Josh Elledge - Chief Executive Angel
Beyond Pencils: Save on Clothing for Back to School
During the back-to-school season, we all focus intently on the abundant savings for school supplies: pencils, backpacks, notebooks… Savings of at least 50%, to as high as 90% off, always garner serious attention. In all the excitement, two of the largest school expenses can be neglected until very close to school restarting: clothing and food. These huge ongoing expenses far outweigh the need for supplies for the year, so don’t wait until just before school starts. You won’t want to miss the abundant deals as retailers make room for fall fashions, and lunch supplies go on great sales.
CLEARANCE CLOTHING: Major clearance is already popping up both in-stores and online.
– JCPenney’s Red Zone: 55-80% off. PLUS use coupons on top of clearance prices.
– Hollister: 50-70% off. They also have jeans for $25, plus free shipping on $50+ online.
– Abercrombie & Fitch: up to 75% off. (Website said only through August 2, but we suspect the deals will return.) They are also offering all jeans for $39, plus free shipping for online orders of $75+.
– Abecrombie Kids: up to 75% off; and jeans, buy 1, get 1 for $10. Over $50 gets free shipping.
– Kohl’s famous Gold Star Clearance: Up to 80% off, PLUS you can apply their Back To School 2015 coupons. Get $10 off a purchase of $30 or more. As an added bonus, you CAN use the $10 off coupon IN CONJUNCTION with any percentage off coupons or other offers you may have.
– Yonkers: up to 70% off, and they even encourage you to stack a promo code or coupon for even higher savings, such as free shipping on online orders of $25 or more.
– Aeropostale and H&M are both clearing their inventory at up to 70% off.
– American Eagle: up to an additional 50% off reduced prices. (It’s supposed to end August 4, but we suspect something equally as exciting will crop up.) In the meantime, their clearance is already up to 60% off, AND they are offering buy one AEO jeans (regular price), and get one 50% off.
– Meijer: percentages off vary. Numerous styles are on clearance, one potential great deal is collared shirts for as low as $5 each, which might work really well for school uniform needs.
CASH-EARNING OFFERS on clothing: At some retailers, you can shop sales and clearance and earn up to HALF of what you spend in “store cash” to use later, during specific sale dates.
– Old Navy Super Cash offer: Earn $10 for every $25 you spend. PLUS, use coupons on your transactions while earning Super Cash. They also have deals on uniform pieces, starting as low as $5.
– Gap: GapCash. Earn 50% back: $25 for every $50. PLUS, apply any additional coupons or percentages off while earning your GapCash.
– Meijer: Custom Coupon on SHOES this week. Earn a $10 Custom Coupon for every pair of athletic shoes purchased (up to 5 pair, excludes Sketchers and clearance shoes). STACK this with the current mPerks coupon for 15% off your entire kids’ shoe purchase, AND choose from pairs already on sale, to land a deal that nets up to 63% off athletic shoes!
FOOD: Don’t overlook deals on food items that have long-term shelf or refrigerator stability, or can be frozen. Stock up each week, and you’ll have a jump-start long before you’ll need it. A few examples of the deals available this week at Meijer…
– Jif creamy peanut butter: 99 cents each! PLUS use the coupon that just came out for 50 cents off 2, in the RedPlum insert from Sunday, August 2, and get jars for 74 cents each!
– Armour Lunchmakers: Get them for 89 cents each when you buy 5 and get $5 off.
– Eckrich bologna: 89 cents each when you buy 5 and get $5 off.
MAKING LUNCHES: Besides stocking up when things are at optimum prices, one of the best ways to save on lunch is to invest in good containers to take leftovers. Most schools give their students access to a microwave to warm things up, so take advantage of it. Watch for great deals on to-go type containers, including lunch boxes, insulated bottles, and food storage containers.
