KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Missouri’s Back-To-School Sales Tax weekend is active Friday through Sunday, and financial experts say now is the time to take advantage of it.
Depending on where consumers shop, savings of at least 4.225% are available. To see just how much students could potentially save, KSHB 41 News decided to shop for school supplies based on items needed at both Kansas City Public Schools and the Independence School District.
The items were mostly found and purchased at Artist & Craftsman Supply off of Southwest Boulevard.
For KCPS families whose students attend second through fourth grades, the total came out to $124.23. With state sales tax taken off applicable items, the total came down to $114.12. Artist & Craftsman Supply additionally offers discounts to teachers and students, bringing down the total to $102.69.
KSHB also shopped for Independence kindergartners at Artist & Craftsman Supply. With the exception of some items, the total without the state sales tax taken out was $126.64. When the tax holiday was applied, the total came down to $115.27. Further, additional discounts exclusive to the store dropped the price to $103.72.
“Inflation is currently at 9.1%. The biggest thing that you can do to really help your spending align with your values is to track it. We as humans are not great at mentally tracking where our money goes,” said Mallory Baska, financial expert who started her business Financial Freedom.
Baska is known throughout social media for giving financial advice she says helps people become financially independent and secure. She says even if consumers are not shopping for back-to-school, taking advantage of the weekend can help save big on upcoming events and the holiday season.
“Whether it be a gift for somebody, a wedding or a birthday that I have coming up, or obviously Christmas, which is now about four months away, start making a list of what you'll need to purchase and have that available,” Baska said.
To learn more about Missouri’s Back-To-School Sales Tax weekend, visit the state’s website.
