About three years ago, a glorious thing happened here in the Heartland. The fine folks in our state legislature declared the first weekend in August to be Tax Free. That's right friends, here in Missouri, certain back to school items may be purchased for the actual sticker price. No state sales tax is charged! (Some not-so-friendly areas still charge their own local sales tax...)
I know it sounds crazy, but I get pretty giddy over the thought of pulling one over on the government. I think our tax rate is around 7% which probably doesn't add up to all that much, but the idea of stocking my closet (clothing and shoes are tax free), my art cabinet (school supplies--aka paints, markers, glue, paper--are tax free), and upgrading the computer (which sadly, I had to do before the holiday this year) tax free is appealing.
So, this weekend, we shopped.
I found this really cute dress at H&M for the Kindergartener. It seems very European, which it probably is, and I just love it. It was on their clearance rack for $10. I like it because it's simple, and if you didn't know it was from H&M, you might think it wasn't mass-produced.
We picked up lots of other great bargains and cute clothes for the girls, but they tend to be your more typical back to school choices. And no, all this shopping does not mean that I've abandoned my fall clothing goals. I'll be sewing dresses and skirts for the girls, so our purchases this weekend were more of the jeans/pants/shirts type. As soon as I get the summer stuff finished (um, started), I'll start revealing my fall creations.
Now, if only we can convince the state legislature to lift the tax on groceries...