Back to School Shopping Extravaganza

Now, I know that back-to-school can be bittersweet for other mom's out there for the simple fact that they are done with the "Mom, I'm bored" while at the same time want to keep their kids at home.  Another year means our kids are growing up.  But, what about the inevitable dip in the pocketbook?

This is C-Man's first year going to school.  I'm nervous, excited, and all the normal first time mommy stuff when it comes to sending my kids to school.  And while Pac-Man and I have made the personal decision to send C-Man to a private school in our area, I'm told it doesn't matter...private school or public school, the cost of going back to school is astronomical.  

While the fees of private schools can be high as it is, those costs are expected.  I know a full year ahead of time what I need to budget for, and how I'm going to make those payments.  But, school supplies for the year, WOW!!!

Forget the fact that you're buying everything for your child from notebooks to markers, crayons to pencils, backpacks to lunchboxes, and so much more.  Luckily I waited until this past weekend when Wal-Mart was having a great sale on crayons and markers (¢.25 for markers and ¢.50 for crayons).  Unfortunately for the unassuming back-to-school shopper, this GREAT deal on crayons and markers, and sometimes some of the other supplies, are on items that you can't get.  The crayons and markers were just your average joe crayons and markers...you can color on everything and they stick.  Unfortunately for me, the crayons and markers that were required on my back-to-school shopping list were all washable.  Simple enough until you realize that they don't carry the washable versions in the sale product, insert doom music at the realization that you are about to pay the $2 for every single box off crayons and markers that you need. 

Granted, the $2 per box doesn't seem like a lot when you're looking at them, you sit there inspecting them, "Oh well, I guess I'm buying the Crayola $2 box, and $2 is super cheap still anyways."  That is until you look at your supply list that your child's teacher gave to you and you must buy 3 boxes of those $2 crayons and 3 boxes of those $2 markers.  Now we're at $12 for just markers and crayons and we haven't even made a dent in the rest of the stuff.

Now, insert the fact that during the summer your kid either outgrew his or her clothes, or they are no longer suitable to wear in public since they wore them down to the thread all summer.  Now you must purchase a new wardrobe on top of the dreaded school supply list.

This new school wardrobe I thought was going to be the end of me.  Clothes are expensive enough for me.  They're more expensive for my kids, which will always baffle me since they use less fabric to comprise their clothes.  I've already spent a good $100 on the school supply list, and now I'm about to wander into the doomed world of school clothes.

This is the start of my panic attack.  Not only am I admitting that my first baby is ready to go off to school, but now I am putting this massive dent in my pocketbook, and there seems to be no end to the destruction that it will have each school year for the next foreseeable 14 years for the C-Man, and it will only be a matter of time before Mar-Mar enters the school zone.  Aaaahhhh!!!  

Insert my saving grace, the clearance section!!  You know, that little section of out of season clothes, or the clothes the company no longer carries, the designs have been replaced, or whatever.  Some clearance sections may as well be paying full price.  A clearance sale to me is not paying $20 for a $30 shirt.  But, when you step into places like Old Navy (sorry, this is the only place I ventured into for my back-to-school wardrobe shopping this year lest I have yet another back-to-school panic attack), you are greeted with not only cute options in the clearance section, but a reassurance that your pocketbook won't be hurt too much.

Going to the clearance section was much like going to a consignment store, only the clothes were guaranteed to be brand new.  I love consignment shops, you get nice clothes, sometimes new clothes with tags still on, for great prices.  The clearance rack at Old Navy is like those consignment store prices.  We got shorts for $2.50, shirts for $3.49, and a pair of pants for $10 (ok, the pants weren't in the clearance section, they were just on sale).  Insert happy dance that I was able to walk out of Old Navy's clearance section with a full new wardrobe for the C-Man with less than $50.

What are your back-to-school horror stories?  What drives you to the back-to-school panic attack?  What is your back-to-school saving grace advice?