Make a Payment Rates About Careers Contact Locations

Back-to-school Shopping: Budgeting 101

August 3, 2016 When it comes to back-to-school shopping, everyone is after big savings and great deals. To help you beat the crowds and the costs, we’ve compiled a few tips on how to get everything your student needs, and save some cash (and stress) along the way. Class starts now! Early Bird Gets the…Pencils. Like other major shopping projects, it’s best to start early. Grab a few things here and there throughout the summer and school year. You’ll save yourself a lot anxiety by avoiding the crowds and inflated prices that come with waiting until the last minute. Extra points: Make an inventory of what you have at home that can be re-used from last year, then hit aisles with an extra-focused list. Bring the Kids. Utilize your back-to-school outing as a chance to educate your children about budgeting and money management, with prime real-life examples to back your lessons. You can teach them how to research deals before you hit the stores or have them practice math by adding prices, all while teaching them the difference between needs and wants and the benefits of planning and organization. What’s more, you can deploy them to be in charge of couponing and the checklist. A little extra help is always nice, right? Blast from the Past. Yes, hand-me-downs. They’re fantastic. They save you money by preventing you from buying new, unnecessary items, and might earn you some cash, too! After finishing your thorough inventory, send any extra clothes or supplies to the local thrift store, or even put them up in a garage sale or friendly trade with some neighbors. Keep in mind any future needs as well. Have some younger kids who could use those their older brother’s tennis shoes in the coming years? Stay aware and you could be saving money for years to come! The World Wise Web. The Internet can be a great benefit to your shopping needs if you use it the right way. Many online retailers will often offer deals for the back-to-school season, like free shipping or BOGOs. Also remember that many physical locations do online price-matching these days as well. Love a pair of shoes in-store that you found for 20% less online? Print that baby out and bring it in—you’ll be surprised at how many stores will work with you. There you have it, savvy savers. Now you can update that resume to add “savvy shopper,” and hit the aisles effectively. Be sure to check back to our Money Smarts blog for more budgeting tips, and have a wonderful school year! You might also be interested in Financial success isn’t how much money you have — it’s feeling good about what you’re doing with the money you have. Here are some tips on how to prioritize your debts and bills, negotiate with creditors and get your late payments back on solid ground. Even in these challenging times, there's  whole lot of good happening! At Summit, we've always believed financial success happens together and that's been truer than ever this past month. Here's what "together" has meant for our community. Navigating finances after college is hard, but you can take it one lesson at a time. Get tips for managing money and paying off student debt after graduation. Navigating finances after college is hard, but you can take it one lesson at a time. Get tips for managing money and paying off student debt after graduation. If you’re not sure if something is a scam, it’s ALWAYS better to act like it could be! Fraudsters are always coming up with creative new ways to steal from you and quick to take advantage of a crisis. Here are some of the most popular recent scams to watch for. With a little planning, you may be able to actually save a little money during the holidays. Check out these tips to keep costs down without missing out on the holiday fun. Some scams go right for your money; others try to get you to part with personal information – like account numbers, Social Security numbers, passwords, and personal identification numbers (PINs). Find out what you should look for and how to protect yourself. The holidays can be stressful & that’s why it’s important to prioritize your self-care. Use these tips to reduce stress without draining your bank account. Your home is your castle, your refuge and—let’s face it—a place where it can be very easy to sink a big chunk of money. Which is why you’re always on the lookout for “sweet spots”:  those home improvements that add comfort, safety or a little zing of style while you’re living in your house and will boost the asking price when it’s time to sell. And if you can find a way to save money on those improvements or cut home expenses at the same time, well that sweet spot just got a little sweeter! Featured Products Certificates Checking Accounts Home Equity Loans Home Loans Business Banking Certificates Checking Accounts Home Equity Loans Home Loans Business Banking Financial Education Upcoming Events Programs Tools & Calculators On-demand Webinars Podcasts Upcoming Events Programs Tools & Calculators On-demand Webinars Podcasts About Equity in Money™ About Summit Careers News Community Giving Equity in Money™ About Summit Careers News Community Giving Help & Support Contact Us Member Support Center Schedule an Appointment Find a Branch Contact Us Member Support Center Schedule an Appointment Find a Branch Please read the following before proceeding to: The website you are about to visit is solely the responsibility of the merchant or other party providing the site. The content of this third-party site, including materials and information, is solely the responsibility of the provider of the site. The Credit Union is not responsible for any such third-party content. Any transactions that you enter into with a vendor, merchant or other party that you access through this third-party site are solely between you and that vendor, merchant or other party. The Credit Union does not endorse the content contained in this third-party site, nor the organization publishing the site, and hereby disclaims any responsibility for such content. The Credit Union Privacy Policy does not apply to this third-party site, and for further information you should consult the privacy disclosures of the third-party site. NCUA Insurance Estimator Privacy, Security & Accessibility Rates, Fees, Terms & Disclosures Routing Number *  The Wisconsin's #1 Mortgage Lender designation is based on the number of loans in 2022, gathered from the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data compiled annually by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The results of the data were obtained through the LEI: 254900NTAC4H10MGSU23 **  SBA Lender of the Year Award for Credit Unions as awarded by the Small Business Administration of Wisconsin in 2023. Copyright 2024 © Summit Credit Union. All rights reserved. If you are using a screen reader and are having problems using this website, please call 608-243-5000 for assistance. Insured by NCUA