As summer draws to a close, stores begin selling off school supplies, but new data shows the discounts still aren’t enough for some cash-strapped parents.

A new study from Qualtrics and Intuit Credit Karma found that 59% of respondents will spend more money on back-to-school purchases for their children this year than in the recent past due to the rising cost of living. According to the report, the higher costs are creating affordability issues for nearly a third (31%) of parents, who say they won’t be able to afford back-to-school purchases for their children this year. This is especially true for young parents – 39% of Gen Z and 37% of Millennials, compared to 28% of Gen X and 18% of Baby Boomers.

“Education costs are a major focus at the college and post-college level, yet parents must pay for school-related expenses as early as preschool,” said Courtney Alev, consumer finance advocate at Credit Karma, in a statement. “Many parents with young children are likely already starting the school year on a tight budget after covering the cost of summer child care. This may be why many parents are in the red after back-to-school shopping this year. If possible, avoid taking on high-interest debt to pay for back-to-school expenses, especially if you can’t afford to pay it back right away. Fortunately, many parents plan to shop at sales and seek used items from family and friends, and several states offer tax-free weekends and tax-free back-to-school holidays, where parents can purchase select items without their state’s state sales tax for a set period of time – care.com offers a helpful guide. And if your child needs access to more expensive things like a laptop, there are organizations and programs that provide free access—StandUp Wireless has a helpful blog post describing such resources.”

According to Alev’s argument, there are some smart and easy ways to cut costs this school year. Here are a few we think are worth considering.

Buy in small doses

Purchasing all of the school supplies for your child’s teacher’s list at once can quickly add up to a large bill, but spreading the cost out will save you money.

Find out about tax-free holidays

As NPR notes, 17 states have sales tax-free days in the months leading up to back-to-school. Residents of Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia can take advantage of special pricing on school supplies. For more information on the tax-free days and how to take advantage of them, visit the Federation Of Tax Administrators website.

Plan a price comparison

Stores like Target, Walmart, and Best Buy have policies that allow customers to return items that are more expensive than other stores and get money back. Using these stores’ apps to compare prices is a great way to get the same items you need at a much cheaper price.