List of school supplies featured and prices:
SanDisk - 2GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive
Price: $13.99
>> Purchase
Belkin - Mini Surge Protector with USB Charger
Price: $22.09
>> Purchase
Insignia® - USB Sound Bar for Most Laptops
Price: $34.99
>> Purchase
Insignia® - AM/FM Dual Alarm Clock Radio for Apple® iPod® and Most MP3 Players - Black
Price: $49.99
>> Purchase
HP - Mini Netbook with Intel® Atom™ Processor N270 - Black
Price: $329.99
>> Purchase
In Addition to Best Buy, all of these products can be found at Fry's Electronics, Target, Walmart, Costco and www.amazon.com.
What you can expect to pay per student on school supplies this year
According to a recent survey by the National Retail Federation (NRF): Spending on CE and computer equipment is expected to increase 11 percent this year.
The average family plans to spend $167.84 on back-to-school CE supplies, compared to $151.61 last year.
Spending on CE and computer-related products is expected to increase nearly 26 percent for college students, to $266.08 per family from $211.89 last year.
Spending in most other back-to-school categories is expected to decline, with total family expenditures falling 7.7 percent to $548.72 per household with students in grades kindergarten through 12.
Total spending on back to school is expected to fall nearly 13 percent to $17.4 billion this year.
Ways to help stretch those dollars:
- You can usually same some major cash if you look for last year's version/model
- Look for special back-to-school bundles
- Take advantage of rebate offers
- Clip some coupons - available in most retail circulars
- If you're heading to college, take advantage for free Web services, such as Skype and Hulu to save on phone and cable bills
