Back To School

Edition
 Debt Free Shopper: Back to School Edition

Welcome to The Debt Free Shopper

This issue focuses on Back To School for students Kindergarten through 12th
grade. You will find all things needed for students and parents to be prepared
for that first day back to class. Each Debt Free Shopper includes articles to help
you live and shop debt free with eBillme. Take a look through our magazine
and let us know if you have any questions or comments, info@shopdebtfree.com.

Deals of the Day!

Monday
Today’s Deal of the Day is perfect for
School lunches.
This NY Munchlers Insulated Lunch
Bag, from Wrapables.com, is made
from polypropylene washable plastic,
and is lead and food safe. Choose
from 4 different styles – all at a LOW,
LOW price.
durable table non-marking outsole (a must-have
will survive for the school gym). Shoebuy has
homework time, the best prices on Back To School
crafts, and many shoes, so don’t
snacks and spills. delay – order
now, while
quantities last.
Wednesday
Our Wednesday Deal is an absolute
deal. Capture the first day of school
Friday
with this Nikon COOLPIX L20 10.0 Learn and Play with this Deal of
Megapixel Digital Camera, from the Day - Learning Resources, ABC
TigerDirect.com. This camera features Electronic Learning Chalkboard,
a 3.6x Optical Zoom, NIKKOR Glass from CSN Stores. This interactive
Lens and optics which provides chalkboard features more than
exceptional 30 touch sensors for learning the
pictures and alphabet and letter sounds, numbers,
gets you colors, shapes and simple spelling,
close to the music, and more. Start back to school
action. learning now and save today.

Tuesday
Treat you kids and your wallet. This
Guidecraft Natural Nordic Kids Table
and Chair Set, from Mercantila, is
perfect for the younger crowd. Made
of wood, with a natural finish, this
Thursday
Thursday’s Deal of the Day is a Classic.
This adidas classic shoe for kids
features full-grain leather, and a

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 Debt Free Shopper: Back to School Edition

eBillme for Teens

eBillme is actually a great service for
teens too. We have a special TeenPay
program to help teach teens to pay
with cash. Just because you don’t have
a credit card that doesn’t mean you
can’t shop online. With eBillme you
can shop online and pay conveniently.
Teens, after finding what you like
online, you can purhase it using the
eBillme payment option, then forward
the eBill to someone else to pay. It’s
simple. Just forward a copy of your
email to anyone who has access to
online banking and ask them to make
the payment. That could be a parent,
grandparent, friend or guardian.
Here’s how it works:
To have someone else pay for your
order, simply forward the eBill we sent
to you by email to the person. They
can pay it just like paying any utility
bill from their online bank account.
If your parent doesn’t have online
banking, he/she could pay your eBill
at any of our 36,000 walk-in locations
including convenience stores, cellular
stores, drug stores and Precash®
locations near you. Find a payment
location near you.
Most bank accounts have access to
online banking, but if your parents
don’t have access to an online bank
account, remember you can forward
your bill to anyone to pay. With over
110 Million Americans with access
to an online bank account, someone
in your family, or one of your friends
should be able to help you out.
We think it’s important for people
to ‘check us out’ and make sure they
are comfortable using eBillme. Having
said that once people do, they quickly
realize how safe and private eBillme
is compared to traditional payment
methods that share personal or
credit related information. You can
use the following description when
explaining eBillme.
eBillme allows people to pay safely
from their online bank without shar-
ing any routing or account numbers
with eBillme or the merchant.
For more information on eBillme
please visit:
1. What is eBillme?
2. eBillme Security
3. eBillme Buyer Protection

1. Generally we recommend that

you talk to the person who will
be paying beforehand about
eBillme. They can check us out at
www.eBillme.com. You can also
provide them with the following
links relating to eBillme security
and buyer protection.

2. Forward the eBill email to the

person paying and add a short
personal message at the begin-
ning of the forwarded eBill email
so there are no surprises.

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 Debt Free Shopper: Back to School Edition

School Supplies
Get ready to open your wallet. The
school supply list seems to be endless,
and whatever you had last year doesn’t
seem to be up to par for this year.

Here are a few tips to help save you

money this school year:

Reduce. Re-use. Recycle.

Check through last year’s pencil case
and craft cupboard, to see if you
can reuse anything from last year.
Scissors, highlighters, rulers, diction-
aries, and even the pencil case, can
be reused. Often extra pencils and
glue sticks are in the house, so look
around, and use what you already
have. If you save on some of the
school supplies, you can splurge a
little on the “must have’s” like shoes,
back packs, and lunch bags.
Smell You Later:
New Lunch Bags and
Back Packs.
Lunch bags and back packs take a
beating every school year, and if you
have young kids, you will likely need
to replace these items. Here are a
few suggestions:
Right size: Find a lunch bag and
back pack that are sized right for your
child – not too big, not too small.
Kindergarten kids don’t need a lunch
bag that holds a hungry man’s dinner
– you’ll be lucky if they eat an apple
and a cheese string.
Right style: There are so many
great back packs available. Help
your child find a style that is sized
right for them: not too heavy, but is
roomy enough to carry their school
books. Look for junior size back packs
for the younger set, and messenger
bags for teenagers. Buy.com has
great selection and prices on hun-
dreds of styles – click here to check
them out.
Best Foot Forward. Shoe
Shopping.
Shoes are another Back to School
essential. Look for brands that are
durable and will last the entire
school year. From Velcro, to laces,
to sneakers, to ballet flats there are
many choices for every budget.
Check out Shoebuy.com for great
pricing and back to school sugges-
tions for kids, youth, and adults.
ShopDebtFree.com,
School Essentials for Less.
For more ideas on Back to School
supplies, visit ShopDebtFree.com.
From shoes, to back packs, to laptops,
and student furniture – the eBillme
Debt Free Mall has all the top items
on your back to school shopping
checklist. Shop here for your Elemen-
tary, High School, or College student
– save time and save money.
- Lesley Purtell

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Debt Free Shopper: Back to School Edition

Back To School Word Search

Algebra Fun Recess

Attendance Graduation Science
Classroom High School Student
Elementary Homework Study
Friends Middle School Test

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 Debt Free Shopper: Back to School Edition
Homework Help
Probably the biggest complaint
students have is over homework
- “They give us too much work”
or “It’s just too hard.” And usually
parents struggle with not being
able to help students. By the time
your child is studying Algebra, it’s
difficult to remember how to do
long division.
Where’s the Help?
So there has to be help out there
somewhere right? There is! You
Back to School Excitement
As the first day of school gets closer
there are typically some expected
nerves in kids. But there’s also a lot
of excitement that students experi-
ence when shopping for school
supplies and planning out the
wardrobe for the fall semester.
Connecting with Friends
The biggest excitement for students
comes with the chance to see friends
again after the long summer break
and family vacations. Parents, one
suggestion is to enroll your child in
an afterschool Fine Arts program or
on a sports team. This way they can
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can easily go online to www.home-
workspot.com. Homework Spot has a
ton of information about any subject
Kindergarten through 12th grade.
So parents you have two options
here. You can sit down at the computer
with your child when you come up
on a problem or question on home-
work that you don’t know and use
Homework Spot to work through it,
or you can use Homework Spot on
your own to refresh your memory
and then sit down to help your
student – they will think you’re the
interact more with their friends than
they are able to inside the classroom.
School Spirit
Students are always excited to show
their school spirit at the fall football
games. Parents, help them out! Let
them invite a group of friends over
one Friday afternoon to make t-shirts
with the mascot on it or “Go Bulldogs”
to show their support and wear to
the game that night. It’s inexpensive,
fun, and the kids will think you’re “so
cool” for letting them have friends over
and helping them with school spirit.
smartest mom or dad out there!
School Supplies for
Parents
You should also think about mak-
ing a very small investment in a
few school supplies for yourself,
like notebooks, pens/pencils, ruler,
and notebook so you’re prepared
for when your child asks for your
help. Take a look at www.buy.com,
they have great deals on back to
school supplies for all ages.
- Charissa Cowart
Cool Sleepovers
If you’re the parent of a girl, then
you can start preparing now to
hear her asking over and over
to have a sleepover. Sleepovers
usually are a hassle for the hosting
parents, but it also puts your mind
at ease since they are all at your
house and not out somewhere
else. Start planning now. Sit down
with your daughter and come up
with five to ten theme ideas for
sleepovers. Then give her certain
times of the year she is allowed
to plan a sleepover. This will help
teach her planning skills, as well
Continued...
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 Debt Free Shopper: Back to School Edition

as consideration in knowing it takes they are more likely going to work

time to plan all nighters. I can bet you
she will LOVE the planning process.
Making Homework FUN?
The one thing your student won’t
be excited about is homework and
tests. But you can help by setting
up games to help them get their
homework done. Or arrange goals
and prizes for goals met with grades.
If your child knows ahead of time
that he/she isn’t getting a Nintendo
Wii for Christmas unless they spend
a certain amount of hours studying
per week, or make an A in Science,
hard for it.
Check out www.csnstores.com for
great deals on desks for studying.
Also, www.shopdebtfree.com has
a ton of back to school items and
even items for sleepovers like a card-
board cutout of Troy Bolton from
High School Musical 2 – your girls
would LOVE you for buying that.
With August upon us, Back to
School is truly just around the
corner. Kindergarten. Elementary.
Middle School. High School.
- Charissa Cowart

Beat the Back To School Jitters

At every school, at every age - Back
To School is top of mind. Some kids
can’t wait to get back to school.
Others are already losing sleep
about it - dreading the big day, the
homework, and more.
Take some time to prepare now, and
beat the Back To School jitters, and
last minute panic.
Here are some great Back
To School tips:
Let’s Talk.
Talk to your kids about school: what
are they looking forward to, what
are they nervous about. Help your
child harness the excitement and
lessen the nerves, by getting a head
start in planning for the first day.
make the calls, as the kids get older,
they’ll feel more comfortable making
their own plans.
If you are new to the school, or looking
to make new friends, head outdoors
in your own neighborhood. Visiting
your school playground, or neighbo-
rhood parks and pools over the
summer is a great way to meet new
families and friends.

Friends. Routines.
Arrange a few play dates. Seeing Kids like routines - they need to
school mates over the summer can know where they are going, when,
help lessen first day fears, by having and how.
recent connections with old friends.
And Parents - don’t be afraid to Continued...

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 Debt Free Shopper: Back to School Edition
Write up a typical school day
schedule with your child:
• What time they get up; what they
have to do in the AM (breakfast,
make their bed, feed the fish, etc..)
• What time they have to leave
the house to catch the bus
• What time school starts, snack
time, lunch time
• When school finishes
• The daycare or after school
program logistics
• And finally, what time they get
back home
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Start establishing regular bed times
NOW. Get back to sensible eating,
regular meals, and healthy choices.
Teachers and Schools.
Many schools like to keep kids and
parents on the edge of their seats
and not confirm the teacher until
the first day. Other schools share the
news in June.
Either way, take some time to visit
the school before the 1st day. Walk
the grounds, take a peak in the
portable windows, hang out in the
playground, and pop into the office
to confirm bus schedules. Often
you can find “inside info” by having a
little snoop around.
(and yes, I am a Mom, not a teacher,
so this advice might not be sanctioned
by the school board!)
All the best for a terrific school year!
Here are some additional
articles to help plan for
Back To School:
Tips to Calm your Child’s 1st
day Jitters.
Top 5 Healthy Homework Habits
Going Back To School: tips for
Kids and Teens
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