It feels like just yesterday that I was cleaning out backpack and lunch boxes and putting them away. Summer is almost over, and the children will begin to go back to school in as little as three weeks. So now what? Well, now you need to get into your car, drive to your local Wal Mart and start shopping for all the school supplies that are required for Ethe upcoming school year.

It is a smart idea to get an early start on your school shopping, and many of the school website, assist by posting a list of the required school supplies for the upcoming year. You should also take advantage of clothing sales and shoes sales, throughout the summer, as these things tend to get expensive, especially when you have multiple school age children in your family.

We always start looking at the beginning of summer for backpacks because that is when the store always seems to put them on sale. We always buy a new pair of school shoes early when we find them on sale; online is a great place to find them. You can compare prices and styles online pretty easily, plus most places will ship them for pick-up to a retail outlet for free. Many stores are bringing back layaway programs to make it easier for parents to get what they needed and pay for it a little at a time over the course of the summer instead of all at once.

Many of the discount places like Wal-Mart have much better quality clothes than they used to. Cheap can be nice when you need to get something that you don’t care will last, but just like a good pair of shoes, buying quality is always preferable. When I was younger, buying clothes at places like K-Mart and Wal-Mart was looked down on because of the quality, or lack of quality. These types of stores have done a better job of mixing quality products with low cost products.

With today’s economy, I would just like to ask you one thing. Whatever you buy and where ever you shop please buy American. The quailty of the clothing is usually better and more durable, but most importantly it will keep people in our country employed. Also, many of the schools are also feeling the impact of the economy and are asking parents for donations, of school supplies, for the students, if you are able to please take a look at your school site and see if you can help them out. After all it is our children will have to go without these items, along with the rest of the school.

So now it is time to keep your eyes out for sales, cause the school shopping frenzy is right around the corner!