TYLER, Texas — As the school year quickly approaches, it comes just in time for the annual tax-free weekend sales event that many parents, guardians and school teachers take advantage of every year.
Parents like Amy Springfield say this year’s sales event is important due to the unforeseen circumstance of the COVID-19 pandemic has been wreaking on families.
“This year is a lot more important, especially to my family, our family actually did contract COVID," Springfield said. "And so we did spend a lot of time not able to work. We are always looking for ways to cut corners and save every little bit counts right now."
Lee Warren, who is a Godfather of five, says this annual sales tax event is an opportunity for every parent or guardian of any financial class to take advantage.
"Anything that can help a working mom working dad, single parent, anything that they can take just take advantage of the help, it’s great," Warren said.
Whether you’re shopping online or in-person, shopping for school supplies can be a stressful time.
CEO and president of the Better Business Bureau of Central East Texas Mechele Mills advises parents to follow a few simple tips before heading to the stores.
"You can get your school supply list and what that does is it helps you stay within budget," Mills said. "You want to make sure that you don't go over budget if you can, and don't make too many impulse purchases, which is hard to do but having a list ahead of time does help you to stay within your budget."
Items that won’t be tax-free, like computers and other electronics, will most likely have some sales.
"Just because something's not tax-free, doesn't mean you can't still get a discount on it," Mills said. "A lot of retailers will be providing discounts for different items that may not necessarily be included on the list."
This year’s sales tax holiday begins on Friday, August 6th, and goes through midnight on Sunday, August 8th.
Qualifying Items: