Can you believe that summer is already coming to an end? It feels like it just started yesterday! With Summer ending, that officially means it’s time to start thinking back to School. Whether you are excited to get back to your normal routine or dreading getting back into the hustle and bustle, one thing is for sure, getting the kids back to school doesn’t come cheap. Luckily for us, there are quite a few ways to cut your back to school costs. That’s why we put together these tips to help you get back to school for less!

Top 10 Tips to Get the Kids Back to School for Less!

1. Know your school supplies stock up price! Download our FREE beck to school stock up list to make sure you are not overpaying and getting caught up in some of the fake back to school “sales”.

2. Make sure you are following Cuckoo for Coupons on Facebook. We try to post only the best back to school deals on Facebook. Make sure you are following us so you don’t miss any!

3. Know how to filter deals on Cuckoo for Coupons. To save time, we place back to school deals in a special category. To access just the back to school deals, you only need to click back to school in the deals section of the menu. You can also do this in the Cuckoo for Coupons mobile app. This will filter out all the other deals so you can focus on what you need.

4. Price match to make just one trip. Speaking of saving time, consider price matching all the sales weekly at one Store (like Target). This will save you time and gas (money). Just make sure to bring your ads in to make the process go smoothly. This is also a great option because most Office Supply Stores are a real mad house this time of year and can sell out of things quite quickly.

5. Take an inventory of what you have. Chances are you may still have some school supplies like extra reams of paper hanging around for last year in the closet. Before you go out and load up on more back to school items, be sure you take an inventory of what you already have on hand. It will help prevent you from buying doubles of things you might not need (like flash drives, which can just be wiped).

6. Get the Sunday paper. Even if you don’t coupon on the regular, now is the time to start grabbing the paper not just for the coupons but, the huge back to school ads that you need to price match. There are tons of back to school coupons circulating right now. These coupons are typically ones that are usually only offered one time a year (like the Bic pens/pencil one we keep seeing). This is your shot to stock up for the year.

7. Take advantage of the special sales going on at office supply store (like the $0.01 Office Depot deals we post every week). These are special sales exclusive to office supply stores. You usually must reach a minimum to score your deals and there is a limit on the sale items. Be sure to being a friend so you can grab the maximum amount per person.

8. Don’t have an office supply stores close by? Consider buying in bulk and from wholesale or club stores and splitting with a friend/family member.

9.Buy your supplies as early as possible. As it gets closer to the actual day school starts in your region, you will notice sales start to disappear. Save yourself from paying full price on back to school items by shopping as early as possible.

10. Don’t take the kids shopping with you unless you have to. I don’t know about you but, when my kids head to the grocery store with me, I usually spend $20-$30 more than if I would have shopped alone. And, school supply shopping is no different. Save yourself the argument of “I need this $10 bedazzled notebook vs. the $0.10 plain pink one” and just go alone. It really can save you money and sanity.

*Bonus tip: Head to your local dollar store to pick up miscellaneous items on your back to school list. They may not have everything but, if you have a child in elementary, grabbing something like a calculator for only $1 instead of spending $10 at your local big box store is really worth the trip.

Getting the kids back to school can be expensive but, with these 10 tips you can get them back to school for less. See anything we missed on this list? Let us know in the comments below!