SUNDAY FREEBIE: BACK-TO-FALL BONANZA!
Vacation and school supplies and new clothes, oh my! If you’re feeling financially pinched this month, you’re not alone. In a recent Parade focus group of Walmart Moms, women said that August is the toughest time to stay on budget. According to the National Retail • Federation, the average family spends more than $650 transitioning from summer to fall. But in this economy, there’s no shame in getting thrifty: When it comes to back-to-school expenses, creativity counts! If you’re willing to buy secondhand, you can get gently used clothes at sites like Schoola.com and ThredUp .com. And borrowing rather than buying can help you save on pricier items like graphing calculators (from $9 a month at rentcalculators.org) and musical instruments (schmittmusic.com leases popular strings • and horns). Amazon Prime members can even rent textbooks, in hardcover or on a Kindle. For other expenses in the months ahead—everything from backpacks to weekend activities—there are a host of tricks for scoring bargains. Here, we’ve collected our favorites. And since the best deals are free, we’ve blown out our weekly Sunday Freebie into a giveaway extravaganza, full of prizes! Enter for a chance to win one of them at parade.com/freebie.
1. Soft Tunes The Libratone Loop sounds and looks good: This wireless speaker wrapped in cashmere streams music even without a Wi-Fi connection. ($500; libratone.com)
2. Stock Up Prefer to buy in bulk? Whirlpool’s 28 Cubic-Foot, FourDoor Refrigerator has adjustable bins, dividers, and shelves so you’ll be able to fit that five-dozen egg carton and six-pack of romaine. ($3,099; whirlpool.com for stores)
3. College Prep Send your undergrad off with the essentials. The Reagan 23-Piece Pro Campus Collection includes a comforter, shams, sheets, towels, pillows, a mattress pad and topper, a caddy, a hamper, and a blanket. ($400; bedbathandbeyond.com)
4. Top Performer The LG Chromebase computer stores your photos and videos in the cloud so you can open them on any device and never worry about losing data in a crash. ($350; amazon.com)
5. On the Move With the Dell XPS 18 Portable All-in-One Desktop with Touch, you can keep a traditional computer feel (thanks to a wireless keyboard and mouse) while enjoying the flexibility of a tablet. ($800; dell.com)
6. Good Suds The LG Front-Control, Top-Load Washing Machine features an ultra-large tub to launder bigger (and fewer!) loads. And when you don’t have time to wait for the wash, the High-Efficiency Front-Control Steam Dryer will refresh and de-wrinkle your duds. ($1,100 each; lg.com for stores)
7. Photo Opp Snap first-day-ofschool shots with the Sony Smartphone Attachable Lens-Style Camera DSC-QX100, which turns your phone into a DSLR-quality camera. ($449; store.sony.com)
8. Quality Time With the stylish AT&T Martian Notifier Watch and its free app, you can receive social media messages, emails, and calendar notifications right on your wrist. ($129; att.com)
9. Helper Bot iRobot’s Scooba 450 does your dirty work for you: This cute little droid will sweep, scrub, and squeegee your floors while you relax. ($600; irobot.com)
10. Home Studio Corral craft supplies in this 12-Drawer Organizing Cart. Its semitransparent bins make it easy to find the pipe cleaners and pom-poms when you need them. ($150; macys.com)
11. Room Refresh The minimalist and modern feel of the Linear Five-Piece Bedroom Collection will help make your master bedroom the serene escape it’s meant to be. ($2,090; jcpenney.com)
12. Big Picture Take the man cave up a notch with the Vizio 42-inch M-Series Full Array LED Smart TV, which provides stunning detail for sports. ($500; vizio.com)
13. Joy Ride Train at home on the Marcy Deluxe Fan Bike, which works both your upper and lower body and tracks speed, distance, and calories burned. ($300; sportchalet.com)
14. Shelf Life With its cabriole legs and scalloped apron, the Toscana Tall Bookcase oozes charm even before you add your tomes and knickknacks. ($280; pier1.com)
15. Work Remotely This 10.1-inch touchscreen Full HD Display Nokia Lumia 2520 Tablet comes with Microsoft Office so you can boost your productivity on the go. ($399 for the tablet, $99 for Office 365 Home; Microsoft retail stores or microsoftstore.com)
16. Good Vibrations Switch seamlessly between your tunes, calls, and videos with the Bose SoundTrue headphones, which integrate with iPhones and other Apple devices. ($179.95; bose.com)
17. Work Space Create a designated place for bill paying or homework doing with this small-profile (39.45-by-15.51-inch) wood-and-metal Room Essentials Desk. ($70; target.com)
18. Come to Order Let the Rubbermaid Configurations Customizable Closet Organizer tame the chaos lurking behind closed doors. ($578 for configuration shown; rubbermaid.com)
19. Mean Machine The Dirt Devil Lift & Go is packed with features for tackling messes, including a washable, reusable microfiber pad that simultaneously dusts and vacuums hardwood floors. ($119.99; walmart.com)
20. Fast Food Zap dishes you’d typically bake (like lasagna, casseroles, and pies) in minutes with the Genius Prestige Microwave Oven. You can also poach, braise, or steam more delicate foods. ($270; panasonic.com)
21. Salud! The Juice-presso Home Juicer’s sleek, attractive design and easy-to-clean features will make you want to raise a glass of apple-pearcinnamon-kale. ($450; juicepressousa.com)