Parents told us their real back-to-school money savers. Some are borderline genius.

Thanks to our brand partner, OnePass

Parents know this already, but it's worth saying out loud: back-to-school season can be brutal on the bank account. Between multiple kids, uniform "essentials", stationery lists, the 10,000th drink bottle (soon to also bite the dust) and all their extracurricular sign-ups, it can feel like you're just tapping your card on repeat.

So we asked a bunch of school parents to share the real things that help them get through January without crying into their wallet. The result? A mix of clever, surprisingly simple and occasionally borderline genius ideas you can try this school year.

These are the standouts they swear by:

"I outsource the entire booklist to one place."

One mum of three described discovering Officeworks' School List Service as her "game-changing back-to-school hack" moment. Rather than running around hunting for specific brands and sizes, she gets Officeworks to do the match-up for her. It makes shopping simpler and stress-free, while letting her score great value and low prices on everything she needs.

Her process is simple: it lets you search for your kids' school from the School List Service (or you can just upload your own list if your school hasn't given Officeworks an official one), then Officeworks match the items you're after (not kidding!), including tech essentials like headphones, laptops and tablets, then you review the cart they build for you online before checking out. From there, she chooses Click & Collect, where everything is ready waiting at her local store, instead of tracking down multiple bits and pieces depending on where they're in stock.

This same parent also folds OnePass into her back-to-school set-up. OnePass is a membership that links together some of her go-to retailers — Kmart, Target, Bunnings Warehouse, Officeworks and Priceline — and offers up benefits like free delivery on eligible items, plus 5x Flybuys points on Click & Collect and in-store orders. When she joins OnePass Annual for $40, she gets a $20 OnePass Reward to spend at Officeworks, which she says goes straight towards back-to-school bits. For her, it's less about obsessing over every cost, and more about making the big-ticket shopping jobs so much easier.

"Stationery is a once-a-year stocktake, not a fresh start."

The parents who seemed the calmest about stationery? They all have one rule: nothing new gets bought until they "shop the house" first. One mum has a "stationery dump" box in a cupboard where everything goes at the end of term — pens, pencil cases, glue sticks, rulers, sharpeners, scissors.

Before she even opens the school list, she empties the box, tests every pen and highlighter, and sorts what can be reused, so then only buying what's genuinely missing. She does the same with lunchboxes and drink bottles — mismatched lids meet their fate in the recycling, everything else gets washed and laid out on the table, so the kids can choose their "new" combo.

Another parent keeps a running list on her phone of what actually runs out during the year (for example, her kids never use the fourth glue stick, but they do annihilate pencils). When the next booklist arrives, she quietly adjusts quantities, instead of ordering a carbon copy of last year's untouched items.

"I have a standing 'school stuff' budget — even in months with no fees."

One parent confessed that her biggest stress wasn't the cost itself, but the whiplash — some months felt empty, others were stacked with fees, sports, excursions and new shoes. Her fix? She set up a tiny, ongoing "school account" that runs all year, not just in term time.

Each pay, she moves a set amount into that account — whatever fits her budget — and treats it as non-negotiable, like a bill. That becomes the pot she uses for uniforms, back-to-school supplies, school photos and random "gold coin donation" days. January is still busy, she says, but she's not starting from zero.

Another mum pairs this with a visual calendar on the fridge. Anything with a cost (sports rego, music lessons, camps) gets a little dollar sign next to it. That way, she can see at a glance which months are heavier and juggle things like activities or birthday presents accordingly.

"We say yes to pre-loved… and no to brand-new everything."

A lot of parents brought up the pressure kids feel to have the "cool" lunchbox, the on-trend backpack or the exact shoes everyone else has. A dad of two said they counter this with a simple family rule: one or two hero items can be new, everything else is fair game to be pre-loved.

For example, one child chose a new backpack as their "special" item, but happily used a cousin's hand-me-down lunchbox and a second-hand hat from the uniform shop. Another family decided sports shoes are bought new for comfort and support, while casual school shoes can come from Facebook Marketplace or an outlet store.

Parents say framing it as "we're being clever and sustainable/finding items that are looking for their next home" rather than "we can't afford it" helps kids feel part of the decision, not deprived by it. Some even let older kids sell outgrown items online, then use that money to put towards something new they really want.

"I batch the boring jobs to save my sanity and wallet."

One of the more underrated hacks was simply batching the admin. Instead of sporadically buying bits each time she's at the shops, one parent sits down for an hour with everything: school emails, booklists, uniforms, activity invoices and the family calendar.

From there, she writes a single master list (including sizes, deadlines and what can be reused), then decides what to order online and what needs an in-person try-on. If she's using something like the School List Service at Officeworks and shopping through OnePass for certain items, she does it all in one sitting so she's not mentally carrying 17 half-finished jobs into the new term. That way, she can ensure she's securing the best price for all the items rather than spending more that necessary throughout the year.

Another fan of this approach swears by labelling as a separate job, not an afterthought. She orders labels ahead of time, then has one "name everything" night while watching TV. It's dull, but she says it pays for itself the first time a labelled hat or jacket actually makes its way back home.

What are your tips for saving during back-to-school time? Tell us in the comments section below.

Get a $20 OnePass Reward to spend at Officeworks when you join OnePass Annual for $40.

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Featured image: Getty.

Get a $20 OnePass Reward to spend at Officeworks when you join OnePass Annual for $40*.