How to Trim Your Family's Back-to-School Expenses

"If your store doesn't have it either, I'm headed for Wal-Mart."

This mom, with three bored kids in tow, was clearly fed up. We've all been there. Whatever it was one of her kids needed, she couldn't find it. She was exhausted from looking and no longer cared what it cost. Most of the time we do care, however.

Back-to-schools bills always seem to shock us, no matter the dollar figure we had in mind. Here are 10 tips to help your kids head back to school without draining the family budget. Some of them apply to adults hitting the books as well.

Check the web site for each of your schools. These days, it's pretty common for major retailers to set up racks of supply lists each local teacher specifies. Problems arise when the teacher has changed the list over the summer. To avoid buying the wrong stuff, check the school's web site for a current list before you pick up your car keys.

Buy clothes when they're cheapest. Clothing prices start to fall halfway through the season. We've been seeing summer markdowns since late June. Unless you live in the Arctic, your kids need only clothing for hot weather until the end of September of perhaps even mid-October. Buy only what they need to get through those months and encourage them to wear their favorite summer outfits to school a few times. By the time mid-September arrives, fall and winter clothing will be marked down. Also consider filling in a back-to-school wardrobe with finds from consignment shops and online auctions. My husband insists I have a genetic chip that guides me directly to new items, original tags still in place.

Take each child shopping separately. With gas prices still so high, it only makes sense to minimize shopping trips. Concentrate on buying basics when you take all your kids with you: notebook paper, khakis, staples, socks, and pencils, for example. Then allow each child to go shopping alone with you to accessorize clothing or pick out the must-have purple lunchbox. Kids tend to take care of items they picked out themselves.