Sunday, August 10, 2014

College Shopping is D.O.N.E!

With the arrival last Wednesday of #2 Son's laptop/backpack, I can cross the College Shopping Marathon off my To-Do List!
Woohoo!!!

Except for his clothing, shoes, case of water, pillows, laptop, printer, backpack and musical instruments and musical paraphernalia, what is pictured is everything going to school.......


You KNOW I shopped at home in my cupboards, cabinets and stockpiles before spending $$ in the store to gather all this.  A few things I could have not spent on(the towels/washcloths)and given him stuff in the house or gotten him a cheaper backpack(tho the one we got has a lifetime guarantee) but I think we did a fairly frugal job on this.
Take note of where I bought items......Walmart, Best Buy, online, Rite-Aid, Ollie's, Big Lots, etc.
Not a single item bought from Bed, Bath & Beyond......lolz


Here is our College Shopping List..........anything purchased includes sales tax(if applicable).

2 Items not pictured above--
Printer on sale at Walmart  $74.19 w/ink
Backpack  bought the "one he wanted" on sale online at RockyMountainTrail dotcom $49 w/shipping


 

 

Surge Protector  $12.70 at Best Buy
Extension Cord  $1.77 at Lowe's
Command Hooks  2 packs bought at Rite-Aid this week, price $5.03 for both packs.  Inherited poster sticky stuff from Daughter's college time.
Flashlight  had at home-with new batteries *not pictured*
Batteries  had at home from Rite-Aid pillaging 3 years ago
Duct Tape  had at home
Chip Clips  had at home.....why buy something, use repurposed Clothespins!



Sheet Sets  2 sets inherited from #1 Son's college time in a dorm and 1 set bought at Ollie's on clearance  $11.25(400 thread count)
Comforter  bought at Big Lots $18.02 after shopping around for 3 months for perfect color, solid black (rolls eyes)but not too expensive
Towels, Hand Towel and Washcloths  from Ollie's on sale $21.56
Toilet brush  on sale at Ollie's  $2.06
Wastebasket  had at home, sending plastic grocery bags at home to line it
Clothes Hangers  had at home
Laundry Bag  at Big Lots $2.96



Extra Pillowcases   free--had percale fabric so I sewed him some and saved that money!
Free Pillowcases  ;-)



Scissors from Big Lots $1.90
Notebooks  found at Walmart in Ohio for .17¢ea.X 5=.90¢
Dry-Erase Board   found at Walmart for $8.44*
Day Planner  found at Walmart for $6.33*
Large Pack of college-ruled Paper  found at Walmart for $2.65*
***The 3 items listed above I used a free gift card to pay for them so no out of pocket.***
Pens/Pencils/Sharpeners/Envelopes/Etc.  had at home from Rite-Aid pillaging


Cooling Mat  bought on sale at Best Buy  $15.89
Ream of Printer Paper   had at home from almost free Staples paper deal 5 years ago



Nail Clippers  had at home from Rite-Aid pillaging last year
Toiletries(asstd.)  ditto
Hand Sanitizer  ditto



Bathroom Cleaning Supplies  had at home already
Facial tissue had at home already



Dish Towel  had spare at home
Potholder  bought at Big Lots $2.65
Plate, Bowl, Mug   inherited all put microwave safe plate from Daughter's college stay.  Plate on clearance from Big Lots $1.59 (not giving him one of my "good" plates for this!)
Eating Utensils  inherited from Daughter
Can Opener   big Lots $4.24
Mini-Colander  Big Lots $3.18
Dish Soap  had at home
Water Bottle  had at home
Travel Coffee Mug  had at home


Coffeemaker  bought online at KMart for $6 less than in store, picked up at store....$16.80
*I used SYW Reward Points and part of a gift card I got for a prescription transfer so no CASH OOP! woohoo
Coffee Filters  had at home
Coffee bought at Grocery Outlet--5 lbs for $8.  awesome


 
Assorted snacks and easy food stuffs   had at home in stockpile, except for the case of Monster I picked up in Iowa($28) and the case of bottle water ($2.33 but used +Up Rewards to pay so no OOP).





And here is everything off that list that I spent money on......


Printer--$74.19
Backpack--$49.00
Cooling Mat--$15.89
Surge Protector--$12.70
Extension Cord--$1.77
Sheet Set-Ollie's--$11.25
Comforter- Big Lots--$18.02
Towels, Hand Towel and Washcloths--$21.56
Command Hooks--$5.03
Toilet brush--$2.06
Potholder--$2.65
Plate--$1.59
Can Opener--$4.24
Mini-Colander--$3.18
Coffee--$8.00
Scissors--$1.90
Notebooks--.90¢
Monster drinks case--$28

Grand Total of $261.93 with tax.


If you had to College shop this year, how did you do?

Sluggy

 

11 comments:

  1. I think you did pretty well compared to what I hear a lot of people spend.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What exactly is he moving into? A fully furnished apartment? He won't have room to move in most dorm rooms! WOW!!! I have to wonder how much of that he will actually use.

    Peace <3
    Jay

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jay, it's actually very little...except maybe the food products. He's in a 2 person suite...private bedrooms with a public room and full bathroom. Dresser, closet, desk and bed in bedroom and fridge/microwave combo and table w/2 chairs in shared room. And there is storage under the bed.
      I'll take pictures after move in so you can see it's really just essentials.

      Delete
    2. I just got a kick out of it! RB is moving into a 3 person room, with lofts, and he says everything he is taking will fit in the trunk of his Honda Civic except for his drums.
      Jay

      Delete
  3. WOW! I think it is perfect and a few things I have not thought of. My son will be going next year, so I am going to type a list up. He will have the same basic set-up as you all. Private bedroom/bathroom/closet, with shared living and kitchen. 4 people though. Great job on how much you spent! Not sure I would do that well!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Right now, the bed risers are pulled out front in WM because some people shove things under the bed in plastic boxes. My daughter even took a footlocker. She made no comment about overcrowding of the room. The school furnished on combination refrigerator-microwave for the room with two boys. There is a kitchen if they want to cook with their own things or rent them from the school--pots and pans and anything they need to cook. I sent dishcloths--2, dishtowels--2, 1 potholder. The cheap beige hand towels and wash cloths were what I got for kitchen instead of more expensive kitchen towels and cloths. You know, the microwaved popcorn might be hot for hands or surface...lol. Hand towels and wash cloths are cheaper than kitchen stuff.

    You have more room than my daughter, so she said they could barely move for the stuff in the hall, all where no one could forget anything.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Looks like the right stuff, and I think you did great with the prices!

    ReplyDelete
  6. You're lucky you had some hand-me-down items. We are starting fresh and I spent so far about $500 +/- not including the laptop, text books (will likely rent used for most of them) and school supplies. But all of this is a one time purchase other than books and school supplies and other than the sheets and mattress topper (she can sell that when she graduates) she can use everthing after she graduates and moves into an apartment.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Had to laugh at the coffee and noodles... what, no $0.15 cups? But seriously, when you mentioned the printer, I thought your total was going to be in the $400-$500 range... so you did fantastic, as usual!

    ReplyDelete
  8. GREAT JOB! I didn't keep a tally and I spent only DJ's money. He complains when I spend it. Guess who he takes after?
    We are so close to the finish line!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I think that you did a great job! I've been wondering about what we should prepare with for college. My oldest daughter, technically stepdaughter will begin in January but has chosen at this point to stay local and move in with us and we are excited about that . However, we have a senior and junior this year that really want the whole college experience. So they are planning to go off to college and strongly considering the same school. I'd like to get started early and prepare in order to save money and to keep the girls excited about getting ready.

    ReplyDelete

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