Just as you are settling into the laid-back summer routine, retailers start rolling out their back-to-school displays. The cost of school supplies can add up, but your budget won’t need to suffer this year. Try these seven hacks to help you save money!

1. Shop the dollar store. Before hitting the big-box stores and their big-box prices, visit your local dollar store for school supplies that will only cost a dollar or less. Items like pencils, paper, folders, crayons, and tissues are all great Dollar Store finds!

2. Shop on Sunday and Monday. Weekly sales on school supplies will go live at the beginning of the week – and the best items will be the first to go. Make sure to shop early in the week to find the best deals.

3. Utilize in-store price matching. Many stores you may be visiting this season offer in-store price matching or will even match/beat a competitor’s lower price! All you have to do is prove that the product you are interested in buying is cheaper elsewhere, and in most cases, the retailer will adjust their price so that it matches or beats their competitor’s offer.

4. Find the best deals. Don’t start your shopping until you check out Benefits Plus®! Once you’ve upgraded your basic checking account to a Benefits Plus^® checking with SeaComm, you can shop Office Depot and Office Max for low prices (in store and online,) and save up to 50% on school supplies, including paper, binders, calculators, correction tape, pens, markers and more! With a Benefits Plus^® membership, you will also save up to 15% on retail gift cards and enjoy up to 10% off eGift cards! Click here to learn more or visit your local SeaComm branch location to enroll.

For complete information, terms, conditions and exclusions please visit www.benefits-plus.org or call 866-329-7587.

5. Follow stores on social media. Make sure to follow your favorite stores on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to stay in the know about special sales events, plus coupon links to help you save more.

6. Compare prices. When shopping for big-ticket items, like laptops, don’t buy until you have done a thorough comparison-shop.

7. Time your shopping. For the best savings, learn the markdown cycle of your favorite stores, especially clothing shops. For example, Target offers discounts on children’s clothing Sunday through Monday, TJ Maxx unveils their markdowns Monday mornings, and you will want to shop at Kohl’s between 3 p.m. on Friday and 1 p.m. on Saturday to take advantage of their “Power Hour” deals.

If you need help covering the costs of back-to-school shopping, look no further than SeaComm! As a SeaComm member, you might already be pre-approved for a personal loan or SeaComm Visa® Platinum through LoanEngine™, a loan pre-approval program that allows you to view and accept loan offers without having to come into a branch or fill out an application. If you qualify for a pre-approved offer, you will be presented with it through our SeaComm Mobile app or NetTeller™ in the “My Offers” tab, via email, and/or a letter through the mail.

Click here to login to your NetTeller™ to view your current offers. If you do not have any offers at this time, be sure to check back every 60 days.