It's back toschool time, and many parents are struggling and spending too much to buyspecial supplies and stock up for multiple children. But it's possible to whittlethe back-to-school budget down with a few tricks. Kuwait Times spoke withparents and teachers to learn more about smart hacks to minimize the cost ofsending children back to school.
Rania Draghmah, 29, mother of a 10-year-old son, said a plain notebook orbackpack costs much less than one decorated with popular cartoon characters."I have noticed that supplies that have famous characters, especially ifthey are recently trending, will cost more than plain ones. The problem is thatmy child wants to be like his friends and not go to school with boringsupplies. So I buy stickers and patches to decorate the supplies," shesaid.
She adds that last year's backpack can be updated for the new school yeareasily. "In my case, you can just remove the patches and replace them withwhatever new character the kids have now become obsessed with," Draghmahtold Kuwait Times
Another great way to level up a plain colored backpack is to have a positivequote or saying embroidered on the backpack. Many tailoring shops can do thiseasily. But be warned not to put children's names on their backpacks, asstrangers may use this to become familiar with kids waiting for the bus orwalking home.
Um Ali, 41, who has three children, said parents must not buy everything at once."Your children will not be using every single item on the list duringtheir first days at school. Sometimes I wait when the stores are trying to getrid of excess stuff by holding sales. In the first days of the new school year,things are expensive because they know we need them," she said.
She revealed she swaps school uniforms with friends and family. "Childrengrow up quickly, so you are going to need several uniforms during their yearsat school. Swapping with family and friends or even saving the old uniform foryour younger child will save you money," Um Ali said. "Also, I'm afan of handmade crafts. For example, last Ramadan I decorated the Girgian bagsthat kids give to teachers and classmates. I do similar things for my youngerchild to save money and make him more creative," she explained.
Um Talia, a 28-year-old teacher, told Kuwait Times that sometimes schools donot need that many supplies. "The school is deceiving parents byobligating them to buy too much. The truth is that the school does not needthem. They give us old supplies to use and stock the remaining at theschool," she said.
Alia Abdulraheem, 35, also a teacher, said she always checks for sales beforeshe shops for her children. "I buy school supplies from stores that arerunning sales. They are always selling basics like crayons, folders and morefor less. Also, at 100-fils stores, you can find basic supplies like folders,rulers, lunch bags and educational games cheaper than at popular stores,"she noted. Abdulraheem added the best hack is to wait until after the schoolyear starts to stock up and buy supplies at clearance prices in largerquantities.
Its also good to prioritize the items as most needed. Children usually neednotebooks and folders right away but some items won't be used until later inthe school year. If possible ask the teacher what supplies can be purchased ata later date and if you can stagger sending in supplies a bit at a time so thatthe children have what they need but you don't have to buy all of it at once.
By Faten Omar