Back to school shopping is here and there are deals to be had, especially with the Tax Free Holiday Week Friday, August 7 through Sunday, August 16.

Experts say you can get the best bang for your buck by comparing store ads and using coupons.

“This is it right here,” Robert Midden said pointing to the school shopping list.

“Grows every year,” his wife, Lisa Midden said.

The Midden family is spreading out their back to school shopping as a strategy to save money leading up to the Tax Free Holiday Week and starting with the school supply list.

“Wide-ruled notepaper, pocket folder, composition notebooks, spiral notebooks and the list goes on and on and one,” Robert Midden said.

He said the costs swell when clothing, shoes and electronics are added to the bill.

“It’s really expensive,” he said.

The Midden’s said they expect to spend even more money this year, like most Americans.

“We don’t want to know,” he said.

A Consumer Pulse Survey from the Rubicon Project estimates parents will spend an average of $873 per student and more than $1,100 for college students.

So it’s no wonder that families flock to stores to take advantage of the savings during the Tax Free Holiday Week.

“Back to school time in particular is like my Super Bowl,” said Jason Elledge, a consumer expert at SavingsAngel.com.

Elledge is on a mission to save families money.

So is the tax free holiday week truly the best time to save?

“We’re only talking six to seven percent here,” Elledge said.

But adds that putting in some extra time for researching prices can pay off.

“A pack of pencils for a penny – you should absolutely stock up on those,” Elledge said. “So you should be going into the office stores, you should be going into the drug stores and even the grocery stores.”

He said savvy shoppers should aim to save 50 percent on all purchases, so he said to shop sales, stack coupons, compare store advertisements, and check website prices. But he warns that not every online retailer may honor Florida’s tax free holiday week.

“Make sure that you find out what their price matching policy is because Best Buy and Target will each match Amazon.com,” Elledge said.

Monitoring prices and using reward based search engines like eBates and ShotAtHome could be a more convenient way to save from home than in a crowded store.

“Sometimes there’s a lot gone,” Lisa Midden said.

But around this time of year, stores are stocked up on the latest technology, like computers – and competition could mean saving more cash.

“This might be a great time to buy one,” Elledge said. “You have up to $750 that you can spend tax free.”

While not every family will need a computer, the majority of growing kids will need clothes.

“Clothing is the number one expense for parents as they’re getting their kids ready for school,” Elledge said. “Consider looking at used clothing, gently used clothing, consignment shops.”

And his most important piece of advice when shopping to save is to avoid those impulse buys.

“Don’t buy what’s not on sale just because it’s a tax free weekend,” Elledge said.

The Florida's Department of Revenue website has a complete list of tax exempt items.