What parent doesn't dread the whole back to school time of year? This annual gauntlet seems to be pure torture for all involved, from the parents vying for the best spot in the checkout line to the tired, whiny kids being dragged from store to store in search of the perfect notebook. That's why more and more parents are opting to do their back to school shopping online these days!

The Real Cost of Back to School

There are several areas that you spend money on while doing the back to school shopping. A huge part of it is the actual supplies, but you may not realize all the hidden costs that really add up.

- Eating out. Most back to school shopping days take more than a few hours and you end up eating at a fast food joint, which can get expensive if you are buying kid's meals for everyone.

- Gas. With gas prices so high these days, it's definitely a consideration and you waste more gas sitting in traffic and driving around parking lots than you do on the freeway.

- Treats. Let's face it, no one expects their kids to be perfect for hours of trudging through stores collecting all the school supplies, so little things like chocolate bars and toy cars tend to become part of the trip.

- Extras. Maybe there's a super sale on socks that you realize you could get . . . even though they aren't on your list. Or maybe your toddler just screamed too loud and you ended up buying that Tonka dump truck . . . most shopping trips end with extra items in the cart.

- Broken items. This doesn't always happen, but when you have frustrated mothers and hyper kids . . . things happen. Especially in crowded stores. So you may end up paying for an item that your child accidentally knocked off a shelf and broke, adding to the cost of the day.

Add to this the amount of energy you waste running from store to store, chasing kids and trying to maintain some semblance of calm when the clerk ignores you for the millionth time and you have a true nightmare.
Shopping Online for School Supplies

All this tension, time and money can be eliminated with one simple tool . . . your computer. By shopping online for your school supplies, you'll be able to buy when you have some free time, even after the kids are in bed!

This eliminates the whining and fussing of hot, tired kids. You'll also save quite a bit of money by doing your back to school shopping online, especially if you take a few minutes to join a rewards program or to look for coupon codes to bring the prices down a bit.

There's no commute time or even any need to get dressed, if you don't want to. The savings in time and money are huge when you opt to do your shopping online. And chances are you'll find even better prices on retail websites than you would in the actual physical store!

Once you've ordered your products and back to school supplies, you just need to sit back and relax, they'll be delivered right to you and before school starts! It's really the best way to do your back to school shopping, since it requires minimal effort and you get even better results. Not to mention, there's no need to take the kids to the crowded mall and waste gas looking for a place to park!

The book
“Malgudi Schooldays is written by “R.K. Narayan” who is one of the most popular Indian writers in English. This great writer has come up with this brilliant novel which lets you discover the various incidents of Swaminathan's life. He is a ten-year old boy who lives in a small town called Malgudi. The Malgudi Schooldays Books has been one of the most adored books of all times. The book also features fifteen black-and-white illustrations by R.K. Laxman.

The central character in this story is W.S. Swaminathan alias Swami. He is a popular character among the children. The first novel of Narayan was “Swami and Friends” and this is an extension of that novel. This enjoyable novel reminds you of your school days. Read about a child’s fantasies. This interesting and extremely enjoyable novel lets you live you early schooldays.

The story starts with Swami who hates Monday mornings. He is punished often in his school as he is always inattentive. Even when he is punished and he stands on the bench, he enjoys a lot. Swami shares his life's thrills with his four friends. Children will enjoy this book a lot as they can relate with the story.

The book tells us about the adventures of Swami and his friends in Malgudi. The author talks about the various adventures of Swami and how he gets out of one school and another. The main characters of this novel include Swami’s friends, Father, Mother and Grandmother.

His father always tells him to study hard and is a very strict person. He is always dependent on his mother and grand mother whenever trouble arrives. His friends include Somu, Mani, Sankar and Samuel. When things started going wrong, Swami had to run away from home and he never wanted to return to Malgudi again.

R K Narayan books always have an interesting storyline. 'Malgudi Schooldays' is another version of Narayan's novel Swami and Friends. Penguin Malgudi Schooldays' include two other short stories featuring Swami.

The book "Malgudi Schooldays" is liked by people of all genres and is appreciated by people worldwide.

Back-to-school expenses can be overwhelming. Here are six simple ways to save money while giving your children what they need to hit the books this year.

1. Take a specific list for school supplies to the discount store or office supplies store. Watch the Sunday circulars and plan to find all of these essential school supplies in a single trip, while they are on sale. Make sure to stick to the official supplies list provided by the school. Then shop online (or comparison shop offline) for other items you might need, such as clothes and shoes.

2. Do not spend too much on back-to-school clothes before school begins. Every child looks forward to having something new for the first day of school. That does not mean each child needs an entirely new wardrobe. With many schools starting in August, the weather is too hot for the fall and winter clothes that they will need for the duration of the school year. And if you shop too far in advance, your child could actually outgrow an outfit before it is time to wear it. Purchase one new outfit (or new single clothing item) for that first day to heighten the excitement, and save the rest of the wardrobe budget for a few months from now. If your budget does not allow for a new clothing item for each child, treat your kids to something smaller, but still exciting: a new pencil bag or a new package of pencils printed with their name, for example.

3. Establish a clothing budget for each child. This allows your child to be in control of their wardrobe (under your guidelines, of course), and it requires them to make wise spending decisions. Help your child to comparison shop once they decide what they like. You can find lots of coupons online this time of year for apparel and shoes.

4. Shop the sales, offline as well as online. Many of the big online retailers, such as Overstock and Smartbargains, as well as Target and Walmart, feature savings this time of year on back-to-school items small appliances, even notebook computers and those specialized calculators that your older children may need.

5. Let your child give their old stuff a new look. With a few paper bags, sheets of construction paper, glitter, pens, glue, and stickers, they can make fun, personalized folders, supply tins, lunchboxes, notebooks, and book covers.

6. Plan a simple reward for the first day. Treat your elementary school student to a special surprise at the end of the first day (or at the end of the first week for middle school and high school students.) Take your children out for pizza or an ice cream cone and ask them to tell you all about their classes, their new friends, and what they think they are going to enjoy most about the year to come. They will cherish this simple tradition, and so will you.