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October 2008

BUDGET-SAVING IDEAS

In times like these, it’s more important than ever for teachers to practice creative budgeting to keep their out-of-pocket expenses from sky-rocketing. We’ve dug down deep to find budget-friendly ways to obtain classroom supplies. Read on!

Making the most out of your budget requires being a smart shopper, stretching your supplies, sharing resources and being creative!

BE A SMART SHOPPER

Practice comparison shopping. Check for sales and rebates, and don’t forget to check return policies. Separate shopping trips (comparison shopping) from spending trips. Avoid impulse buying.

Set up and implement a spending plan. Limit monthly spending to a certain amount and stick to it.

Visit yard sales and flea markets. Keep your eyes out for side-of-the-road “free” items that can be refurbished or covered and used as classroom furniture.

Buy bulk when it’s the best deal. Make sure you add up the price per unit before automatically going for the big quantities. Our BEST-BUY CRAYONS, COLORED PENCILS, WASHABLE MARKERS, FISKARS® CLASSPACKS, GLUE DOTS®, GLUE STICKS and REMOVABLE TEACHERS’ TAPE are all bulk items that save you money.

Get the most bang for your buck. Products that have lifetime guarantees give you a lot of bang. Our DIVIDED, OPEN and LEVELED READING BOOK TUBS have lifetime guarantees.

STRETCH SUPPLIES

Buy generic. Purchase plain or general borders instead of seasonal ones so you can use them all year or reuse them year after year.

“Refurbish” items whenever possible. Of course PENCIL SHARPENERS keep pencils looking new, but CRAYON SHARPENERS can also make your crayon stash last longer. Our AUTO-RING® DESKTOP APPLICATOR applies reinforcements to your binder documents to keep them from tearing. SHEET PROTECTORS are also a great way to protect documents.

Laminate. It’s time-consuming at the outset, but will save time in the long run and will protect your signs, decoratives and displays. Our QUIKFINISH LAMINATOR laminates documents up to 9½” wide.

Teach your students to care for their items. Show them that replacing marker caps will keep them from running dry, or require them to cover their textbooks to prolong the life of the book.

Save paper. Use the OVERHEAD PROJECTOR. Have students use DRY ERASE LAPBOARDS, HOLD-‘EM-UP PADDLE BOARDS or our WRITE ON! PAPER-SAVER POCKETS. Print on both sides of the paper. Go digital!

Keep your supplies organized! Keep everything labeled and organized to reduce the chances of losing or misplacing items. Our 39-DRAWER PARTS STATION, TABLE TOTES, COLOR-CODE HANDLE BAGS and AUSSIE POUCH® CHAIR POCKETS are only a few of the items we have to help keep everyone’s supplies neat and organized.

SHARE RESOURCES

Provide a common area for teacher supplies. Rotate bulletin board materials, center materials and resources. Designate an area for these shared items and have a sign-out sheet. Our CLASSROOM JEOPARDY!® and GEOSAFARI® QUIZ BOWL are great examples of teacher resources that can be shared by the whole school!

Post or route teacher memos instead of printing a copy for everyone.

Coordinate school mailings. Even though there might be multiple siblings in the same school, or even in the same grade, set up your mailing list so only one mailing goes to each address.

Team buy. Many companies offer discounts or shipping breaks if you order a certain amount. Place an order with your colleagues to take advantage of these offers.

Ask retiring teachers for whatever they don’t want. Many times they will be happy to get it off their hands.

BE CREATIVE

Use the Internet. Look for teacher freebies, sources for grant funding, sales, stores that have teacher-discount programs and many other great ideas to help save you money. You never know what you might find!

Apply for grants. Grants take a lot of time to plan and implement, but the money you can receive from a grant award is worth it. The Internet has lots of information on how to apply for grants, but remember, research is the key. Once you’ve identified your need and found the grant(s) that best suit your goals, you can begin the application process.

Take advantage of school book clubs that let you earn books for every book ordered by your students.

Don’t leave out parents’ groups. PTAs and PTOs often provide teachers with much-needed cash to purchase school supplies.

Hold community swap meets or rummage sales. Families can donate clothes or supplies for use by other families or students, and the proceeds can go for much-needed equipment.

Organize a supply drive. Compile a list of needed supplies and post it in the community, asking townspeople to donate any of the items on the list. Ask your local radio stations to air a PSA about your supply drive to get the word out quicker.

Check on rental prices. If you need a large piece of equipment and can’t justify purchasing it, check with your local rental companies to see if renting is a feasible alternative.

Have creative fundraisers. Have a school talent show. Tape it and sell the recordings to parents. Create a school cookbook, with recipes donated by parents, students and teachers, and sell them. Compile a photo album using the digital photos you took of your students throughout the year. Set it to music and burn it on a CD (create an alternative print version for those parents without computers). Sell the CDs or books to parents for a nominal fee – but let parents know how their money will be used.

Check with your local chamber of commerce to find out if any local businesses would be interested in donating supplies.

Check with doctors’ and dentists’ offices for free promotional items.

Ask local lumberyards for scraps. They can be used for craft projects, or to construct book bins, cubbies, tables, etc. Contact your local senior center to see if they have any carpenters who would be willing to donate their time and talent to your construction project!

Ask for leftover carpet samples from carpet stores.

Ask travel agencies for free posters or outdated materials. Beautiful posters of various places and countries can be a wonderful geography supplement!

Wallpaper stores give away their outdated wallpaper books. Use the wallpaper for craft projects, bulletin boards and book covers.

Check with local printers. They may have overruns or misprints you can use. This could be everything from embossed stationery and pencils, to papers you can use the back of.

Check with banks. They may have a checkbook program for schools. Some banks give free “fake” checkbooks to schools to teach check writing.

Get parents involved. Use your school newsletter to ask parents to keep their eyes and ears open for companies that might have things to give away, are offering substantial discounts, or even award grants. Parents may also be willing donors of school supplies.

Speak up! Tell everyone you meet what your needs are. It’s a small world! You might be surprised what donations might come your way!

HOT TIP: Have socks without a match? They make great erasers for student dry erase boards, and you can store markers inside!

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