Savvy back to school shoppers share their tips

Consumers already have been responding to sales, and budgeting has become standard, but the intensity of bargain hunting varies from family to family.

Shopper: Rita Wooton, 48, of Ridge

Budget: $1,200 for an entire year of supplies and clothes for her son. She buys for the whole school year because she believes the prices are better now.

"Everybody who is middle class or a little higher up, you're going to have to do comparison shopping if you want to be able to go on the good trips or have the meal out," Wooton said.

Her bargain-hunting skills have become even more necessary because she recently lost her job as a habilitation specialist. She's been pricing items for her 15-year-old son, Charles Hardy, since June. Wooton, who has an encyclopedic knowledge of back-to-school promotions, advises consumers to shop in many different stores to get the best price on every item. She admits she even did a little haggling and was able to lower the price of a pair of Clarke sandals in Macy's by 25 percent.

Shopper: Subiena Jamnaprasad, 31, Jamaica, Queens

Budget: $100-$200 for her two daughters' school supplies, book bags and lunchboxes. This year she spent $700 on school uniforms for both girls, but because she buys them in larger sizes, the uniforms should last two years.

For those who have not been financially affected, the recession still has made many consumers revamp their priorities.

Jamnaprasad, 31, a registered nurse, took her two daughters to Roosevelt Field on a recent weekend, lured by an e-mail alert of sales from Justice. "We're only going to the sale items," said Jamnaprasad, noting that she's made her girls, 6 and 8, well aware of her shopping strategy.

Shopper: Evelyn Rodriguez, 40, Manhattan

Budget: She doesn't have a budget for her three school-age children, but she said she is targeting sale items and is being practical about her shopping.

Rodriguez, whose husband plays for the Long Island Ducks, said she primarily shops for items on sale. She frequently visits the area's malls while her husband is at practice and said she has changed her shopping practices since the recession began a few years ago.

"I got better with the recession because I've got the new one," she said, shopping with her infant, Madison, 7 months, and her older daughter, Kayla, 9, in Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove. "I used to be really bad. Whatever I loved, I would get it, but my husband was like, 'Stop. You've got to learn. We're in a recession."

Shopper: Gary and Melissa Welch, Patchogue

Budget: About $300 for school clothes for three children. About $40 to $45 each for paper, pencils and pens.

The couple, both physical therapists, say they have been fortunate to work in the health care field, which has proved to be one of the most resilient job sectors during the recession. As a result, they haven't been affected by the down economy as others have been, they said. Still, both grew up budgeting and have continued to do so with their three children. The Welches will spend about the same as they did last year. This month, the family came out to the Smith Haven Mall to celebrate the birthday of their daughter, Kaitlyn, 11, and to shop for her. When it comes to back-to-school shopping, however, they are considering also going to lower-priced alternatives, Gary Welch, 47, said.

"Once I went to some of the stores, the first thing I thought of was, 'The prices are so high that my next move is I am heading to Target and Kohl's, and getting out of the mall,' " Welch said. "When there are jeans for $49 for my 11-year-old girl, I think that's too much."