Sherry Wilson-King has three girls, ages 6, 8 and 11. Last year, all three attended Deerwood Academy and participated in the same activities, forcing Wilson-King to get creative with the finances. This year she has a few tricks to help manage back-to-school costs.

Her main strategy? Shop early.

NEDRA RHONE/nrhone@ajc.com (ENLARGE)

Sherry Wilson-King – shown with (from left) Alena, 6, Courtney, 8, and Sydney, 11 – sells gift baskets to fund field trips.

"In another two weeks, we will start heading out," said Wilson-King, of Atlanta. First stop, the uniform store. Shirts with free monograms are affordable, but bottoms are pricey, she said. "This year, we will get the shirts with the free monogram and then go to Target and Wal-Mart to get the bottoms. It's a lot cheaper, and no one knows the difference."

Wal-Mart is also where they will get the bulk of school supplies, but again, buying in late July is key. "If we go before August, we pay just a few cents on the dollar," she said.

Wilson-King's final financial strategy is to make money. Her hobby of making gift baskets for family and friends has led to extra cash.

"I turned that into a side business," said Wilson-King, "and the money from that went toward all the field trips."