"The school is pretty good they provide a list of things that we need. We try to stick to non-character things, but they have a lot of likes -- so they find Tinkerbell or Hello Kitty," said Virtue.
With the economy near a recession, more parents nationwide say that this year their back-to-school shopping will be done at discount stores, like Target and Walmart.
Both stores already have supplies out and sales going.
"Target is very teacher friendly and they are very good. Different weekends throughout the summer they have very cheap items. Right now I am buying glue," said shopping mom, Lynette Ballas.
But despite frugal shoppers nationally, locally most parents say that they will be spending the same or more on school supplies this year.
In a recent Survey USA poll conducted by ABC7, we asked parents how much they plan to spend on school supplies?
- Less than $50 - 34 percent
- $50 - $100 - 42 percent
- More than $100 - 24 percent
Eyewitness News also asked parents how much they plan to spend on back-to-school clothes?
- Less than $50 - 15 percent
- $100 - $300 - 59 percent
- More than $300 - 26 percent
"I have older kids that are more into the fashion so I will buy a lot of their under clothes at Target and Walmart, but a lot of their nice clothes come from expensive stores," said shopping mom, Robi Smith.
So if you have to head back to the mall for back-to-school shopping this summer, experts say to do it now.
"Retailers are very savvy and they know that consumers are very concerned. They have been really good about putting some things on promotional discount just going into the back-to-school season," said Janet LaFevre from the Glendale Galleria.
If you haven't started your back-to-school shopping yet, experts say to first make a list and check online for any discounts. If you do not know what to buy, Target has put a local school list of supplies on their Web site to help parents figure out what their kids will need.
