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Tax-free weekend stretches the family dollar on back-to-school shopping

By Christine Anne Piesyk | July 31, 2008 |

Get ready to shop.

With the opening of school just around the corner, parents will reap the benefit of a three-day tax-free shopping weekend (August 1-3) just in time to stock up on school supplies, clothing and even a computer — anything needed to get the school year off to a good start. All without paying the 9.5% sales reaped by state and local government.

The battle for bargains kicks off at one minute past midnight tonight, and will continue through Sunday at midnight (if your favorite store is open that late).

What can you buy?

School clothing (items must be priced at $100 or less, which means no $130 deluxe sneakers), all the paper, pencils, notepads, binders, art supplies and other items your child will to start the school year off right. Need a computer? Anything valued at $1500 or less is tax exempt. At 9.5%, thats a saving of $142 and change.

For details on what you can and cannot buy, check out the listings at the State Tax Holiday website. Items ordered/sold via internet, phone, e-mail and traditional mail are also exempt.

With temperatures expected to soar to the century mark over the weekend, with projected heat indices even higher, make sure your car has plenty of coolant for that rambling around town, bring along water to drink (in a cooler with ice, if possible), or consider doing your shopping in the early morning or later evening hours.

And please, with the kind of heat the weather service is calling for this weekend, do not leave your children or your family pet unattended in your vehicle. A car in direct will heat up to 140 degrees in a matter of minutes.

Now, if only the state would ease off their portion of the gas for the weekend…

About Christine Anne Piesyk

With 40 years behind me (Huh? What? How did that happen?) as a journalist, feature writer, investigative reporter, editor, and film/theater/arts critic, I brought my liberal New England activism to Tennessee several years ago. having completed a midlife undergraduate degree in community organizing and women's studies, and an MA in Interdisciplinary Arts. I am currently an MFA student at Goddard College. I served on Future Search Commissions for two colleges and an issue-specific commission for the City of Northampton, MA, and did minor undergraduate work in studies in urban planning and community development. I am a community volunteer and a member of FreeThinkers for Peace and Civil Liberties. I am a certified storm spotter. In my spare time (define spare time please?) I am a voracious reader, obsessive movie buff, classical music junkie; I also and design and make sci-fi/fantasy and renaissance costumes. I have an unquenchable interest in just about everything. I see life as an ongoing opportunity for learning and adventure, with the best things still to come. All posts by Christine Anne Piesyk as presented on Clarksville Online are copyright ©2006, 2007 to the author.




Email: womanspeak@yahoo.com