Searching for deals helps control back-to-school costs - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

Parents will spend more money this year to send their children back to school in style and prepared.

A new national retail survey says parents expect to spend an average of $688 for back-to-school items, up 14 percent from last year. But the survey also found more people will be looking for deals online, comparison shopping and browsing earlier and more often.

While the cost of clothes and basic school supplies can add up, several stores have deals available to help you save.

Miranda Fikes can't decide which is more stressful, dealing with her oldest daughter heading to kindergarten or paying for the school supplies to send her to class.

"It's way more expensive than I thought," Fikes said.

The mother of three says she didn't think her daughter would need much for kindergarten.

"Just going down the list, I'm actually thinking of going to a different store right now," she said.

Eyewitness News is trying to help parents out by doing the homework for them.

For example, here's the school list for a first grade student at Clinton Young Elementary School in Perry Township:

• 4 black dry erase markers
• 1 tool box
• 24 #2 pencils
• 4 glue sticks
• 2 boxes of 24 Crayola crayons
• 2 pink erasers
• 1 pair non-pointed scissors
• 2 boxes of tissues
• 1 backpack or book bag
• 1 box Ziploc bags
• 1 bottle of hand sanitizer
• 1 pocket folder

Armed with that list, Eyewitness News headed to our first stop - Target

Finding everything was not as easy as we thought, including the 24-count boxes of Crayola crayons, which were sold out. After some searching and quick scan down the dollar aisle, we headed to the checkout, spending $28.26.

The next stop was Dollar Tree, where we had to improvise, but we were able to find everything we needed for $17.12. That turned out to be the best deal of the trip, though we had to substitute a bag for a backpack.

Walmart came in next at $21.04 for everything on the list, including a backpack for $4.88. The Target trip was third cheapest, followed by Meijer, which was most expensive at $25.28, but their dry erase markers were out of stock, but at five dollars, would have pushed the total over $30.

Miranda Fikes says she's learned a valuable lesson.

"Next year, I will be planning the day school lets out," she said.

The most expensive item on the list was the backpacks, but if you're willing to think outside the box, you can find surprising deals. Menards had backpacks for just under $5.

The best way to find a deal is to watch for sales, which could drop the prices at any given store by several dollars.

Eyewitness News is donating the supplies from our shopping trip, to make sure they're put to good use this school year.