Parents find clever ways to cut back on spending when buying school supplies.
Parents of school-going kids finding new ways to cut spending
PETALING JAYA: With the new school year starting soon, parents are finding themselves hard-pressed for money and some have found new ways to save when buying ‘back to school’ items.
Many parents have started to shop for their children’s essentials such as school uniforms, shoes and bags as the new school year starts early next month.
School will reopen in Johor, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu on Jan 1 and a day later in other states.
As usual, shopping malls and markets have started the ‘ back to school’ promotion.
In Klang Valley, parents rushed to a shop in Kepong after a message of it selling white school shirts for RM1 went viral.
“We started the promotion on Dec 7. From 10am to 7.30pm,” the owner of Bintang Fashion Ong Leong Ying said in a phone interview.
“We still have stocks. We are selling the white shirts at RM1 per piece. White shoes at RM10 and black shoes at RM15.
“We hope the warehouse sale can lighten the burden of parents.
“These white shirts are old stocks with some defects. But after washing them, these shirts are as good as new,” he said.
Due to overwhelming response for the RM1 white shirts, the company has limited the quantity its customers can buy.
Every customer can only buy eight pieces of “RM1 white shirt”.
“No one is allowed to buy in bulk. Parents are given priority and this is for the needs of the children,” a cardboard at the stall showed.
Housewife Lai Soon Ling from Cheras said uniform prices have been on the rise.
“For family with two or three schoolchildren like me, parents will need to fork out quite a substantial amount to buy new uniforms, shoes, books and stationery,” she said.
“Children grow fast. Usually I have to buy new ones for them every two years.”
But Lai, like any other mothers, never runs out of ideas to save money.
“I will usually ask my sister whether her daughters have unwanted uniforms. Her twin daughters are two years older than my daughter.
“Some of my daughter’s pinafore dresses are from her cousins,” she said.
Tech-savvy Elaine Ooi, 37, said she bought some of her children’s uniforms and stationery online.
“In total, I think I spent 30% less than last year when I bought most of the things at the shopping complexes.
“This year, I am fully utilising all the promo codes and I bought from various e-commerce platforms.
“I collected shopping vouchers during the 11.11 and 12.12 shopping festivals.
“Some of the online shops gave extra discounts and free delivery during these shopping festivals,” she said, adding that she also gets cash rebates using e-wallets.
“I buy from credible e-commerce platforms. I will always check the reviews for these online stores before I order.
“So far, I am satisfied with most of the items I bought online.
“I joined a Facebook group early this year. Whenever there is promotion codes or vouchers, the members will inform the group.
“These members always share tips on how to buy cheaper stuff online.
“I also bought socks and stationery online. But for shoes, it is better to buy from shopping complexes to let the children try the shoes first,” Ooi said.