2009.07.22
School spending
The back-to-school season is creeping up, and everyone's looking for some kind of discount this year.
The average family with children in grades Kindergarten through 12th grade will spend less on school supplies this year, compared with last year. A family is expected to spend $548.72, which is down from $594.24 in 2008, according to the National Retail Federation.
The economy is impacting families in a major way when it comes to school-related expenditures. From cutting back on extracurricular activities or sports to buying new clothes and deciding whether to attend a public or a private school, the impacts of a poor economy on school spending are widespread, reports the NRF.
"The economy has clearly changed the spending habits of American families, which will likely create a difficult back-to-school season for retailers," said Tracy Mullin, who is president and CEO of the NRF, in a news release.
Those of you on the hunt for some back-to-school related discounts should mark your calendars for Virginia's tax-free holiday, coming up Aug. 7-9. For these three days, clothing, shoes and certain school supplies are excempt of the state's 5 percent sales tax.
The school supplies must be priced at $20 or less to be tax free. Clothing, shoes and other select items must be $100 or less to qualify.
Click here for a list of all purchases that will be tax free.
Also, some retailers often decide to make other items tax-free during this weekend and absorb the sales tax themselves. Keep your eyes on advertisements for additional tax-exempt merchandise.
This is great news. The tax man drives me crazy! Everyone should take advantage of this little break. If only Uncle Sam could take note and follow suit. Sadly, instead of trying to save us money they seem determined to spend us into bankruptcy. The national DEBT is growing and YOU WILL PAY! All this money barak is throwing around is from China who demands to be repaid plus interest (in fact they think our money is worthless and want to be repaid in their on money not dollars). However, I am getting a little off topic. The tax man drives me crazy!
Ms. Boone- You do a great job and your section is the only part of this website I check on a regular basis.
Comment by Jarrett — July 22, 2009 @ 2:10 pm