“I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Kohl’s. I received a promotional item as a thank you for participating.”
July is officially back-to-school month! Before you know it kids everywhere will be hanging up their summer swimsuits for fall uniforms, backpacks, and cool athletic shoes!
Living on a limited budget with TWO school aged children (5 and 16) attending school this year, means getting a jump on back-to-school shopping and scooping up the best deals. Kohl’s department store makes scoring hot back-to-school essentials easy with their great low prices, clearance racks, and extra discounts. What is really awesome about Kohl’s is even though we are shopping for an elementary school student and highschooler who clearly need different items, our family can find everything we need for both kids under one roof! Basically, Kohl’s is a one stop shop for back-to-school supplies for children of all age ranges!
Shopping Strategy
Being savvy avid Kohl’s shoppers for years, my hubby and I have developed a strategy for receiving the most bang for the buck. It’s a simple divide and conquer approach. The first step is we plan our back-to-school shopping trips around the Kohl’s Cash events and apply the extra discount promotions available. For every $50 in purchases Kohl’s gives their customers a $10 coupon to use on future transactions, which can be used online or in-store.
Next we split up hitting the clearance racks to see if we can find our kid’s favorite brands. He searches for my son’s clothing and I look for my daughter’s. This way we can cover more area faster and scoop up the best finds quickly. Popular brand jeans are a great find, as well as marked down shoes. We tend to save the most on those items at Kohl’s and are the things we seek out first. We discovered if we go shopping during the really early hours or within an hour of the store closing we have a tendency to attain the greatest items. It just seems to work out best for us at those times.
After searching the clearance items we allow my daughter to choose one item from the store she wants the utmost that is under $50, such as a sweater, sweatshirt, dress, jacket or accessory. Because we know we are saving so much on the other items and getting Kohl’s Cash back we are able to afford something small that might not be on sale at the moment.
The final action is before cashing out we check to see if there are any additional coupons being offered. Many times I will ask the cashier and they will have a Buy More Save More pass (usually 15% or 20% off depending upon how much you spend) ready to scan at the register. Additionally, I will search online using my smartphone to see if I can find any coupons from the emails I receive which I may have forgotten to print off. The cool thing is the cashier is able to scan the bar code straight off my smartphone to be applied to my order!
It is not uncommon for us to spend under $100 and save greater than $200 in a single Kohl’s shopping trip. I love walking out the doors feeling awesome about getting such great products and saving so much money in the process!
Favorite Brands
As with any teen who wants to walk the school halls wearing the hottest trends, my 16 year old has specific brands she likes above others. At Kohl’s she shops for Levi’s, Candies, Angels, Unionbay, and Hydraulic jeans. Favorite brands of footwear include Simply Vera Vera Wang, Muk Luks, Converse, and Rock & Republic. For shirts she likes Jennifer Lopez, Mudd, IZ Byer California, and Rewind just to name a few.
My son might be only five, but he has his favorite brands too! Kohl’s has tons of great clothes for kids his age that are quality made and affordable! He loves Tony Hawk, Nintendo, Levi’s, Chaps, and Helix. However, I always pick up several Jumping Beans outfits, because the items are extremely low priced and add fun to his wardrobe. The Jumping Beans tees and comfortable pants are a staple in our home!
Backpacks
When most people think of Kohl’s, backpacks don’t automatically spring into their minds. Yet, the large department store offers a wide selection of fashionable backpacks for kids of all ages at fantastic prices! For instance, back-to-school shoppers can find popular character backpacks like Skylanders Giants, LEGO, Star Wars, Hello Kitty, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Disney suitable for elementary students. Personally, I think the Fuzzy Monster backpacks are absolutely adorable and would be a top pick for my son.
Kohl’s also has sophisticated backpacks for the older students like my daughter, such as the JanSport Big Student Backpack available in a wide range of colors. There are several Wildkin Ball, Adidas, and Nike bags perfect for the athletic highschooler as well.
Keep Watching
Now through July 28th everyone gets $10 Kohl’s Cash for every $50 spent in store and online, so my family is planning our back-to-school shopping trip! Keep watching to see how we put our shopping strategy in action! I’ll be reporting back with all the great items we purchased and how much money we were able to save on a $100 budget!
Do you shop at Kohl’s?
Do you do your back-to-school shopping at Kohl’s? I would be interested in hearing what your family’s favorite brands are and how much you save on average by shopping at the large department store! Or perhaps you have your own savvy mom shopping strategy you would like to share?
I think it’s neat that the cashier is able to scan the bar code straight off my smartphone to be applied to my order. I don’t have a smart phone, but I do like to shop at Kohls.
I love going to there when they have clearance ,,I got my Christmas shopping done this past Feb,,they had their name brand gloves for men an women marked down 90% from 45 a pair to 4.50 a pair,,did I rack up good there,,,I think I bought over 10 pair ,,an they store really well in a tub
Kohl’s is the best! I always check out the clearance racks first; I’ve found some pretty great stuff there.
I shop at Kohls often and scanning their sales ads are something I do every Sunday. My daughter needs some new school clothes and shoes so we plan on shopping there in the couple of weeks.
I love Kohls! It’s my favorite place to shop for kids, and my husband loves to shop there too! Thanks for the review I will be going there to shop for back to school this year!