More Glue and Pens

If you did not take advantage of the glue and pens earlier this summer at Staples, next week is your second chance.

This coming week (August 29 - September 4), while supplies last, Staples has 8 pack of Bic pens (limit 1) and bottled glue (limit 2) for a penny each.  I am hoping that the teacher limit for each of these is 20-25.  That's been the trend lately, so I'll hope for another good deal.  Both of these deals require a $5 minimum purchase, so I will probably purchase the $.50 scissors (limit 2) on the front page, and the Sharp 10 digit calculator which is free after rebate ($6.99).

Total after rebate:  $1.50 + tax for 25 bottles of glue, 200 pens, 2 scissors, and a calculator.

Composition Notebooks

Earlier tonight I stopped by Staples to take advantage of the composition notebooks for $.10.  I was hoping to pick up the maximum number allowed for teachers.  This week the composition notebooks were a limit of 20 (for teachers) for $.10 each with a $5 minimum purchase.  I was able to get the remaining 12 composition notebooks at the store I visited and then paired it with a $5 gift card to use on next week's deals.

Here's the status of my husband's classroom list:

• Pencils - 200 purchased for $.25
• Composition Notebooks - 25 purchased for $3.60 (12 from Walgreen's for $2.40 and 12 from Staples for $1.20)
• Thin Markers - hoping for a good deal this week or next
• Colored Pencils - 10 for $2.50 from Target
• Pencil Sharpeners - hoping for a good deal this week or next (I did get a battery operated one for free after rebate from Staples)
• Folders - 25 for $.25 total from Staples
• Scissors - 12 for $7.96 from Ikea
• Glue (sticks and bottles) - 25 bottles for $.25 (we decided to skip the glue sticks this year unless there is a really good deal this week or next)
• Small Post-Its - 12 for free after rebate from Staples
• Kleenexes - hoping for a good deal this week or next
• Hand Sanitizer - hoping for a good deal this week or next

Total spent - $14.81

Pencil sharpener

As we continue to stock my husband's classroom with school supplies this fall, we spend each Sunday searching for the best deals that week.  This week at Staples there are notebooks for a penny, with likely a teacher limit of 25, so lots of notebooks to fill his classroom.  Copy paper and 4x6 photo paper for our home for a penny after rebate (limit 2).

The best deal this week is a battery operated pencil sharpener which is free after rebate.

Total out of pocket will be $46.20, plus we will use a 20% off coupon (which may or may not apply to some of these items, we'll see).  After rebates, the total is $.27 plus tax.  Not too bad for 25 notebooks, a pencil sharpener, two reams of copy paper, and two packs of 50 sheets of 4x6 photo paper.

Cutting the crust off of school supplies shopping...

One more checked off

This morning I viewed the upcoming Staples ad and saw some great deals.  Filler paper is on sale for a penny (limit 2) when you spend an additional $5, so hopefully the teacher limit is 25, which would mean 25 packs of filler paper for $.25.  I am guessing that my husband does not need all of this for his classroom, but it is such a good deal, that I think I am going to pick it up and we can always donate it. 

The best part of the ad this week is the free after rebate sticky notes.  These are on my husband's school list and I never anticipated that we would be able to get these free, so I am really excited.  This is a 12 pack of small sticky notes.  The sticky notes are $3, with a $3 mail in rebate.  Next item is Scotch pop-up tape.  Normally, I wouldn't purchase this, but what a great way to get some nearly free tape ($5.29 out of pocket minus $5.29 rebate).  Plus, I can use this during Christmas time for wrapping presents.  Finally, a four pack of highlighters are also free after rebate.

Staples rebates are really easy and can be done online after creating an account, so I love taking advantage of rebate deals at Staples.  Plus, you can track the rebates online, so you know when your check should be arriving.

As a side note, I keep track of all of our rebates by placing the duplicate receipts in an envelope.  When we receive the check, I toss the corresponding receipt.

Total for this run will be .25 + tax after all of the rebates.  What a great week for school supplies.

Pens and Paper

Although pens aren’t on our school supply list, I know that middle school kids will use pens just as often as pencils, so when I saw this deal at Staples, I couldn’t resist.  Now through Wednesday, Staples has an 8 pack of Bic pens for a penny with a $5 minimum purchase (limit 2).  So far, the teacher limits for the penny deals have been 25, so I am hoping for that again this week.  I am planning on heading to my local Staples tonight or tomorrow night.  Here is my plan: 25 packs of pens for a penny (because of the increased teacher limit) and two reams of paper.  The paper is $4.99 with a $4.98 rebate, so after getting the rebate back only a penny.  The total out of pocket will be $10.23 + tax, but after getting the rebate back only tax + $.27. So for $.25 (+ a little tax), we will be able to supply my husband’s classroom with 200 pens.  I will keep the paper at home.

Continuing to stretch our budget by cutting the crust off high-priced school supplies…

Sticky Situation

I stopped in at Staples earlier this week to take advantage of the penny glue bottles.  Although my husband preferred glue sticks, we decided that penny glue bottles were too good of a deal to pass up.  We will still be on the look-out for a good deal on glue sticks, but the glue bottles will help supplement the art projects.  As part of this deal, I needed to spend another $5.  Normally, I plan out my shopping lists to a “T” and even have back-up plans.  However, this trip was more spontaneous, so I went in with no game plan.

I verified that the teacher limit for the glue bottles was in fact 25, so I headed to count out the bottles.  I was so excited, but a little nervous as I didn’t have a plan for the additional $5 and I had my preschooler in tote, so there was no telling how much time I had before he would have a break down.  Together we quickly counted out 25 glue bottles.  Then, I quickly grabbed the ad to look for the best deals.  I noticed that copy paper was on-sale with a rebate for $1, but the register price would be about $5 a piece.  After thinking about it, when I buy a case of copier paper, there are 10 reams, and my buy price for it is around $20, so $2 per ream.  So, if I picked up 2 reams of paper and 25 glue bottle, my out of pocket cost would be a little over $10, plus I would get around $8 back in rebates by check.  Plus, I could use the reams of paper for printing all of my online coupons.  Overall, our school supplies list totals $.75, plus a little tax.

The outcome was that I was able to quickly access the best deal for the items that we needed while maintaining a preschooler’s interest and getting in and out of the store in a matter of minutes.  As an added bonus, I was able to spend quality time with my preschooler while getting items checked off my ever growing list, and we both had a great time counting the glue bottles.

Pencils, folders and glue (partially) checked off the list… continuing to cut the crust off in our school supply budget.

School Supplies

Our family has a goal of only spending dollars on school supplies. Originally, I had set a budget of $100. However, after seeing all of the great deals, I am hoping that we can stay under $20, and depending how good the deals are maybe even $10.

Here's our list:

• Pencils
• Composition Notebooks
• Thin Markers
• Pencil Sharpeners
• Folders
• Scissors
• Glue (sticks and bottles)
• Small Post-Its
• Kleenexes
• Hand Sanitizer

So far, we have picked up pencils, 8 packs for $.01 each, and folders $.01 each. We found these at Staples last week. The limit was two, but since my husband is a teacher, we were able to get 25 for a penny. So for 200 pencils and 25 folders, we paid $.50. Also, this week glue bottles are $.01 each with a limit of 2, so I am hoping for teachers this is a limit of 25. I'll keep you updated.
We try to find lots of supplies for my husband's classroom for kids that either don't have supplies or need more throughout the year. Also, I am hoping that I can find some good deals on crayons for our kids' daycare to donate. If you don't have kids in school yet or are able to afford picking up a few extra school supplies, there are a lot of teachers that pay for their own supplies, so think about picking up a few extras and donating them to those districts most in need.
Continuing to cut the crust off in our budget...