Bargain Hunter: Fun school stationery, home brews, and fitness trackers for less

From notebooks for school to an at-home coffee machine with huge savings, and the best deals on taking smarter steps

This week's deals are geared towards ushering in the autumn with caffeine hits, cute stationery, and smart fitness trackers.

Pushing the envelope

If there's one phrase you'd rather not hear at the minute, it's probably "back to school" but the reality is, September is looming, signalling a fresh start for kids, parents, and students alike. Whether it's unicorn erasers, four-in-one pens or pretty journals, your kids are likely to be on the hunt for some new school stationery. Dealz is the ultimate affordable one-stop shop for school supplies, with most items retailing for just €1.50. A ten-pack of sustainable pencils, 2-pack of notebooks, a stationery tube and a sticky note set are all just €4 each.

Dealz stationery is available from €1.50 and appeals across a broad demographic.

Paperchase also has several concurrent offers, some exclusive to the website, with up to 50% off diaries, 30% off selected gifts, 30% off Babylon Bundles and a 15% discount for students and teachers. Smiggle has stores on Winthrop Street and in Mahon Point and is currently offering 20% off if you sign up for the newsletter, and a further 20% off your next purchase if you sign up for the Smiggle VIP programme.

But first, coffee

Apple just recently announced it would require its employees to go back to the office three days a week, and lots of workplaces are following suit. While you may not have the privilege of working from home anymore, a good cup of coffee in the morning can fuel your day. The Vertuo Next Premium Coffee Machine in black is on special offer from €199 down to €149 plus a free barista bundle of 30 coffees to choose from, worth approximately €75 when you subscribe. This includes the Limina Refresher, a mint and lime-flavoured cold brew which normally retails at €6.50 for a box of 10. 

The Nespresso Vertuo Next (€169) coffee machine comes with over €75 worth of coffee when you subscribe plus the black version has €50 off the RRP.

10,000 steps and counting

If you found the summer consisted of dropping the kids to the beach, summer camp, shops, insert activity hub, you may have used the car a lot more than you would have liked. It's still bright enough to walk in the evenings, and Fitbit has a sale on selected items across the site for those who want to track their steps. Fitbit Charge 5 is reduced to €129.95 from €149.95, Fitbit Luxe normally retails at €129.95 and is now €109.95, and the Fitbit Inspire 2 has €30 off, bringing it to €69.95. The Ace 3 activity tracker for kids has €20 off at the moment, RRP €79.95, now €59.95. In Curry's, the Garmin vivofit jr. 3 Kid's Activity Tracker is reduced from €99.99 to €79.99. Save €40 on the Garmin Vivosmart 4 at Harvey Norman, RRP €139 reduced to €99. At DID, save €50 on the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 1.19" Bluetooth Smart Watch and students are gifted free earphones with selected Samsung models.

Fitbit Versa 3 has an in-built GPS system and predicts what your body is able for, based on your activity.