t necessarily make Staples thecheapestplace to buy an entire school list, but it does mean parents shouldn t look like it was issued by the school district in 2004. Walmart: The Other Big Player If you re trying to stretch your back-to-school budget, there isn Back-to-School Shopping: We Compared School Supply Prices Around Poughkeepsie As a Mom of three, I know first-hand back-to-school shopping can getexpensivein a hurry. A few notebooks here, some folders there, a mountain of pencils and markers, and suddenly that school supply list looks more like a small home-improvement project.