Are you making big holes in your pocket with back to school shopping? Here are the 5 mistakes made by parents while they venture shopping for back to school. Let us see how we can avoid them.
Failing to make a detailed budget for back to school shopping
Shopping itself is a costly affair as things and products attract one’s eye and we tend to spend more than expected. Back to school is an occasion that demands a number of things and without a detailed budget on all things essential, your shopping goes on in an endless manner. You have an empty pocket in the end of the day. It is better to make a list of things essential with sub categories for them like school supplies, clothes, electronic needs etc.
First, you need to make an estimate of your total spending limit and then allot spending limits for all these categories. While shopping, if one category supersedes the limit, take care to cut short the other one and manage the expenditure wisely.
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One more benevolent system is making envelopes for budget categories. Filling up labeled envelops with cash of spending limit for each category will ease you into shopping without over spending on any category. As the cash melts away from the envelope, you understand that it is time to stop that particular category, say school supplies, and go ahead with the next.
Entering the shop without a shopping list
Skipping the shopping list and entering a shop is like plunging into action without an action plan. You do not know what your needs are. A thorough list of the things to be bought gives a clear picture of your purchase, estimate and essentials.
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Spending on goods that are available at home is an unnecessary expenditure and is highly avoidable. Rummaging the junk drawers for available school supplies and ransacking the closets for the old and fit clothes will undo half of the expenditure. It is the way to make a smart list of the necessary things for back to school shopping.
Wants versus needs
Wants are many in life and they always top the list without our knowing it. Whatever we see, we want to buy. Have a check with your buying spree and involve your kids also in the process. Suppose they wish something that is not the need of the time, talk to them about how it is different from your need. Suppose you have some money for buying non essentials, keep it for the most valuable purchase or keep it safe for yet another day. Or deposit it in the bank to have some compound interest accrue out of it.
Shying away from negotiation
Negotiation is not a bad thing. You save your money through smart bargains and nothing more about it. Make your bargains smart in big deals like purchasing a computer. Know the market price for the deals you make and go ahead with bargaining. Get some extra accessories like cases, chargers and cables to sweeten the deal.
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Procrastination is the worst enemy
Last minute hunting would drag on your time and limit your bargains. You could reserve online shopping a few days before school as it has home deliveries and at times there are special rebates and discounts on special dates. Or else, you need sufficient time to hang around and make smart deals and prudent purchases. Take your own time in back to school shopping to cut down unwanted expenditure.
Taking into note all these mistakes and ways to avoid them, you can come to understand how your back to school shopping can be prudent and focused with an eye on less expense and more value for the money you spend.
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