So summer is almost over and this can only mean... Yes, ‘Back to School’ season is upon us. So if you are a student or a parent and your child is returning to school then you are the person that this is written for.

First thing that you need to do, is to make sure that you have all the school supplies ready, that you will be needing in the coming months. Before you go out for shopping for the school supplies, a sweep around your own house is a good idea, because we have a lot of things that we need in school already lying around in the house like notepads, files, folders, pens, pencils, backpacks, old uniform, shoes etc. So you may already have a lot of stuff that you need, so it is a good practice to search your own cupboard and drawers before going out shopping.

Now when you talk about school supplies, the basic and foremost is to have your school uniform ready for you. For many schools there is only one retailer that you can go to buy the school uniform and the problem with that is, it can prove to be a little expensive and you might not have a second option if you do not like the quality of the fabric. But many schools are now allowing more than one retailer, so you can have more option for the quality and price now.

Many of the retail stores these days will probably have offers and discounts on school supplies such as uniforms that you might not want to miss, so you should be on the lookout for such offers. Another money saving tip for you if this is getting a little expensive, is that you can ask the school if they have some student fund/child bonus program or any second hand uniform buying plan that might save you some money. Many retail stores and online websites offer second hand uniform, so if you want to save money you should consider those options.

Now when you actually go out to shop for school supplies you should know what things you should and shouldn’t buy. Make a checklist beforehand, there can be several minor things like school logos and badges that you will need with the uniform and you might miss those while shopping, so a detailed checklist before going to shop might come in handy. Another thing is that the summer season is ending and ‘winter is coming’ after that so get long sleeve shirts that can be used in the upcoming months so you shouldn’t have to shop and spend your money again.

Apart from uniform there are several other school supplies that are essential for your class and you should have them before going back to school like books, notebooks, files and folders, planner etc. I suggest buying files and notebooks with different colors that might help you better organize your content and will save you a lot of time. Make a list of the stationary that you will be needing, write everything down on a piece of paper and things like pen, pencils and notepads should be bought in bulk. Buying in bulk is convenient and will help you save money.

Another important thing to know is that you should only spend money on the things that you actually need in school. Buying only what you need will help lower your expenses. When you go for extra stuff that is not needed, it will get expensive and you may not have money left to buy the stuff that you really need.

Now as the school season is about to start, your schedules and habits that you had during the vacation season are also going to change drastically so you might want to ease yourself or your child into the school routine and habits and those should not come as a drastic change because that might over burden or exhaust your child. So before a week or so, gradually re-introduce the school going routine to the child. So if you are a student or a parent and your child is a late sleeper, you should gradually start waking them up earlier and earlier everyday (a week or so before school) till their sleeping habits and the time they sleep, is matched with the school routine time.

School season every year is a super busy time for students, there are various functions like school lunches, scout meetings, sport events, volunteer work etc. So you should have a proper planner or a central calendar to organize you timetable. Many planners come with large square boxes which can be used for your sticky notes as well. Planner or a central calendar like this comes very handy especially when there is a lot of stuff going on around the student, it is easier just take one glance at it and you know whether you are free or not to make a certain commitment.

And it is never too early to start planning for the school season. So if you haven’t planned these things already, you might want to do it now, it is very convenient and by the end of the vacations you will have far less things to worry about. Good luck to all the students out there, May you all have a great year.