Tight budget on back to school? Find out how to spend less
The return to school is approaching and this is a financially turbulent time for parents. But there are some strategies that can help you spend less money and not tighten your budget. Let's see which ones?
Want to save on credits/insurance? This could be an option to ease your budget for this back-to-school season. And Poupança no Minuto can help you with that! To discover saving tips on school supplies and more, read the article below.
The most basic (but difficult) tips to put into practice.
- List the necessary
Do you know the importance that making a list can have? Yes, it seems basic. But it's not! If you go shopping without listing everything you need, you're likely to end up buying unnecessary items.
If you need to save on this back to school season, it is essential that organization be the keyword. So, get organized and assess all the school supplies your child needs.
Always remember to check all the material that can be reused, whether from previous school years or from around the house. Only then will you be able to understand, product by product, what is missing.
If your child is in the 1st cycle, teachers typically provide a list of necessary materials for the school year. This can make the purchasing easier, but always remember to check if you already have the respective material to reuse.
- Set a maximum value
Identifying the necessary material to buy, through creating a list, the next step is to define the maximum value to spend on the total of the purchases.
That is, this is the moment to create a realistic budget. To do this, you can do an online research in order to understand how the prices in the market of the material you need are.
Therefore, it is easier to find a value and, at the time of purchase, stay true to your budget.
- Look at the promotions.
At this time, it is also very common to find promotions and campaigns at some supermarket chains.
Please note that, in certain supermarkets, products are usually cheaper, but with these discounts, it may be worth buying elsewhere.
Always shop around at various stores to get the lowest price for each product, even if you have to make purchases from different chains.
- Access free manuals
Currently, it is possible to access school manuals for free, through the MEGA platform.
But beware, because it is not automatic! It is necessary for the education guardians to register on the platform or on the Edu Rede Escolar application, confirming the NIF and access data to the Portal das Finanças. Within the network, the guardians can access the student's school data, as well as the vouchers corresponding to the school textbooks, and participating bookstores where the textbooks can be picked up.
In other words, vouchers are assigned to obtain new textbooks for free, to then be collected at a participating bookstore. However, there are specific dates for issuing the vouchers.
Starting on July 31st, the issuance of vouchers for the 1st cycle and 9th grade will begin, on August 7th, the issuance of vouchers for the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grades, and on August 11th for the vouchers of the 10th, 11th, and 12th grades.
Step out of the box, to enter into savings.
- Bet on DIY
And why not build your own material? Through DIY - Do It Yourself, it is possible to make pieces at home spending less money.
Did you know it is possible to build a pencil case with a foam sheet? Just search online for some DIY ideas related to school supplies, and get to work!
- Compare on Super Save
Do you know Super Save? It is a recent application, frequently updated, with all supermarket products prices.
In this way, the application shows the product value in various supermarkets. This significantly facilitates price comparison between chains.
Also promotions and campaigns are included in the app, making it reliable when you are building your list and budget.
- Change ATL for AEC.
The AEC - Cultural Enrichment Activities are a program of the General Directorate of Education aimed at the 1st cycle of Basic Education.
Include activities of playful, formative and cultural nature, in sports, arts, sciences, and technology. And they are free for guardians who want to enroll their students.
Therefore, if you are used to enrolling your child in a ATL - Free Time Activities, paying a monthly installment, but now want to save: this can be a good strategy to reduce an expense, while maintaining a similar structure for your child after school.
- Relieve loan/insurance payments
Before this troubled period of expenses with back-to-school, it may be a good idea to save with credit/insurance installments.
When was the last time you revised contracts you have signed? If it is a loan or insurance, you can ask the entities to review the current conditions you have. In order to try to lower the installment, they may offer you new conditions, renegotiating for you to contract other associated products, for example.
But if that's not enough, consider transferring! You can always transfer a bank credit and/or insurance from an insurer. It is possible to obtain new conditions with lower installments.
If you need help in this process, count on the help of the credit intermediaries from Poupança no Minuto. The service is free, fast, and effective! Just one contact, and the agents take care of all the bureaucracy and communication with the institutions, so you can have a more flexible budget in time for the return to school.