Archive for the ‘back-to-school’ Category

It seems the kids just went back to school and all of a sudden — Bam! — time to hunt for college scholarships.

Here’s the rub: Students need to apply for some scholarships before they have a good idea of all the costs going to college entails.

Each school is required by law to post a net price calculator on its website by Oct. 29 this year, helping families estimate the full cost of four years in college. Some applications for merit-based scholarships, however, are due as early as Saturday, especially some that are more prestigious or competitive. And there might be a lot of work involved: essays, recommendations from teachers and counselors, plus gathering transcripts and multiple test scores.

But a little preparation today can prevent you from missing a lot of deadlines tomorrow. Some tips from local area guidance counselors:

Strategize: One option is to get out of town. And state. And region. Colleges typically try to maintain regional diversity, so selecting a school …

Continue reading Develop strategy to land college scholarships »

School supply deals are now in session

OfficeMax: Just because school has started for many doesn’t mean the savings have stopped. I got the scoop on some unbelievable last-minute sales at OfficeMax to help students stock up. Grab composition books in multiple colors for 50 cents each. Keep projects together and get creative with OfficeMax white glue (4-ounce bottles) and 24-packs of Crayola Crayons for 20 cents each. Just Basics 12-packs of No. 2 pencils are 10 cents and select Schoolio one-subject notebooks are only a penny! Or, grab even more stylish supplies with funky binders and pens to make class more fun. Hurry, the sale ends Saturday.

A cute deal for little girls

Pocket Change: Pocket change is a new fashion accessory for clothing. Clip some “bling” onto your back pockets and update the look of your denim. Girls love these fun accessories and can choose designs to personalize their own style. These fun clips retail for $10 including shipping, but JessicaShops …

Continue reading Jessica Shops: Even more deals on school supplies »

Grade up on tech items for school

NextWorth.com: Gone are the simple days of crayons, paste and scissors — kids want gadgets. Bigger needs and tighter budgets require shopping creativity, which is why I love NextWorth.com. Here, you can recycle your old electronics for cash. Simply find your item in the database, send it in and get paid. Payouts I discovered include an Apple iPhone 4 worth $261, an 8GB iPod touch worth $92 and even a Call of Duty video game worth $17. Or, do a trade-in at Target Mobile locations nationwide and receive a prepaid Target card for the value of the trade-in, or credit toward a new purchase.

Stock up for school

Rhea Lana’s Children’s Consignment Event: Save big at the consignment sale next weekend. Selection includes high chairs, swings, bouncy seats, portable cribs, car seats, strollers, beds and bedding, changing tables, toys, maternity clothing and costumes. And don’t forget the clothes — brands including Baby Lulu, Ragsland, Bailey …

Continue reading Jessica Shops: Back-to-school electronics and clothing deals »

“Looking for CS1371 book.”

“$30 and it’s yours.”

“Selling Chem1310 book (6th edition Zumdahl).”

So read the comments on the Georgia Tech Book Swap Facebook page, one method students are using to avoid paying retail price for textbooks.

Teresa Hu is a junior at Tech, majoring in computer science. In her freshman year, she did “what all the other freshmen did” by purchasing books from the campus bookstore. “I didn’t know any better because I hadn’t talked to any other upperclassmen yet, and during orientation we were only told about Barnes & Noble.

“After my first semester,” Hu recalls, “I learned through girls in my sorority that Engineer’s Bookstore on Marietta [St.] is a lot less expensive and just as convenient to get to.”

When it came time to sell back expensive books, Agnes Scott sophomore Louisa Morton felt burned.

“When I first came to school I was doing neuroscience, and my bio book was $200,” says Morton, now majoring in economics and …

Continue reading College students share tips to save money on textbooks »

As summer starts winding down, you’ll see sales from old favorites as well as clearance items in unexpected places:

Best things to buy

School, college supplies: “One of the top things is back to school,” says Lindsay Sakraida, features director at DealNews.com. “Especially if you are looking for a backpack, we saw a ton of those sales this time last year.” She says JCPenney featured backpacks for as low as $2 with a $10-off coupon last year, and other retailers including Kohl’s, Sears, Land’s End and Kmart offered book bags for up to 50 percent off. “It’s certainly something that stands out among the back-to-school items.” (Read “The best and worst things to buy in August” here from DealNews.)

But compare prices — and bide your time if necessary. “Don’t get lured in just because it’s a sale,” Sakraida says. Old Navy ran a kids’ sale at 25 percent off last year, only to follow up with an Internet sale of 30 percent off.

August can be the cheapest …

Continue reading The best things to buy in August »

Every autumn, the list gets longer:

“Did he need college-ruled notebook paper last year?”

“I don’t remember buying her five binders.”

“A T-I-80-WHAT?”

The school supply list, it seems, grows more than your children do each year. And while your son might clamor for the Transformers pencil box, you’re determined to keep this shopping trip for necessities under control (for the most part, anyway).

That’s why, armed with the Inman Middle School 6th grade supply list, I drove to six different metro Atlanta retailers, determined to identify the cheapest places to buy supplies and the strategies most effective for back-to-school shopping. Here’s what I discovered:

Strategy: Don’t be persuaded by the door-buster prices on, say, notebook paper, which should be relatively cheap anywhere you go. Instead, one strategy is to identify the items on your list that could cost the most, and then choose a retailer based on the price of that item. For example, one-inch binders …

Continue reading Back-to-school sales require strategic shopping »

We really owe our teachers much more than they’ll ever receive salary-wise.

That’s one of the reasons new restaurant Smashburger is honoring school employees with a delicious deal during the last week of summer break.

If you’re a school employee who brings in your employee badge, ID card or pay stub, you’ll receive a free side item with any burger, chicken sandwich, salad or hot dog today through Friday. Smashburger sides include Smashfries, french fries, sweet potato Smashfries, haystack onions, fried pickles, veggie frites, beefy chili, chili cheese fries and a small wedge salad.

This offer is limited to one per person. Smashburger is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. 2625 Piedmont Road NE. 404-237-2374.

– By Lauren Davidson, Atlanta Bargain Hunter

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Space is tight in rooms at Georgia Tech's Perry Hall. Maximize space by leaving home unnecessary items.

As a freshman college student, Emily Chapman brought more clothes than she would ever wear, over-packed on toiletries and took up part of what little precious space she had with an electric skateboard.

This year, Chapman will be a resident assistant at Emory University at Oxford and she knows what she needs — and doesn’t need — for the small dorm room that she’ll call home for the next year. When it comes to outfitting a dorm room, the strategy is as much about efficiently utilizing space as it is about saving money. And in some cases, those things go hand-in-hand.

For example, a bargain on a 42-inch television isn’t necessarily a good purchase if the room is too small to accommodate the item.

“The rooms haven’t gotten any bigger, but people still bring so much stuff,” said Dan Morrison, Georgia Tech’s director of residence life.

Before stuffing the car and …

Continue reading College dorm checklist: Necessities and prohibited dorm items »

Back-to-school shopping primer

Comparison shop: Just about every store you step into will have a sale going on this weekend. But, you can maximize those savings by looking for printable or mobile coupons and by using search engines to do some comparison shopping. There’s no way you can remember exactly who had the lowest price on the cute pair of shoes your daughter wanted or the must-have plaid shirt your son has been begging for. Price Grabber through eDeals allows you to compare prices from store to store. PriceFight.com lets you know instantly if a price drops on a product.

Yowza!! uses GPS technology on your iPhone to help you find the best online coupons for stores in your area. With the RedLaser application, you can video scan a bar code to compare prices on products.

Use coupons: Why pay full price when you can use coupons for online and in-store shopping. You can save hundreds on back-to-school shopping this way. Among the most popular: RetailMeNot.com, FatWallet.com …

Continue reading Back-to-school shopping primer: Your strategy to save »

Free lasagna on National Lasagna Day

Who knew? July 29 is National Lasagna Day and if that means free lasagna anywhere, I’m not complaining. In search of a freebie, I found this one at Buca di Beppo in Alpharetta. A free lunch-sized portion is yours with the purchase of a small or large sized pasta or entree. It is only valid for dine-in guests. Along with that free offer found in Sunday’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution was a coupon for $10 off any purchase of $20 or more through Aug. 31. Of course these two offers cannot be combined.

Spaghetti Warehouse — UPDATE: It appears Spaghetti Warehouse in Atlanta closed down recently.

More lasagna! Here’s a coupon for a $4.99 lasagna meal at Spaghetti Warehouse to be used on Thursday.

Six Flags Over Georgia discount

It’s a good things the kids in my house like Cocoa Pebbles cereal. Inside the box of Post cereal I found a coupon for FREE kids admission to Six Flags with the purchase of a full-price general admission ticket. The park …

Continue reading Freebie on National Lasagna Day | Six Flags discount | Back-to-school sales round-up »