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"Back to school time usually means heading to the mall to rack up some big bills. However, savvy moms are planning ahead and mapping out money saving ideas for back to school shopping.   Clothing for less Before hitting the trendy shops, organize a clothing swap in your neighborhood. Have all the moms bring their family&amp;#039;s clean, lightly-worn goods to the swap. Assign points for each garment brought to the swap and trade sizes. Your too-small loafers and sweaters are someone else&amp;#039;s treasure. Consignment stores are another spot to find fall clothing in good condition. Jackets can be spruced up with the purchase of a new scarf and gloves in trendy colors.   Take stock of supplies  School supplies are a category where smart moms can score big savings with a few money saving ideas. First, when you get the school supply list, take inventory of what you have on hand. Have your kids chip in to help patrol the home for school supplies scattered in the home office, bedrooms and kitchen. You&amp;#039;ll be surprised at how many scissors, pens, compasses, etc. you dig up.   Split the shopping  When you&amp;#039;ve narrowed down your shopping list, it&amp;#039;s time to comparison shop. If you&amp;#039;ve got a membership to a large warehouse savings store such as Costco, consider buying supplies in bulk and dividing up the items between two or three families. Check online coupons and store fliers for the best savings. Again, use your mom network. One mom can make the trip to her nearby drugstore for great prices on glue and rulers, while another mother tracks down the best deal on crayons and highlighters. Time is money, so splitting these tasks up makes good sense.   Pack up big lunch savings Last year&amp;#039;s lunch box probably just needs a good cleaning (and maybe a few new stickers) to be school ready. This year, vow to stop spending top dollar on expensive, one-use juice boxes and milk cartons. Instead, invest in a fun, reusable water container. Water Geeks and Sigg are two wonderful brands of stainless steel water containers to consider. Both brands are non-leaching and BPA-free, and come in hip colors and prints. The next step on the lunch makeover is to hunt down reusable snack and sandwich containers. Vow to use Ziplocs and tin foil sparingly. Instead, opt for a waste-free lunch kit from Kids Konserve. This kit includes a sack, two stainless steel food containers, a beverage bottle, food cozy and cloth napkin. Thrifty moms can make their own lunch kits by snapping up small Tupperware containers at yard sales in fun colors.   Remember that this school year, your money saving ideas are limited only by your own imagination. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/life/work-money/tips/a3720/money-saving-ideas-for-back-to-school-shopping-76816/>