Yeah! We’re almost done school shopping! And, believe me, it wasn’t easy getting two preteen girls through the experience without losing the house and my mind. My kindergartener was a breeze, thankfully. Here are tips for saving money and sanity when school shopping.

• Set a budget before you leave your house and share it with your children who are old enough to grasp the concept. Knowing that a $39 pair of jeans would take 1/5 of her budget kept my 12-year-old looking. She found great jeans at Rue 21 for $19 and the deal was buy one and get 50% off of the second pair. That means two pairs for about $30. Not bad.

• Steer your kids toward basics. Jeans over those cute retro-flowered pants. The basics can be worn over and over but those flowered pants will be worn five times and out of style by the time a younger sibling grows into them. Learn from my mistakes. Anyone want a pair of flowered pants?

• Take one child shopping at a time. I get confused when my kids team up and need feedback and attention. I end up spending more than necessary and regretting some purchases. In addition, my 10-year-old can find her own style rather than mimicking her hip, older sister. Besides, it’s good for kids to have some individual Mom time.

• Keep all receipts. You need to make this a habit or the receipts will get misplaced (again, learn from my mistakes). Then you end up getting .99 back for some shirt because it has, of course, gone on clearance since you paid $12 for it. I have a big crock that I shove all receipts into immediately upon arriving home. Even stuff like dog food receipts that I can’t imagine needing again. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to dig through that jar. Plus, very helpful at tax time.

• Allow relatives to help, if they offer. Some of my lucky friends have family traditions that help out their family budgets. One grandmother takes the kids boot and coat shopping each year. Another takes the kids for all of their school supplies, which is another big fall expense. I know of one aunt who plays Auntie Mame for the day and spoils her two nieces at Limited Too.

• Use coupons! I have a coupon file in my filing cabinet that I shove all coupons into that come in the mail. Use your store credit cards occasionally to make sure you receive them. Also, check online coupon sites and print out any coupons you may want. If the store asks for an e-mail address, give them one so they can e-mail coupons to you. I have a hotmail address just for this purpose. Lastly, check at the management office before you begin shopping. I did that last week at my mall and by showing my AAA card, I received (among other coupons) a $10 off any $30 purchase at Aeropostale. I did mention I had two preteen daughters, right?

• Pass clothing down. Communicate to your child that this is a lucky way to get clothes and they’ll totally buy into it, at least for a good number of years. We keep all outgrown clothes and shoes in plastic bins in our basement. We go to the “basement store” for new clothing for my five-year-old. She excitedly (and proudly, I might add) told her daddy last week that we’d gone to the basement store to shop and she was now ready for Kindergarten.

I did take my youngest daughter shopping this year so she could get some Mommy time, too. We shopped for new underwear! It was so exciting! There were so many choices! She finally decided on Pooh Bear, and upon arriving home she proceeded to model all six pairs for the entire family. It was one of those moments when I looked at her and just marveled at what an adorable, funny, sweet child she is and that by the grace of God, she’s mine.

So lucky. So lucky. So lucky.

-Kay