Best Results Organizing

Photo by Kelli Tungay on Unsplash

Finances are tight these days. (Let’s be real — when aren’t they?) Inflation is frustrating our bank balances, and corporations are reaping record profits, frustrating our sense of fairness and propriety. Energy costs are surging just as it’s ridiculously hot in most of North America (and elsewhere). And while gas prices have dropped 40-straight-days as of the writing of this post, it’s not like that makes it any more delightful to pay at the pump.

And now, shockingly, it’s time to start thinking about organizing for back-to-school shopping.

Depending on where you live, you’re either nodding or looking shocked; if it’s the latter, it’s because you live, like I did when I grew up in Buffalo, New York, where kids don’t go back to school until after Labor Day. So for you, talking about back-to-school in July is like putting up Christmas decorations right after Halloween. (Oy. Never mind.)

The point is, there’s something going on right about now that can help you organize your financial resources for the back-to-school period.

ORGANIZE YOUR FINANCES WITH TAX-FREE HOLIDAYS

Throughout the year, many states have tax-free holiday weekends or weeks, and they are usually clustered in these mid-summer weeks to coincide with the back-to-school season for the southern states, where students return to school in early August, rather than post-Labor Day.

These states generally allow retailers to sell clothing and footwear, school supplies, computers, and sometimes backpacks, books, and other “tangible personal property” without charging sales tax. In my state, that’s a savings of 9.25%. Combine that with various 10%-off to 40%-off sales, and that’s a great opportunity to stock up on necessities. 

Seventeen states scheduled back-to-school tax-free holiday weekends or weeks in 2022. If your state is not listed below, consider clicking on the name of your nearest state to be directed to that state’s official tax-free holiday page. 

Note: Alabama’s tax-free holiday period has already occurred (July 15-17, 2022, and generally starts on the third Friday in July and ends at midnight on the following Sunday); watch the Alabama Department of Revenue website for 2023’s schedule.

Arkansas (August 6-7, 2022)
Tax-free: Clothing and footwear (up to $100); clothing accessories and equipment (up to $50); school and academic art supplies; scholastic instructional materials (including, but not limited to books) (no dollar limit)

Connecticut (August 21-27, 2022)
Tax-free: Clothing and footwear (up to $100)

Florida (various tax-free dates — see below)
May 14-August 14, 2022: children’s books
July 25-August 7, 2022: Clothing, footwear, and accessories (up to $100); school supplies (up to $50); learning aids and jigsaw puzzles (up to $30); computers and accessories for personal/non-commercial use (up to $1500).
Note: this overlaps with a year-long tax-free Florida holiday on baby/children’s clothing, shoes, and diapers, from July 1, 2022-June 30, 2023.

Illinois (August 5-14, 2022)
Reduced tax rate to 1.25%: Clothing and school supplies (up to $125) 

Iowa (August 5-6, 2022)
Tax-free: Clothing and footwear (up to $100)

Maryland (August 14-20, 2022)
Tax-free: Clothing & footwear (up to $100)

Mississippi (July 29-30, 2022)
Tax-free: Clothing & footwear (up to $100)

Missouri (August 5-7, 2022)
Tax-free: Clothing (up to $100); computers/peripherals (up to $1,500); software (up to $350); graphing calculators (up to $150); school supplies (up to $50)

New Mexico (August 5-7, 2022)
Tax-free: Clothing and footwear (up to $100); desktop or laptop computers, tablets or notebooks (up to $1,000); computer peripherals/hardware (up to $500); school supplies (up to $30)

Ohio (August 5-7, 2022)
Tax-free: Clothing (up to $75); school supplies (up to $20)

Oklahoma (August 5-7, 2022)
Tax-free: Clothing and footwear (up to $100)

South Carolina (August 5-7, 2022)
Tax-free: Clothing and shoes (no limit); school supplies (no limit); backpacks (no limit); computers, printers, peripherals, and software (no limit)

Tennessee (July 29-31, 2022)
Tax-free: Clothing (up to $100); school and art supplies (up to $100); desktop, laptop, and tablet computers (up to $1,500)

Texas (August 5-7, 2022)
Tax-free: Clothing and accessories; footwear; school supplies; and backpacks (each up to $100)

Virginia (August 5-7, 2022)
Tax-free: Clothing, accessories, and footwear (up to $100); school supplies (up to $20)

West Virginia (August 5-8, 2022)
Tax-free: Clothing (up to $125 limit); accessories, and footwear (up to $100); school supplies (up to $20)

In most cases, retailers should abide by the discounts or tax-free status whether the purchases are made at brick & mortar stores, online, or by phone.

However, so that you don’t experience any surprises, be sure to double-check that the online/phone venues from which you order understand your state’s tax holiday regulations. (In case you’re wondering, yes, Amazon participates in state sales tax holidays as long as you purchase the products exempted during your state’s tax holiday. And no, I have no idea how Amazon’s computers work that magic. I still haven’t figured out how Kohl’s magically makes my receipt so much less than I’m always expecting!)

Photo by Pixabay 

Tax-free holiday tips:

• The price limits above generally refer to the price-per-item cost, not your entire purchase. If the per-item limit is $100 and your entire bill for clothing comes to $250, but no one item is more than $100, you’re golden.
• Make a list of what each family member needs before you get to the store. (Check with your school to see if a grade-appropriate supply list has been posted online. If your school does not provide a list prior to the start of the school year, consider an online supply list organized by grade level.) It’s tempting to buy anything that seems like a bargain, but acquiring what you don’t need just because it’s a “deal” is the fast track to clutter.
• Set a budget for each shopping category so that you’re not tempted to go hog-wild, and consider what each of your students might need vs. what you can keep in a central home school supply area for all to share. 
• Shopping with smaller children may stress you (and your kids) out, so consider trading shopping and babysitting time with a friend or split babysitter costs while you and your friend hunt for bargains together.
• Let older children participate — use it as an opportunity to practice math skills (“How much is this shirt if it’s marked as 15% off?”) and encourage them in finding good deals on high-quality products. The more responsible they are, perhaps reward them with the amount by which they came in under budget to apply toward something fun.
• Remember to keep your receipts in case you need to return something; note each retailer’s return policy. Again, this is a great opportunity to teach financial and organizing skills. Show them how you calculated your budget and checked the purchases against the bottom line. Have tweens and teens help you take note of return policy dates and file receipts pending any possible returns.
• Remember that tax-free holidays aren’t just for kids! In most cases, there’s a $100 limit on clothing and shoes for any age person. After all, a shirt a 15-year-old can wear might just as easily be worn by a 30-year-old, and there’s very little way to differentiate school supplies from office supplies. (What do you mean grownups aren’t supposed to use unicorn stickers and fuzzy troll pencil toppers?)
• I’m going to say this a second time — set a budget. And stick to it. The point of saving money is to have more of it, not to buy more of what you don’t necessarily need. Focus on needs, then surprise and delight yourself and your kids with a few wants, as well.

And as long as we’re talking about saving money, here are a few discounts of which you might want to take advantage, as long as you’re doing the back-to-school thing.

Bixbee

Nobody likes sales emails, but I have to admit it. Once I learned of Bixbee a few years ago, I became obsessed with their cool kid products, which include backbacks, lunchboxes, sleeping bags, and kids’ accessories.

Bixbee, maker of ergonomically-smart backpacks built with the anatomy of tiny humans in mind, has some products that will charm your kids (and their spines) and keep clutter at bay.

Also, if your kids’ backpacks or lunchboxes are super-cool and fun, they’re less likely to leave them on the bus, or in their gym lockers, or just lose them altogether, which means you won’t have to make duplicate purchases…which means you save money. Whoohoo!

Bixbee also has delightful luggage and duffels for ease of traveling, rain boots and T-shirts, water bottles and just a whole bunch of kid-friendly goofiness.

You didn’t ask me, but of course I have favorites, like the Sparkalicious Ruby Raspberry Butterflyer Backpack

and the Monkey Backpack and the matching Monkey Lunchbox:

Bixbee is having a back-to-school sale. Get 25% off any purchase with the code BACK2SCHOOL but hurry, because this discount code expires on Wednesday, July 27, 2022!

Bixbee is also offering free Standard Shipping (for US customers only) on all orders over $60.00 and a FREE folder and stickers with every backpack order! (Who doesn’t love stickers?)

Academic Planner: A Tool for Time Management®

If you’ve been a reader of the Paper Doll blog for a while, then you know that professional organizer Leslie Josel of Order Out of Chaos, is a colleague, friend, and fellow Cornell University alum. And I love every darned thing this smarty-skirt does!

(For more about Leslie, you can read Paper Doll Peeks Behind the Curtain with Superstar Coach, Author & Speaker Leslie Josel. Go. Read. Come back. We’ll wait.)

Paper Doll with Leslie Josel, © 2017 Best Results Organizing

I’ve written many, many times about Leslie’s Academic Planner: A Tool for Time Management®. The central concept behind the planner is the need to better enable students to “see” time and all of the related obligations. If you’re brand new to the Academic Planner, you can start here:

The Academic Planner has even won the 2018, 2020, and 2022 Family Choice Award!

 The spiral-bound 2022-2023 Academic Planner comes in two sizes: letter-sized planner with  after-school planning (8 1/2″ x 11″) and smaller personal-sized with all-day planning (8 1/4″ x 8 1/2″), both for $19.99. Based on an academic year calendar, the planners run July through June. 

Four styles of planners in each size

The letter-sized planners with after-school planning come in LimeLight, Pretty In Pink, Blues Brothers, and WhiteOut. The interior pages measure 7” x 11”, offering up more than the typical space for writing down assignments and activities. It has 7 subject boxes and after-school planning capabilities starting at 2p.m., and is ideal for elementary, middle, and high school students and those that are virtual learning or homeschooled.

The smaller, personal-sized planner with all-day planning come in Men in Black, Purple Rain, Yellow Submarine, and AquaMan. They have 6 subject boxes and all-day planning capabilities, starting at 8:00am. These work well for high school, college, and homeschool students and even adults!

Introductory Pages

The front pages, measuring the same size as the front and rear cover of the planner, include:

• a contact information section so a lost planner can be easily returned
• a class schedule (subject, period, instructor, room #, days) to quickly acclimate students for the new year (and give a fellow student, armed with the contact info, an easy way to find the owner at the right classroom and return a lost planner)
• a Welcome Letter from Leslie to parents
• a detailed set of Planner Pointers, providing excellent guiding tips for making smart use of the planner. (My favorite? Writing “No Homework” if none was assigned so the student never has to wonder if he or she just forgot to write something down.)
• a two-page Planner Use Guide, showing the planner in action — noting assignments, reminders (“Get permission slips signed!”), after-school activities and previews for the next week
• a Study Planning Guide to help prepare for tests and quizzes
• a sample Project Planning Guide to help plan long-term assignments
• a two-page School Year at a Glance

Planner Pages

On the first and last (extra-sturdy) full-sized, the Academic Planner has a vertical index page that peeks out from behind (and to the left and right) of the actual planner pages. This index page means that students record their class subjects only once. Then everything on the upper calendar sections of the planner pages lines up with the appropriate class subjects, course by course, horizontally (with days of the week arrayed, vertically) across a two-page layout. 

The next row in the smaller planner is for To-Do items by day. In the letter-sized planners, the left and right front pages provide hourly slots from 2 p.m. until 8 p.m. for students to log after school activities and obligations, like clubs, athletic practice, rehearsals, and jobs.

Other Features

• At the start of each month, there’s a left-side full-page monthly calendar with space to note major events, holidays, and vacations, and adequately plan longer-term projects.
• The right-side Notes page facing the calendar offers up ample room for planning, notes, and the kinds of serious thoughts only people between 12 and 18 can understand.
• There’s a clear poly pocket at the rear of the planner for safely keeping notes, permission slips, and other documents too small for a student’s binder.
• There are oodles of extras, like a library of printouts, downloads, videos, and “how-tos”, as well as downloadable resources like Project and Study Planning Guides, Time Trackers, Homework Checklists, Planner Pointers, Study Skills Videos. 
• A bonus Academic Planner Accessories Pack (sold separately, for $10.99) includes a plastic page marker that clips into the spiral binding, so it’s easy to find the current week in the planner, a set of monthly tabs, and a really bright, sunny set of useful stickers.

Whew! That was a lot. To really do justice to the 2022-2023 Academic Planner: A Tool for Time Management®, take a detailed walk-through with Leslie herself. It’s like having a private coaching session!

And since this post is about saving money for back-to-school, use the promo code PLANNER20 at checkout to get 20% off any academic planners you purchase directly from the Order Out of Chaos website. This promo code expires September 30, 2022. 

(If you prefer to order through Amazon, the 8 1/2″ x11″ planner and 8 1/2″ x 8 1/4″ planner sell for the same price.)

Enjoy your summer, but remember that a little planning and organizing now can make back-to-school shopping less costly, less stressful, and a bit more sunny!

And, just a reminder if you missed my last post, Paper Doll on Planning & Prioritizing for Leadership, we’re only one week into the free, 3-week, The Leader’s Asset interview series. You can still register and catch my interview this Wednesday, July 27, 2022.

Disclosure: Some of the links above are affiliate links, and I may get a small remuneration (at no additional cost to you) if you make a purchase after clicking through to the resulting pages. The opinions, as always, are my own. (Seriously, who else would claim them?)