Don't Go Broke Going Back to School

When I was a school/college kid, saving money on school supplies meant covering my books with paper bags. Real talk. It meant ripping the pages out of barely-used notebooks from last year and reusing them. Oh yeah, and it meant no Trapper Keeper, the holy grail of school supplies (and the most expensive item on the supplies list). A new back-to-school wardrobe? Fuggetaboutit. If it fit from last year, I was good.

Today, back-to-school sales are starting early...way early. Blame it on soaring gas prices or plummeting stock, but these deals seem even more significant than years past and much too good to pass on (even if you’ve been saving paper bags for months!). Lucky kids.

Here are my favorite sales going on right now:

- Now through September 8, OfficeMax (officemax.com) will offer 1-cent products and special penny bundles of key school supplies.

- Walmart (walmart.com) is currently offering school uniforms for as low as $6!

- Students who by a MAC computer from Apple (apple.com) before Sept. 15 will get a free iPod Touch or iPod Nano.

- Spend just $50 on school supplies and uniforms at Target.com and get free shipping.

- Get a Dell (dell.com) laptop with free 2-day shipping for as little as $499!