How to do all your back-to-school shopping for under $100, in one stop.

January can sneak up on you in more ways than one. The lighter traffic lulls you into a false sense of calm, the lack of extracurricular activities means you mistakenly think ‘me-time’ is a viable part of your daily routine… and then bam: the bills hit.

The bills! Car rego, anyone? Oh and school fees, big gas and electricity bills and every other untimely cost seems to present itself to you all at once, just when you thought you could cruise through life in holiday mode. And all of this after the frantic pace and mounting costs of December.

Then, just to top it off, the back-to-school list arrives.

The items on the brightly coloured paper seem innocent enough, until you get out your (overpriced) calculator, and boy, do they add up quickly.

It doesn’t have to be that way. What if we told you, you could knock off all your back-to-school items in one place, for under $100? We kid you not. At BIG W you can do just that. Here’s the back-to-school list I managed to tick off.

School Uniforms.

Most schools prefer to use their own suppliers for a lot of your uniform requirements, but there really is no need to pay their prices for the basic items you can get yourself.

Stock up on great staples at BIG W such as these two-pack Emerson polos at $4 – that’s a $6 saving – and shorts and skorts for $8 each with a great saving of $4.

School shoes.

School shoes can also be a huge cost at the start of the year especially when the kids’ feet just Won’t. Stop. Growing. But they don’t have to be. BIG W has Emerson Dual-Fit Leather school shoes for $15 and Grosby Leather School Shoes from $29 – you read that right, leather!

School socks and underwear.

“Mum, I can’t find any socks/undiiiiies!”

Recognise that early morning wail? Well, this year, be prepared by stocking up on an allsorts 10-pack of briefs for boys or girls for only $8, and a Rio girls or boys five-pack of socks, also for $8.

School backpacks.

Many schools – especially primary schools – don’t mind if you buy your own generic school bag.

Try the Little America Backpacks for $20 at BIG W. Considering what our kids put them through, you really cannot beat that for value.

School lunch boxes and bottles.

It’s great to start the New Year with a fresh lunch box and water bottle. BIG W has really cool light up cold boxes for $16, and a 4-pack of stealth bottles, 330ml, for $12 a pack. That way, you have back up when the inevitable happens – they come home without their drink bottle and an incredible story to go with it.

School stationery.

You won’t find ANYTHING cheaper than this A4 48-page exercise book for 75c. Throw in a 10 pack of ballpoint pens for just a $1 and you are slaying those school list prices, one line item at a time. And while that might excite us parents, the kids might be interested in BIG W’s colourful range of pencil cases because it’s all about aesthetics, right?

School tech and home office.

Tech items are becoming more and more common on school lists, but the costs don’t have to skyrocket. BIG W has Lexar 8GB USB sticks for $3, save $6.50, and Casio calculators for less than half price at $13.92.

So don’t think you have to pay over the top prices for everyday items. One stop at BIG W and you can cross off a your entire back-to-school list, with no hassle and heaps of savings to your pocket. You could even get a little something for yourself while you’re there to use in the last of the precious January ‘me time’.

How do you do your back-to-school shopping?