TAMPA, Fla. — It's almost time to head back to the classroom and that means the back-to-school sales tax holiday starts soon.
It starts on July 31, you will have 10 days to enjoy the savings.
Get ready for some sticker shock when you go to buy school supplies. Prices are up, so this tax-free holiday will be a welcome one.
"Definitely focus on getting those big-ticket items, if you have a laptop to purchase," said Casey Runyan, the VP and managing editor of Brad's Deals, a website that shows you the best savings from thousands of stores.
She says now is also the time to stock up on the smaller supplies like pencils, pens, glue and crayons.
"Get two! Because you're never going to find them cheaper than you are right now."
If you want to avoid all the fuss in the store, she says you can still save quite a bit shopping online.
"Staples has free shipping with no minimum purchase and they have some of the best school supply deals we see."
If you don't want to go shopping at all, check with your school and see if they have supply kits you can pre-order that will be ready for your child on the first day of school. Runyan says many parents appreciate the convenience of this.
"Those can actually be an incredible bargain because the services that do those, they're buying in bulk."
As far as back-to-school clothes, Runyan says to hold off if you can.
"Wait for it to be later in the season and you're going to start seeing those clearance sales coming up."
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