wasted going school supply shopping. You can also use pencil bags over and over again because their main function is just to hold your utensils.

Certain school supplies like textbooks and novels might be harder to find at your house. There are certain ways for you to obtain these materials instead of purchasing them at the original price. You can ask older people you know who might have the books you are looking for. You can purchase these books from them for a cheaper price. You can also go to Amazon, Ebay, or Half-Priced Books and see if the books you need are on there. These ways of buying books will save you half the amount of money you spend. In a lot of cases, schools will let you borrow the books you need. This doesn’t require any money since you are just borrowing the books.

If you have an older brother or sister, make sure you tell them to keep the books for you. Usually the curriculum will use the same books over and over again.

Now I’m sure after reading this article, you will think twice before going out to buy new school supplies for the school year. Remember, do the most you can to SAVE money.