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SALT LAKE CITY — Back to school means back-to-school shopping – but this year will be different with thousands of students preparing to start school from home.
This is the time of year when consumer reporters tend to do that old cliché story where we go shop around to figure out where we were able to stretch our dollars the furthest. On things like backpacks, pencils and reams of paper. But with many students not hitting the classroom this fall, the stuff that is normally on back-to-school lists looks a lot different.
It’s technology that many students will need – and it’s technology that can also be super-expensive. But there is some good news for students, according to Chandra Steele with PCMag. Tell them you’re a student and you’d be amazed what discounts are out there, she says.
“I think students are used to looking for saving, but I don’t think they realize that programs that they might need to use for school are available at a discount,” she said. “Apps really are the new paper in so many ways.”
Microsoft Office 365 is completely free for students and there are discounts on other apps that will help students with their coursework.
“Adobe Creative Cloud is $19.99 per month, which is pricey, but considerably less than the usual $52.99,” Steele said.
There are also discounts available on apps that aren’t necessarily for school but are certainly used by school-aged kids.
“For recreation, Spotify Premium Student gives students both Spotify and Hulu for just $4.99 a month,” Steele said. “And Amazon Prime Student gives students a great rate, $59 a year, for the usual shipping and video streaming that is included in Prime along with an option to add music streaming for a dollar.”
In these stressful times, students and parents alike could use a few minutes to clear their heads and, good news for students, the can do so for less money with certain apps.
“For things like meditation, Headspace has a great discounted rate for students and there’s also a completely free alternative called Smiling Mind,” Steele said.
We always love discounts, but this year may be especially critical. According to the National Retail Federation, from grade-school to college, costs are up. And a whopping 43% percent of parents said they feel pressured to buy things they wouldn’t normally need this year, according to a recent survey by Bankrate.
