Always wait to buy non-essentials to score BIG deals says one shopping guru

Back to school is closer than you think. If youre a parent, youre looking at about $280 in supplies this year. And if youve got several kids, youd probably love to know about any sort of workaround that might save you a few bucks.

A new survey says you wouldnt be alone. In fact, three out of every four parents would try any workaround to save money on school supplies with some even dumpster diving and stealing from work.

Nearly half (49%) of the study respondents said that they purchase school supplies whenever they go on sale, not just the weeks leading up to school reopenings. There are also manyparents who shop at multiple stores for the best deal (45%).

Hoarding, buying in bulk with others, and other ideas

Commissioned by The Krazy Coupon Lady and conducted by Talker Research, many others said theyd also try to save money by wilder means.

They would try stockpiling school supplies throughout the year (37%), shopping exclusively when theres a deal (34%), extreme couponing (22%), looking for half-used items around the home (16%), joining buy-nothing groups on social media (10%), trading supplies with other parents (9%) and dumpster diving (5%). And, wouldnt you know it, 12% admitted to stealing supplies from their workplace to give to their kids as school supplies.

Over half (57%) would be willing to save money by group buying school supplies with other parents purchasing certain items in bulk and then splitting the cost with everyone. The most likely supplies to be group-bought include pens and pencils (67%), art supplies (59%), notebooks (58%), folders (54%), glue and tape (52%) and desk accessories (47%).

There are a number of places online where you can buy in bulk, too. For example, Amazon has a separate Amazon Private Brands section where you could buy a case of 150 No. 2 pencils for 11 cents each or a 30-pack of glue sticks for a quarter each.

The reality is, parents are worried about what back-to-school shopping costs look like this year, said Joanie Demer, co-founder and co-CEO at The Krazy Coupon Lady. Were seeing parents embracing getting creative with their budgeting. Its clear that they want to save as much as possible when they prepare their kids for school and that shouldnt be a chore for them to do.

Kids stayhome!

Its typical that kids want to tag along with mom or dad when shopping for school supplies, but 64% believe they spend more money when their kids are present, spending an average $101 more.

And dont think that handing $20 to Junior to buy his own school supplies is a good idea, either. Many believe their kids would end up using it on snacks (42%), candy (38%) and games (33%) over actual school supplies (32%).

And "high status" supplies will cost even more.The studyfound kids are more concerned about their school supplies being name-brand than parents (41%, compared to 36%). And nearly three in five (59%) feel like their kids pester them to buy a certain school supply item name brand on occasion Under Armour backpacks and clothing, Stanley tumblers and bottles, Nike and Jordan shoes, Mead notebooks and Crayola crayons.

Another shopping wizard adds more ideas to the mix

ConsumerAffairs also reached out to Kyle James, who runs the shopping hack site RatherBeShopping.com. We asked him for what tricks he uses when it comes to back-to-school shopping and he shared three of his best strategies.

Shop your closet & kids backpack first: Before you go buying a single back-to-school item, check out what you already got. My threekids typically have a backpack thrown in the corner chalked full of pencils, markers, pairs of scissors, rulers, etc., James said.

All stuff you wont need to replenish this fall. Also, be sure to take a look at what might be stored in the closet. There is a great chance you already have a decent amount of school supplies on hand.

Never buy everything from a single store: James says that the absolute worst, and most expensive way to do your back to school shopping is to go into one store and knock it all out at once. Why, you say? Its because while you might find a few items on sale, youre going to have to pay full price for a lot of other stuff.

Instead, what you want to do is start watching the sales flyers right now and when you see great deals on items on your kids back-to-school list, go in and make the purchase, he advised.

Always wait to buy non-essentials to score BIG deals: Id classify non-essentials as items your child wont need during the first few weeks of school, James said. Think items like calculators, Kleenex, protractors, and science project supplies.

If you can wait to buy these items, youll be able to take advantage of back-to-school clearance deals that happen every September. Im talking like 75% to 90% off items that retailers desperately need to clear out to make room for Halloween candy and costumes.

One more idea take along Grams and Gramps

James recently did a separate piece on how to save money at Kohls and he might not have realized that he stumbled across a way for parents, who are also Kohls customers, to save even more money: take their parents with them.

Why? Because if you're a senior citizen, you can enjoy an additional discount on every purchase on Wednesdays at Kohls. Let grandma or grandpas senior citizen status help shave 15% more off your school supply list. All you have to do is bring your ID to verify your eligibility.

Not only at Kohls, but if youve got a budding artist in your family and will need art supplies, Michaels also has a 15% senior discount.