Josie Cave could be the fashion envy of the first grade this school year.
For her grandmother, Patricia, having a fashionista as a granddaughter wasn’t as costly as she expected, thanks to the sales tax holiday this weekend.
The annual Texas event exempts state and local sales tax on items such as clothing, shoes, backpacks, and school supplies prices under $100. The savings could reach 8.25% for shoppers.
Saturday, grandmother and granddaughter hit Target for school supplies and clothing. Patricia said she saved about $15 in taxes on a nearly $200 shopping bill.
The savings, she said, bought Josie “an extra shirt.”
Fellow Target shoppers Kris Kiczales and her four kids pushed a full red cart across the parking lot on Saturday. Her cart was filled with clothing, notebooks, pencils, and book bags.
“We saved enough for lunch,” she said with a slight laugh.
Kiczales explained that the family moved to the DFW area in May from New York, which does not have a tax-free weekend.
Her oldest child, Sidney, a senior, said his usual style is jeans and t-shirts. Her youngest, a third grader, Ashley, likes bright shirts and “fancy” pants.
Both Cave and Kiczales are thankful for the few extra dollars in savings, explaining that with family essentials — food, gas, and housing — increasing, every little bit helps.
Retail giant Walmart said last week that household discretionary spending has dropped to offset the higher cost of food and gas.
Shoppers at Walmart agreed.
Lucia Valentin and her three kids walked out of Walmart with a cart filled with plastic bags — a mixture of school supplies, clothes, and groceries.
“It’s a lot of stuff!” chimed 6-year-old Caesar, a first-grader.
And it was. Valentin estimates she spent close to $200 on clothing and school supplies.
“I got enough school supplies for them,” she said. “Each has three days of new clothing.”
Valentin had everything marked off her shopping list except shoes. She explained she simply cannot find good, affordable shoes.
For the Valentin family, oldest brother Alejandro will buy shoes for Caesar and himself with earnings from his afterschool job at a fast-food establishment.
“This will help my parents,” said the 17-year-old high school Senior.
Of the near-dozen shoppers interviewed by The Dallas Express Saturday afternoon, all said the tax-free weekend was a much-needed break for their budgets.