The following is a sponsored post. While I was compensated for it, the thoughts and opinions expressed in this post are my own and in no way were influenced by the company.
To help prepare your kids to head back into the classroom, zulily kids fashion expert Shawn Anderson has created a list of her top tips for Back-to-School shopping. As a mother of four, Shawn knows from personal experience how to make sure you get everything your child needs for school, at the best prices.
Plan in advance: Don’t wait until late August to start your back to school preparation. Avoid the stress of last-minute shopping by getting started now and finish before all the good deals are gone.
Get organized: Put together a back-to-school checklist so you don’t forget any of the necessities. I also recommend organizing and cleaning out the closets prior to shopping and making piles for donations, consignment and hand-me-downs.
Create a budget: While all those back-to-school sales are great for saving money, the best place to start is to create a budget. Set a realistic spending limit before shopping and look for the best deals to help stay within the budget.
Shop online: Sites like zulily.com offer parents a wide variety of back-to-school essentials for kids, including clothes, shoes, accessories, supplies and toys, at incredible prices. You can find everything your kid needs (and more!) and save money at the same time.
Stockpile your favorite items at a discount: When you find something your child loves and needs each year for school at a great price, be sure to buy a few extra. Take advantage of these deals for years to come! I purchase for my kids for several years with the expectation that they will grow. When buying these multiples in larger sizes, place them in labeled bins which you can pull out upon closet clean-out the following year to avoid buying duplicates.
Check in with the kids: It is never a good feeling to buy your child new clothes and school supplies, only to find out that their favorite color or cartoon character has changed. Individuality is in right now so involve your kids in the shopping process to ensure you’re buying items they like and want to use.
Best Apps for Back to School Shopping
Using the zulily app is like opening a hand-held treasure chest every day. You never know what you’ll uncover but you know you’re bound to find something great.
Shop back to school for your kids on any mobile device to save money and discover the items you need and want – even when you’re on the go.
zulily App Highlights:
Educational Tutorial – after first installing, users are displayed a brief, informative tutorial on how to use the new application.
“New Today” Event Accessibility – a clear, easily accessible layout displays a customer’s personalized list of “New Today” events directly through the application.
Personalization – zulily has built upon its proprietary personalization technology to create a completely individualized homepage view, from top to bottom. The app learns customer’s preferences and then features the most relevant sales events and information front and center for quick, meaningful shopping.
Daily Refreshment of New Events – the shopping platform refreshes every morning at 6 a.m. for customers to shop newly curated events.
“Bookmarked” Favorites – while browsing zulily’s events, customers have the ability to select favorites and “bookmark” for easy access. A “bookmark” ribbon will be displayed on the watch application and instantly synced with the “New Today” tab on the existing iPhone application. This feature allows shoppers to easily customize events to shop at a later time on the iPhone app.
