Back to School 2010: Tips for Saving Money When You Do Back to School Shopping

The calendar may start on the first of January, but for families with school-aged children the real ‘New Year’ is the day your kids head back to school. To your kids, shopping for new clothes, gear, and school supplies to celebrate the ‘New Year’ may be the only good thing about going back to school. Here are 12 great ideas for back to school shopping.

Make A List in Advance



You’d better to make a list of necessary clothing and school supplies in advance, so you don't forget anything and don't feel compelled to buy extras. Before making the list, you can check with parents at your school who have older kids. They might have good advice about what is required in your child's grade.

Take Inventory



Sort through what your children have and what they still need. Try on last year's clothes before going shopping to see what still fits and what needs to be trashed. But don't go overboard when getting rid of clothes. Many items, especially classic pieces in good condition, can be repurposed or passed down to younger siblings.

Set A Reasonable Budget And Get Your Kids Involved



Set a budget that is achievable and stick to it. Extras will probably never get used and just leave your pockets empty. Sit down with your child and go over your shopping list together. Get kids involved in budgeting so they understand how much things cost. You'll be teaching her/him how to get organized, a skill that applies to more than shopping.
What’s more, get your kids into the recycling habit. Now that environmentally friendly living is a hot topic, it's easier than it used to be to convince trend-savvy kids that reusing an item is cooler than buying a new one.

Find Deals Online



To avoid the chaos at the malls and save money on school supplies and clothes, you can search for online coupons, free shipping offers and stores with ‘buy one, get one free’ incentives. If you must leave the house, try to consolidate your shopping to one destination so you don't waste time and gas driving in circles.

Buy Bright



Lost school supplies may be a given, but gear that's hard to miss can stave off the inevitable. Pack all their pencils, erasers, and other goodies into a bright backpack or pencil pouch to keep them from disappearing.

Shop Tax Free



States with sales tax holidays save you money on everything from paper to computers. Each state sets its own rules on which products are eligible and spending limits per item.
Save more money during sales tax holidays with a little prep time. Check neighboring states with tax free days, rules on coupon use and stores with the big ticket items on sale to map out your shopping strategy before the frenzied crowd of parents hits the mall.

Buy Basics In Bulk



You know you'll need paper, pencils, glue sticks and notebooks. Dollar stores, warehouse stores and even eBay are sources for buying these and other basics in bulk. You and a group of other parents might be able to negotiate a group discount from an office supply store.

Shop All Year



Keep an eye on school supplies all year to make the most of deep discounts. You know your kids will always need pencils, paper and staples for school. A quick glance at the sales papers or even the impulse buy when you spot a great bargain will help you stay ahead.

Take Advantage of Layaway



Using layaway makes you a savvy shopper for a couple of reasons.
First, you can pay on school supplies and clothing slowly over time instead of having to come up with a lump sum all at once. This saves you money in the long run if you tend to carry a balance on your credit card.
The second reason layaway can be a money-saver is through tax free holidays. Some states allow layaways to be exempt from tax. Items you put in layaway before the tax holiday could be free from tax if you pay them off during the tax free period.

Stockpile Seasons Ahead



Both retail stores and outlets need to move merchandise fast as one season comes to a close and another is about to begin. By thinking ahead, you can walk away with clothes for a few dollars.
Watch for sales and buy the size your child will be next year. Stockpiling clothes you've bought ahead of time will really maximize your savings.

Use Cash Back Incentives



Using credit cards with cash back incentives gives you money back on every purchase. You must use these types of cards wisely.

Throw a Back-to-School Swap Party



Raid your closets for last year's back-to-school supplies and clothes your children can't wear anymore. Invite friends and neighbors over for a back-to-school swap party. The pencil box your child wanted last fall may still look brand new. He may not want it anymore but your neighbor's child does. Even pocket folders with slightly worn edges can be someone else's treasure. A swap party gives you the chance to recycle school supplies and clothes just sitting around your house while also keeping your money in your purse.

Convert School PowerPoint Slideshow to DVD/Video

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Convert school PowerPoint slideshow to video for distritubing to students.

Close Your Cool Presentation with Handouts

A cool presentation often comes with a boom beginning. Yet it can never be called cool given to a poor closing. Clever presenters always manage to extend the effect of their presentation far beyond the podium. Generally, they would close the presentation by leaving a copy as handout to the audience for future use. To the contrary, some speakers seldom give the listeners any copy of their presentation. They may be too careless to consider it, or simply think it a waste of effort to prepare these duplicates.

Don’t handouts of presentation make any sense? Definitely, it means much to both the presenter and the audience. As far as I know, handouts are helpful to give your audience a thorough idea of your presentation. Because you can’t count on them to remember all that you have presented. Or some audiences may be occasional absent of mind when you are speaking. Or some who are late or temporarily out may not stay as long as your entire presentation. Your considerate handouts therefore must be a helpful hand for the audience to review and reuse.

Then, how to make a handout of your presentation? There are two different mediums that are frequently used. One is traditional paper. Summarize the text part on a piece of plain paper, and print, and distribute to every attendant. Use the medium of paper handouts when you are presenting to a small group, or on a casual occasion. The other one is DVD copies. DVD handouts are the beloved of this digital world. Burn all your presentation stuff onto a DVD disc with a PowerPoint to DVD converter, take a stack of DVD copies that clone every subtlety of your PowerPoint original, and give out those copies around once your presentation is over. The DVD handouts are superior to paper ones in that the former reflect utterly faithful and safe to your source presentation, and appeal more to audience of a formal lecture or meeting by showing your respect.

While preparing a handout of your presentation, you’d better keep these tips in mind:
1. Brief paper handouts. It’s annoying for your audience to take a thick pile of papers. So try to summarize the essence of your presentation in one or two pages. Simplicity is the soul of paper handouts.
2. Create neat DVD copies. The DVD copies should be a real mirror of your marvelous presentation. Pick a reliable conversion tool like Moyea PPT to DVD Burner to take the task. Delicacy and accuracy constitute the key value of DVD handouts.

Note: When you distribute paper handouts, don’t do this at the very beginning of your presentation. Otherwise, the audience will lose interest to head on with you as they already know what are going to happen.

Whatever a paper handout or a DVD copy, it supplements your presentation greatly. With the former, you won’t miss out on any crucial point because even if you forget it on the midway, you still have it in the handout. The latter is fine for a sales presentation or business review. Close your presentation with DVD handouts, and get closer to your audience.

12 Tips for Delivering a Knockout Business Presentation

By Wendy Russell

The first step is completed. Your wonderful presentation is created and ready for prime time. Now is your chance to shine when you deliver it to an audience. Here are tips to make this presentation a successful venture.

1. Know your material:
Knowing your material thoroughly, will help you decide what information is essential to your presentation and what can be left out. It will help your presentation to flow naturally, allowing you to adjust to unexpected questions or events, and it will help you feel more comfortable when speaking in front of an audience.

2. Don’t Memorize:
This is, after all, a presentation, not a recital. Every presentation needs two major components -- life and energy. Recite from memory and your presentation will be sadly lacking both of these factors. Not only will you lose your audience, but you will be hard pressed to adapt to unexpected events that may throw you off your mental script.

3. Rehearse Your Presentation:
Rehearse your presentation out loud, accompanied by the slide show. If possible, get someone to listen while you rehearse. Have the person sit at the back of the room so you can practice speaking loudly and clearly. Ask your listener for honest feedback about your presentation skills. Make changes where necessary and run through the whole show again. Keep repeating until you feel comfortable with the process.

4. Pace Yourself:
As part of your practice, learn to pace your presentation. Generally, you should spend about one minute per slide. If there are time constraints, make sure that the presentation will finish on time. During your delivery, be ready to adjust your pace in case you need to clarify information for your audience or answer questions.

5. Know the Room:
Be familiar with the place in which you will speak. Arrive ahead of time, walk around the speaking area, and sit in the seats. Seeing the setup from your audience’s perspective will help you decide where to stand, what direction to face, and how loudly you will need to speak.

6. Know the Equipment:
If you are using a microphone, make sure it works. The same goes for the projector. If it’s your projector, carry a spare bulb. Also, check to see if the projector is bright enough to overpower the room’s lighting. If not, find out how to dim the lights.

7. Copy Your Presentation to the Computer’s Hard Drive:
Whenever possible, run your presentation from the hard disk rather than a CD. Running the show from a CD may slow your presentation.

8. Use a Remote Control:
Don’t hide at the back of the room with the projector. Get up front where your audience can see and hear you. Also, just because you have a remote, don’t wander around the room -- it will only distract your audience. Remember you are the focal point of the presentation.

9. Avoid Using a Laser Pointer:
Often the projected light dot on a laser pointer is too small to be seen effectively. If you are at all nervous, the dot may be hard to hold still in your shaking hands. Besides, a slide should hold only key phrases. You are there to fill in the details for your audience. If there is vital information in the form of a chart or graph that you feel your audience must have, put it in a handout and refer to it rather than having to point out specific details of a slide to your audience.

10. Do Not Speak to Your Slides:
Many presenters watch their presentation rather than their audience. You made the slides, so you already know what is on them. Turn to your audience and make eye contact with them. It will make it easier for them to hear what you are saying, and they will find your presentation much more interesting.

11. Learn To Navigate Your Presentation:
Audiences often ask to see the previous screen again. Practice moving forward and backward through your slides. With PowerPoint you can also move through your presentation non-sequentially. Learn how to jump ahead or back to a certain slide, without having to go through the entire presentation.

12. Have a Backup Plan:
What if your projector dies? Or the computer crashes? Or the CD drive doesn’t work? Or your CD gets stepped on? For all these problems, carry a backup of your presentation on a DVD disc or email yourself a video copy. Get your presentation converted in a second, just with Moyea PPT to DVD Burner!