16 Best Back-to-School Items To Buy at Walmart With a $50 Budget
Commitment to Our Readers
GOBankingRates' editorial team is committed to bringing you unbiased reviews and information. We use data-driven methodologies to evaluate financial products and services - our reviews and ratings are not influenced by advertisers. You can read more about our editorial guidelines and our products and services review methodology.
20 Years
Helping You Live Richer
Reviewed
by Experts
Trusted by
Millions of Readers
When you’re filling your shopping cart at Walmart with back-to-school supplies, you can reach a $50 budget quickly. But if you shop smart, you can rack up the savings.
For example, if you buy a 64-count box of Crayola Crayons, you’ll pay $3.96 for the box. But if you opt for the Cra-Z-Art brand of 64-count colors, you’ll pay over $1 less at $2.68. If you can save 50 cents to $1 or more on each school supply item by shopping smart, think of how much you’ll save.
Here are 16 of the best back-to-school items to pick up at Walmart this season that will keep you well within a $50 budget.
Pen+Gear Wide Ruled Composition Book
- Price: 50 cents
These affordable composition books offer 80 sheets of wide-ruled paper, giving your child plenty of space for all their notes and assignments.
Crayola Classic Crayons, 8-Count
- Price: $1.07
If you have younger children in your household, these non-toxic and long-lasting Crayola Classic Crayons are a school-supply-box standard.
Elmer’s Disappearing Purple Glue Sticks
- Price: 97 cents
These single glue sticks are purple (but dry clear), which helps kids see where they’ve applied glue. Plus, the glue easily washes away with soap and water, which is always a plus for easy clean-up. Save money by picking up a multipack of six for $2.97.
Fiskars Blunt Kids’ Scissors
- Price: $1.58
If safety when cutting is paramount, these 5-inch blunt-tip scissors are perfect for little hands. Fiskars recommends these scissors for ages 4-7.
Pen+Gear 2-Pocket Paper Folders
- Price: 25 cents
Two-pocket folders are great for keeping papers organized, and at 25 cents each, you can afford to buy them for multiple subjects. They’re sturdy and come in multiple colors, which makes it easy for kids to keep their work easily accessible.
Crayola Colored Pencil Set
- Price: $7.97
This 50-count set of pre-sharpened, premium-quality colored pencils is perfect for school projects like coloring maps. The vibrant, smooth colors are also ideal for color mixing. If you don’t need 50 colors, you can pick up a Pen+Gear set of 24 for $2.44.
Crayola Washable Watercolor Set
- Price: $2.47
Crayola’s eight-color watercolor set features 30% more paint than its competitors, which means more bang for your buck. Additionally, if your young artist gets any of the paint on their clothes or skin, cleanup is a breeze with soap and water.
Wonder Nation 16″ Backpack
- Price: $4.98
A backpack is a must-have to tote school essentials. For under $5, this one has plenty of space with a main compartment and front zip pocket. It’s also available in designs suitable for boys and girls, like unicorns or dinosaurs.
Pen+Gear No. 2 Wood Pencils
- Price: 97 cents
Pencils are a must for students. Buying a pack (or two) of 24 pencils will ensure your child is always prepared for math problems, achievement tests and writing assignments.
Pen+Gear Pink Block Erasers
- Price: 47 cents
Sometimes, the pencil is still going but the eraser isn’t. This economical two-pack of erasers is great for those occasions.
Sterilite Small Pencil Box
- Price: 97 cents
This pencil box is the perfect, affordable solution for storing pencils, erasers and other school essentials. It’s also sturdy and fits easily into a backpack if needed.
Pen+Gear Wide Ruled Filler Paper
- Price: 97 cents
Filler paper is the go-to for school note-taking and assignments. Walmart has 150-sheet packs in wide-ruled or college-ruled options for under $1, which means you can stock up.
Pen+Gear D-Ring Binder
- Price: $3.38
This 1-inch D-ring binder offers the perfect place to store filler paper. If a larger-size binder is needed, Walmart offers a 2-inch option for $4.94.
Pen+Gear Dividers With Pockets
- Price: $4.48
These colorful, eight-tab dividers help keep binders organized and include handy pockets for extra storage.
Pen+Gear Pocket Highlighters
- Price: $1.47
Highlighters are great for emphasizing important notes. This four-pack of highlighters is chisel-tipped for precise highlighting and includes yellow, orange, green and pink highlighters. Walmart also offers a pack of yellow highlighters if you don’t want the multicolored option.
Your Zone Plastic Bento Box
- Price: $5.98
A bento box is fantastic for packing a lunch without using plastic bags or additional containers. Its four compartments help keep food separated and fresh. Plus, it has an embedded plastic fork and spoon and a dressing container.
More From GOBankingRates
Written by
Edited by 


















