Parents Can Save Big Going ‘Generic’ On Back-To-School Lists

Shopping for back-to-school clothes can be expensive, but school supplies can really add up too. But there are some ways to save money by going a little “off-brand.”

From clothes to crayons, these days it seems every item on a back to school list has a generic brand alternative.

"I think a lot of times you get just as good quality on Crazy-Art as you do out of Crayola," said Walmart Spokesperson, Erica Jones.

We wanted to see just how much you can save buying generic versus brand-name products.

We went to a Broken Arrow Walmart and compared prices of school supply lists from Tulsa, Union and Broken Arrow districts. The results were surprising.

Parents of second graders in Tulsa can save more than $3 by choosing a generic brand of scissors.

If you're the parent of a Union second grader, you can save more than $6 by going generic on spiral notebooks.

And parents of Broken Arrow second graders who need glue sticks will spend twice as much on a name brand.

Our price comparison showed that parents with second graders in Tulsa will spend about $70 on brand-name supplies compared to $32 on generic – a saving of nearly $40.

Parents with second graders in Union will spend about $42 on brand name and $24 on generic, saving almost $20.

And parents with second graders in Broken Arrow will spend about $36 on brand name and $17 on generic – again a nearly $20 savings.