Back-to-school shopping season is here! And if you are not organized about BTS (Back To School) season you are going to spend money. Lots of money!

To help, we are going to show you how to obtain a back-to-school list to keep you on track and stop you from overspending this BTS season!

Heck, we even give you a free back-to-school list just to help you save time and money!

But more about that later!

Keep on reading because you are about to learn why not having a back-to-school list will negatively affect you.

One of the many issues parents face when it comes to back-to-school shopping season is not having a proper BTS list for their child. I mean think about it for a minute.

Here you are trying to shop during back-to-school season and have absolutely no idea what to get your child!

In the end, you will either not buy what your child needs or overspend your money on something that is not necessary at all!

Here's another issue many parents face:

Not obtaining a back-to-school list early

Many school districts offer their back-to-school list later in the summer and some even closer to the beginning of the school year, and this leads to 2 major issues:

Items not being on sale

Back-to-school supplies are bought a year before the shopping season starts. Their BTS sales are on cycles, and if there is a popular item that was on sale at the beginning of the back-to-school shopping season, chances are you won't be able to find the item on sale close to the start of the school year.

Items no longer available

Again if the item is popular or rare, many families will have issues obtaining it because their school list was delivered to them late. Families will have to shop around for these items and pay a higher price.

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Depending on where you live in the United States, you might start school at a different time than other parts of the country. Southern states start school earlier than the Northeast part of the country.

These cause issues when purchasing your children's school supplies because of you either have to get them when they are not on sale or after school begins.

Companies start their back-to-school sale at the same time no matter what part of the country you live in. You will start hearing about BTS sales around July 4th week, and frankly, in the Northeast, we are celebrating summer because our kids go to school toward the end of August or early September.

I remember one year my daughter received her school list the first week of school. Talk about wasting time and money!

Later in the back-to-school shopping season, you are not going to find much of anything.

The supplies the teachers needed were gone by the time we received the class list or were not on sale.

Trying to find a particular style of cloth book covers that a few years ago were not as popular as they are today was impossible for us. The book covers were not a year-round item that stores carried back then.

We also bought the wrong brand of glue and crayon that this particular teacher wanted for her class.

I'm assuming I wasn't the only parent who found this frustrating because we now get our back-to-school list mailed or listed on the school district website.

After that year having our back-to-school shopping list available sooner gave us, parents, plenty of time to purchase our much-needed school supplies on time and on sale.

If you are not fortunate enough as some of us are, this is the reason why this post will help you to obtain a back-to-school list. We want to make sure that you are not wasting your time and your money this back-to-school shopping season.

I mean can you imagine not having this BTS list when Tax-Free Day happens in your state?

How To Obtain a Back To School List

Call your school district

If you have a school district that doesn't post back-to-school list on their website only give them a call. Many school district offices are open during the summer vacation, and someone there will be able to help you out.

Visit your school district's website

Many school district website posts their school list during the summer season. Remember that each school district's sites get updated at the beginning of the school year.

Checking during the end of the school year will result in obtaining an old or wrong school list for your child.

I recommend you check your local school district site after July 1st for any new academic year updates and updated BTS list.

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Ask someone who had a child in the same grade last year

If you know someone whose child was in the grade that your child would be attending and is attending the same school district, ask them. Ask for the list of what they need to purchase for the upcoming school year.

Check online for generic school lists

You can search online for school lists, and you will find general school lists online. You will be able to print them and use them to help you purchase school supplies.

Wal-mart, Target, Office Max/Depot, and other retailers have generic basic school list available for free for each grade. You can also download our free back-to-school list to help you save time and money this upcoming back-to-school year.

To obtain our free back-to-school supply list click the image below. 

Conclusion

Obtaining a back-to-school list during the upcoming BTS season is not as difficult as you might think. Remember to check with your local school district, online or ask someone to obtain your child back to school list.

If you can't afford some of these supplies let the school know and they will provide it for you. If you have tons of school supplies, donate them to help those in need.

Your turn: What other ways have you obtained a back-to-school list? Do you even use a back-to-school list when you go out shopping?