It’s that time again, when summer starts to wind down and back-to-school sales start to spool up. In honor or celebration (or simple vote-whoring), many states in the US will have Tax Free Weekends. For two reasons, this is an excellent time to stock up on school gaming supplies (sorry, but Cheetos are still taxed).
Reason Number One is simple: No sales taxes on school supplies. The sales tax on a pack of notebook paper is pretty insignificant, but most states include more-expensive items. In Texas, clothes, shoes, and backpacks up to $100 are tax-free. Throw in a year’s worth of notebooks, pencils, graph paper, etc, and you could save lunch money for a few weeks.
Reason Number Two is a bit more subtle, unless you read the newspaper. To get in on the feeding frenzy, local retailers will put up ‘loss leaders’ that draw in the back-to-school crowds. Here in Texas, it’s not uncommon to see notebooks for a nickel, boxes of pencils for under a dollar, etc.
So if you want a deal on a year’s worth of gaming supplies, check here to see if your state has a Tax Free Weekend (or week), and get to shopping!
Got more advice for saving money on gaming supplies? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
First year for Illinois. Already loaded up on ruled paper (and got a compass).
For those of us that do not get tax free weekends, buying your gaming supplies near the end of the school year (late April or early May) is a good bet, too. This is when stores are trying to offload all their supplies that didn’t get purchased to make room for fun summer stuff. Like many other things, buying in bulk for supplies is a great idea if you have the space and money. Get everyone in your group (if you consistently have the same people) to throw down just a little cash and you can get a box of lined paper or printer paper as opposed to a ream or two. Same goes for everything else.
Great idea!
We have had them in years past, but this year it seems the bill did not pass. Boo.
I have a strange stationary fetish, so it was like a magical holiday for me. I will miss it this year.
My stapler!
@longtooth – Sorry to hear that. And a non-moving fetish is indeed strange. 😉
This is my stapler. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
Did my shopping today. I’m already pretty well stocked, but the total tax-free cost was $37.01, for $3.05 in savings. I also saved $3 in coupons, and at least that much in markdowns and discounts.
Call it nine bucks saved, enough to pay for a mighty fine lunch.