Shopping for back-to-school clothes and supplies may be the highlight of your kids' new school year, but it may play havoc with your wallet. Instead of stressing about the upcoming financial splurge, just channel your inner bargain-hunter to keep as many of those presidents in your pocketbook as you can.

 Hit the Sales

 All the major office supply and department stores compete for your business during back-to-school season. Take advantage of incredible deals on loss-leaders like binder paper and pencils when they go on sale; just be sure to resist all the other new-fangled supply goodies you might find.

 Clear It Out

 Patience is a virtue and a money-saver when it comes to school supplies. If you’re able to wait just a couple of weeks after school starts, all those amazing new supplies will be placed on clearance. So before school starts, buy the bare necessities and then hit the clearance racks a couple of weeks later to stock up on anything you might have missed.

 Recycle

 Just because that spiral notebook from last year has a few used pages in it doesn't mean you have to throw it out. Recycle that baby by ripping out used pages, cleaning off the cover, and it will be as good as new.

 Back to the Future

 You may think those palazzo pants from the 90s are passé, but they might be just the thing to make your teenage daughter giddy with glee. Retro is "fresh," so head to your storage unit and break out your old duds for your teenagers to rummage through. If your old threads are too groovy, bring your kids to a consignment store and see if they find anything retro there that matches their style.

 Swap Supplies

Go through your storage unit and home office supplies and donate your extra goodies to a super budget-friendly back-to-school swap. When you add supplies to the collection, you can take what you need from the accumulated stash. Few things in life are as satisfying as free stuff, and back-to-school swaps fit the bill.

 Get creative; have fun; and make it a game to see how much you and your kids can save on back-to-school items.