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Where you can find the cheapest school supplies: We compare four major stores

Consumer reporters John Matarese and Taylor Nimmo went to four different stores across the Tri-State to compare prices and find the best ways to save, so you don’t have to.

By: Taylor Nimmo , John Matarese

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CINCINNATI — It's almost time to start thinking about back to school. That of course means many families will soon be shopping for school supplies. Getting everything on your list can add up quickly, especially depending on where you shop.

That’s why consumer reporters John Matarese and Taylor Nimmo went to 4 different stores across the Tri-State to compare prices and find the best ways to save, so you don’t have to.

Families with kids in elementary through high school plan to spend more than 800 dollars on clothing, shoes, school supplies and electronics for the upcoming school year.

That’s according to a back-to-school survey from the National Retail Federation.

We want to help you spend less. So, we went to Target, Walmart, Staples, and Meijer to find out how much some of the most popular school supplies cost.

24-pack of Crayola Crayons:

Target: 50 cents
Meijer: 50 cents
Walmart: 50 cents
Staples: $1.49

18-pack of Ticonderoga pencils:

Target: $5.49
Meijer: $5.49
Staples: $4.99
At Walmart, you can find a 24-pack of Ticonderoga pencils for $4.47.

Bottle of Elmer’s glue:

Target: 50 cents
Meijer: 50 cents
Walmart: 50 cents
Staples: $1.99

4-pack of Sharpie highlighters

Target: $2.49
Meijer: $2.49
Walmart: $4.88
Staples: $4.99

1-subject Five Star notebooks:

Target: $3.39
Meijer: $2.99
Walmart: $2.97
Staples: $5.99

If you can live without brand names like Five Star or Mead, you just might find amazing prices.
So, which store had the best back-to-school deals?

Of course, it depends on what is on your list. For the items on our list, in our experience this week, we found Walmart was the least expensive by a slight margin. Most of the prices were relatively comparable.

That will also of course vary as different items go on sale.

Something else to keep in mind if you haven’t done your shopping yet, next Tuesday starts Ohio’s sales tax holiday, and it will run nine days this year. It may be a good time to get everything on your list, so you don’t waste your money.

"Don't Waste Your Money" is a registered trademark of Scripps Media, Inc. ("Scripps").

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