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Aug 12, 2023

The Children's Place has its entire website discounted by 75%. (Courtesy of The Children's Place)

As parents and students gear up for the new school year, shopping is on a lot of minds.

Americans are digging deep, spending record amounts for both back-to-school and back-to-college shopping this year, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF).

Back-to-school spending in the U.S. is expected to reach an unparalleled $41.5 billion, up from $36.9 billion last year and the previous high of $37.1 billion in 2021. Back-to-college spending is expected to hit $94 billion — about $20 billion more than last year’s record, the NRF reports.

Top purchase categories include electronics ($15 billion), clothing ($12 billion) and shoes ($8 billion), the NRF reported.

College students and their families are expected to spend an average of $1,366.95 per person, up from $1,199.43 last year, and a new record from the previous record of $1,200.32 in 2021, the NRF says.

So, your wallet will be out, for sure. But don’t let your emotions lure you into spending too much on the wrong items.

You’ll want to take advantage of the best back-to-school deals, and the experts at the shopping website Retailmenot have put together a guide to the best things to buy at this time of year and the best places to buy them.

School supplies are a top priority, including notebooks, pocket folders, crayons, scissors, glue sticks, markers, filler paper, pencils, colored pencils, dry erase markers, highlighters, erasers, pens and sticky notes, according to Retailmenot. (Staten Island Advance/ Jan Somma-Hammel) Staten Island Advance

WHAT TO BUY

School supplies are a top priority, including notebooks, pocket folders, crayons, scissors, glue sticks, markers, filler paper, pencils, colored pencils, dry erase markers, highlighters, erasers, pens and sticky notes, according to Retailmenot. And they’re often sold a good price at this time of year. (If you’re patient, though, you’ll see them all marked even further down in late October.)

Amazon.com is always a great place to get school supplies, calculators, backpacks, headphone, laptops, AirPods and a big seller this year — disinfecting wipes, shopping experts note.

You can also pick up notebooks at Staples right now for as little as 35 cents, glue for 45 cents and Crayola crayons for as little as 50 cents. Staples also is offering cash back on printer ink, and free delivery on discounted printer paper.

Nothing beats free shipping when a college student has forgotten to pack a much-need school supply. And Amazon Prime Student gives college students free two-day shipping on millions of items, unlimited photo storage and discounts. After a six-month free trial, it’s half the price of a regular Amazon Prime membership. And students get unlimited movies to stream, TV and music.

CLOTHING

When it comes to back-to-school clothing, American Eagle has great deals this year, according to Retailmenot, so now’s the time to stock up on women’s and men’s tops, bottoms, shoes and accessories.

Right now, the retailer is offering 25% off all jeans and cargo pants. And all sale merchandise, 60% off clearance items and all clearance jeans are priced at $19.99.

Kohl’s right not is offering big discounts on kids’ clothing, shoes, backpacks, and school uniforms. Get up to 25% off socks and underwear for kids, up to 50% off uniforms, up to 50% off backpacks and up to 65% off kids’ clearance. The retailer also is offering 85% off clearance items.

At Old Navy, with a Retailmenot coupon, you can save 30% on your entire purchase, including clearance items, which are right now marked down 75%.

And for the little ones, The Children’s Place now has its entire site marked down by 75%.

BestBuy.com has MacBook Air on sale now. (Courtesy of BestBuy.com)

LAPTOPS

At Best Buy, you can find a 13.3-inch MacBook Air on BestBuy.com for only $749.99, down from the usual price of $999. Other great deals can be found for Apple products at Walmart.com, where restored products are a good way to save a lot of cash.

If your student needs headphones or AirPods, now is good time to catch a great deal at Walmart.com.

And Amazon.com right now has low prices on HP 17-inch laptops, some for as low as $299. And Lenovo and Dell laptops are also marked down for back-to-school savings.

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