Back-To-School Shopping in July? Sure, Say Retailers and Some Parents
By Hadas Kuznits
CHERRY HILL, N.J. (CBS) -- Prices for some back to school items might be increasing, but that doesn't mean you can't find some great back-to-school deals.
Even though it's July, retailers are already advertising their back-to-school items.
One mother at the Cherry Hill Mall said she was preparing to buy her kids "just what's on their school supply list. That's it."
But that list can get pretty extensive, as shoppers told us:
"Markers, pencils."
"Unlimited pencils, crayons, paper."
"Staplers, scotch tape."
"Bookbags, pencils, crayons, glue."
"Notebooks, extra notebooks, the folders, the binders."
"Copy books, folders."
"Red pens, highlighters."
According to Huntington National Bank's annual "Backpack Index," the cost of some of those items has jumped over seven percent since last year.
How do you deal with the increase? This mom says you have to be organized:
"When you have three children, it is very important to have a budget."
And she says you should stick to your list, "because there's a lot of things out there that look nice, look like fun, but they're not necessarily always necessary."
And, she points out, there are some items on your kids' list that you can reuse from last year:
"Scissors, rulers, protractors, things like that really shouldn't go bad. Their dictionaries, thesauruses, that sort of thing, yes. Put your name in it, don't lose it. I cover everything with contact paper so that it's preserved if it's something that can be reused."
And this mom says you can avoid high prices by taking advantage of early sales:
"Even though it's against my principles to shop in July for back-to-school, I decided to do it," she said today.
And she adds that it pays to comparison shop.
"Shop early, look around -- because you can find things half the price they might be otherwise."
