9 creative ways to save on school supplies

One of the biggest concerns of parents at the beginning of the year is the purchase of school supplies. Purchasing products in advance is the best way to avoid paying too much at the last minute. In addition, other creative ways of acquiring products can avoid headaches.

Based on information from consumer protection agencies, the awesome.club gives you tips for shopping and shows which materials schools may not require. Check out.

Just because the school sends out a huge list doesn’t mean you should buy everything at once. Not even that you should buy all the items that are there. Exercise your consumer rights and ask how and when your child will use the requested material.

Go through the list again and check everything your child has used in the previous school year and if anything is left over that can be reused. Even those that were used by your older children in other years or donations can be reused as long as they are in good condition.

You don’t have to go to the store yourself with the shopping list. Call, search the Internet and, above all, look for information in various stores. Every year, consumer protection agencies publish price surveys on school supplies. At the beginning of 2018, a pencil sharpener could be found for BRL 0.20 in one store, and BRL 23.90 in another, a difference of 327%.

An option increasingly used by housewives when shopping is “atacarejos” — such as Makro, Atacadão, Assaí and Sam’s Club. With an eye on these consumers, large wholesale networks have reduced the minimum number of units. The same can be done by parents for collective purchases of school supplies for their children. Studies indicate that savings can reach up to 46% in this model of purchasing traditional products.

Manufacturers and importers of school supplies estimate a 9% rise in the price of school supplies this year, mainly driven by the high dollar. This index can be even higher if the option is for licensed products of famous characters, such as backpacks, pencil cases, pens, pencils and others. To avoid additional costs, try to talk to your child explaining the family’s situation and the amount they can spend on buying products.

The chance of you escaping the list if you are accompanied by your child when purchasing the materials is enormous. The possibility of them being influenced by schoolmates who have money to buy all possible characters is great and you will have to go through the embarrassment of saying no to him — and seeing him get very upset, you can be sure — inside the store.

Just like any other product, school materials such as adhesive tapes, brushes, paints, folders and notebooks must comply with manufacturing standards. Read carefully and check that the information is provided in Portuguese, that it is clear enough for you to understand and the expiry date. When in doubt, do not buy and choose another brand.

As in many other sectors of the economy, school items are also the target of counterfeiting or smuggling. Although the value is lower, the consumer who purchases these products in informal trade has no guarantee of their origin, how they were made, the composition of the products, the risks they can pose to those who buy them, and also will not have who complains in case of gross errors like crooked lines in a notebook or wrong date in an agenda, for example.

At no time should schools oblige parents to pay costs with maintenance items for their services or even cleaning, such as electricity, water, telephone and toilet paper bills. These amounts are already included in the enrollment, and, if charged, may mean the breach of contract, according to a federal law. Also keep an eye on the amount of extra material requested. It must be compatible with the activity to be developed by the student, and not serve as office material for the educational institution.

Have you already done the shopping for your children’s school supplies for the start of the next school year? What tips did you use to save?