Where to buy school supplies with P500 budget

WITH a P500 budget, would you be able to buy  school supplies needed by your  children  this  school year?

Loida Marticion, a grade school teacher of  Guadalupe Elementary School thinks so. She set aside  P300 for her son Seth, who’s enrolled in her school.

Marticion said she shops for basic school supplies at the Unitop General Merchandise and Novo stores in Cebu City’s downtown Colon area.

“I prefer to buy there because the products are cheaper compared to  other stores or malls,” said the teacher.

She said she had to search for budget-friendly retail outlets to fit her budget.

Unitop General Merchandise and Novo sell China-made products like appliances, clothes, kitchen and household materials, school supplies and more.

In her shopping trip to these outlets,  to these stores,  Marticion  looked over the school bags on display at these stores which come in various colors, sizes and designs ranging from Disney cartoon and anime characters and the popular “Angry Birds.”

An inventory by Cebu Daily News showed Unitop sells a pack of 10 notebooks for  P100 while a set of three or more pairs of socks cost P180-P300.

For P500, one can buy 10 notebooks, one drawing book, one ballpen, one pen,  a  school uniform consisting of a blouse, polo shirt and skirt, pants and shorts.

Working on a P300 budget, Loida said she doesn’t believe in buying branded products and would go the extra mile to search for  cheaper items.

“Aside from affordability, I also consider the durability of the products.  I had to choose carefully before buying,”  she said.  Careen L. Malahay