Back to School: Our Best Tips to Save Money

Back to School 2025-2026 – For Families

One of the best ways to save money and help the environment is to reuse school supplies from the previous year.

Shake out the backpack that’s been stagnating in the back of your closet since last June and rummage through your drawers. Another option is to exchange old school supplies with other parents.

The Quebec government’s supplement for the purchase of school supplies is also available to all families with a child aged 4 to 17. No action is required to obtain this amount for the purchase of school supplies. It is automatically added to your July Family Allowance. So you should already have received it.

But when you absolutely need to buy a specific duo-tang, book, or notebook from a store, there are ways to cut down on costs.

Back to School: Our Best Tips to Save Money - Walmart fourniture scolaire

Some of the most popular stores for buying school supplies include:

Jean Coutu and other pharmacies
Walmart
Amazon
Staples
Costco
Hamster, Coopsco, Dollarama, etc.

Back to School: Our Best Tips to Save Money - Amazon fourniture scolaire

Back to School – Save with Points

Jean Coutu is linked to the MOI loyalty program.

Buying school supplies at Jean Coutu means lower grocery bills at Super C and Metro.

Bonus point promotions vary by item, brand and week.

Back to School: Our Best Tips to Save Money - jean coutu rentree

For pharmacy purchases, you can earn even more Aventura Points! These CIBC credit cards offer 1.5 points for every dollar spent at pharmacies:

In fact, 1.5 points are earned for all grocery store purchases too. This is perfect for purchasing snacks and future lunches.

Then, Aventura points could be used for a future trip during the next school vacations.

Our credit card selection
Credit card	Annual fee	Welcome offer
CIBC Aventura^® Gold Visa* Card Apply NowCompare	Annual fee$139 $0	Welcome offer Up to 45,000 points	Apply NowCompare
CIBC Aventura^® Visa Infinite* Card Apply NowCompare	Annual fee$139 $0	Welcome offer Up to 45,000 points	Apply NowCompare

Are you an Aeroplan member? Take advantage of the back to school event in the Aeroplan eStore to earn extra Aeroplan points on your online purchases, whether you’re shopping for clothes, sports equipment, electronics, or school supplies.

The same applies to the Airmilesshops shopping portal. Stop by this site before shopping at your favourite store. You’ll collect AIR MILES miles along the way.

Plus, until September 1, 2025, there’s a new AIR MILES promotion to earn up to 250 bonus miles with Airmilesshops.ca.

Back to School – Save with Cash Back

Cash back is versatile and can easily be used to deduct credit card balances.

The CIBC Dividend^® Visa* Card is the best cash back card, with no annual fee. It’s not complicated, and gives a 0.5% to 2% discount on all purchases.

The TD CashBack Visa Infinite* Card works on the same principle. This card offers between 1% and 3% cash back, along with a generous welcome bonus that lets you earn even more.

For example, they can easily be used to purchase school supplies and books on Amazon.

The MBNA Rewards World Elite^® Mastercard^® lets you earn 5% cash back at most Walmart Supercentres.

Since it’s a Mastercard, it’s also accepted at Costco warehouses!

Our credit card selection
Credit card	Annual fee	Welcome offer
TD Cash Back Visa Infinite* Card Apply NowCompare	Annual fee$139 $0	Welcome offer Up to $350	Apply NowCompare
MBNA Rewards World Elite^® Mastercard^® Apply NowCompare	Annual fee$120	Welcome offer Up to 30,000 points	Apply NowCompare
CIBC Dividend^® Visa* Card Apply NowCompare	Annual fee$0	Welcome offer Up to $100	Apply NowCompare

Back to School – How to Save on Buying a Computer

Until September 30, 2025, Apple is offering up to $249 off when you purchase an iPad or Mac.

This offer is available to parents of post-secondary students, as well as teachers or staff at elementary or secondary schools. Read our guide to buying a laptop for our best tips on how to save money.

Back to School – For Students

Starting at age 18, it may be time to begin building your credit history for the future. Here’s how credit scoring works and how to build a credit history.

See also our tips on personal finance when you’re a student. Start your life with good habits right from the start, so you can save money every day.

A cash-back credit card allows you to accumulate cash in the form of credit, depending on the category of commerce where the purchase was made. This money is then used to deduct the account balance.

The CIBC Dividend^® Visa* Card for Students gives 2% cash back on grocery purchases. For example, a $100 purchase will earn $2 cash back.

Then you can use your cash back balance (when a minimum of $25 has been accumulated). That’s one less thing you’ll have to pay back!

In addition, CIBC offers free membership to SPC+, which provides discounts on many popular fashion, dining, entertainment and travel products.

Compare

CIBC Dividend^® Visa* Card for Students

CIBC Cash Back

Annual fee: $0
Our valuation: $125Milesopedia first-year estimate First-year valueWelcome bonus$125Total$125Rewards on your spending are not included. The calculator that adds them from your own profile is on the card's page.; Milesopedia first-year estimateFirst-year valueWelcome bonus$125Total$125Rewards on your spending are not included. The calculator that adds them from your own profile is on the card's page.
Welcome offer: Up to $125

The CIBC Dividend^® Visa* Card for Students is one of the best cash back Visa student credit cards in Canada. Apply for the card and get up to $125 in value:

$25 cash back after you make your first purchase within the first 4 monthly statements^†
A 10% cash back welcome bonus for the first 4 monthly statements, up to $100^†

With this CIBC Student Credit Card, you get:

2% cash back on eligible grocery purchases^†
1% cash back on eligible gas, electric vehicle charging, transportation, and dining purchases and on eligible recurring payments^†
0.5% cash back on all other purchases^†

What’s more, with this CIBC Student Credit Card, you get a free SPC+ membership, plus over 450 deals on everyday purchases, bigger discounts, special experiences and exclusive giveaways^†.

And this CIBC Student Credit Card offers some insurance coverages:

Purchase Security and Extended Protection Insurance

Legal

This is a digital-exclusive offer.^† To be eligible for this offer: 1) this offer must have been directly communicated to you from CIBC or from a partner/affiliate; and 2) you must apply for the eligible card through the link provided in the CIBC or partner/affiliate communication to you. ^† This offer is reserved for you. Please do not forward it to anyone else.

This offer is reserved for you. Please do not forward it to anyone else. CIBC may approve your application, but you are not eligible to receive this Offer if you have opened, transferred or cancelled another Dividend card within the last 12 months.^†

^† Terms and conditions apply. Click on Apply Now to learn more.

Annual fee

Primary card$0

Additional card$0

Annual income required

Individual$0

Household$0

Conversion fees

2.5%

Earning rate

2xGroceries
1xTransit
1xBills & recurring payments
1xGas & EV
1xRestaurants
0.5xAll spending

Value

1st Year Value$461

2nd Year Value$263

Purchase protection

Purchase ProtectionIncluded

Extended Warranty+1 years

In addition to being an excellent way to build a credit file, the National Bank mycredit Mastercard offers mobile device insurance. This is rare, especially for a credit card with no annual fee.

So a new tablet or cell phone purchased with the card can be replaced or repaired if it’s broken, lost or stolen, up to a maximum of $1,000. This helps you avoid a major hit to your budget in case of an accident or loss.

What’s more, cashback is applied to the balance of each monthly statement, for added convenience.

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National Bank mycredit^™ Mastercard^®

National Bank Cash Back

Annual fee: $0
Welcome offer: No current welcome offer

Terms of the offer

Earn $100 cashback if at least $2,500 in net purchases are charged to the Mastercard account over a 4-month period, following the account opening
Up to 1% cashback
Mobile protection: Get insured against theft or damage for up to 2 years following the purchase of your mobile device
Extended warranty
Purchase protection from loss, theft or damage for up to 90 days after the date of purchase

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Cash back details

Card issued subject to National Bank credit approval. A 1% cash back is granted on restaurant purchases and recurring pre-authorized payments when settled by recurring automatic payments to your macrédit account. The 0.5% cash back applies to all other eligible purchases during a billing cycle. The account must be in good standing when the cash back is disbursed. Your account is in good standing when you meet the obligations of your credit card agreement (e.g., making the minimum payment by the due date). Eligible pre-authorized payments are defined as payments made regularly and automatically debited by a merchant from your credit card. Balance transfers, cash advances, and fees related to card usage are not included in the cash back calculation. To learn about the terms and restrictions applicable to cash back, consult the Cash Back Program [PDF].

Mobile device protection

Subject to purchase of device with card or telephony service subscription paid by recurring pre-authorized payments from your macro-credit account.

Credit terms

Grace period: No interest will be charged on purchases made during the month, provided the client pays the balance in full within twenty-one (21) days of the statement date. This grace period does not apply to cash advances or balance transfers.

Minimum payment: If your account balance is lower than $10, you must pay the entire balance.

If you reside in the province of Quebec, your minimum payment is the greater of 5% of your account balance, plus any overdue amounts, or $10.

If you live outside Quebec, your minimum payment is 2.5% of your credit card balance, plus any past-due amount or $10, whichever is greater.

Account statement: A statement is sent monthly.

Example of credit charges over a 30-day period

Annual interest rate	Average balance
	$500	$3,000
22.49% (regular card)	$9.24	$55.45
20.99% (regular card)	$8.63	$51.76
13.2% (Syncro card)	$5.53	$33.16
9.2% (Syncro card)	$3.78	$22.68

^*Variable interest rate in effect on September 1, 2021.

Balance transfer and cash advance are subject to credit approval by National Bank. Each balance transfer must be at least $250.

^®MASTERCARD is a registered trademark, and the circles design is a trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated. National Bank is an authorized user.

^®NATIONAL BANK and the NATIONAL BANK logo are registered trademarks of National Bank of Canada.

TM mycredit is a trademark of National Bank of Canada.

Legal notes

^™ MYCREDIT is a trademark of National Bank of Canada.

^® MASTERCARD AND TAP & GO are registered trademarks, and the circles design is a trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated. Authorized user: National Bank.

^™ ID Check and Identity Check are trademarks of Mastercard International Inc. Authorized user: National Bank.

These protections apply if the purchases or expenses are charged to the National Bank mycredit Mastercard credit card. Extended warranties apply to most new items purchased with the card, in Canada or abroad, as long as the manufacturer’s warranty is in effect and valid in Canada. Certain conditions and restrictions apply. For more information and details concerning your insurance coverage, please consult the insurance certificate attached to your card.

Subject to credit approval by National Bank. Each balance transfer must be at least $250.

Certain conditions apply. Visit mastercard.ca for more information. Refer to the credit card terms and conditions.

With NBC mycredit Mastercard, you get:

1% cash back on restaurant purchases and recurring pre-authorized debits
0.5% cash back on all other purchases

And since it’s a Mastercard credit card, you can use it at Costco.

Cash back is automatically applied to your credit card account balance when each monthly statement is issued.

This is a credit card we recommend for those new to credit cards and want a no-fee credit card. What’s more, this credit card comes with a number of insurances for your purchases, including mobile device insurance (which is rare for a credit card with no annual fee).