D.C. Tax-Free Shopping and Black Friday

Being the sale-loving gal that I am, you would think that I would live for Black Friday. To tell the truth, last year was the first time I've ever done the whole crazy, waiting in line at 3:00 a.m. business. True, there are some amazing deals to be had if you're willing to stand in line for hours on end (it's not just waiting for the store to open either; checkout lines are even worse!), but perhaps it's not my cup of tea because it's not really a clothes/accessories kind of event. If you simply must brave the masses, I urge you to do your research first. Go through all the local papers for all the stores to find out who has what. Once you find the item you desire, make sure you know everything about that product so you don't get duped and get the one that isn't on sale. The thought of waiting in line for hours on end and getting the black TV, when only the grey ones are on sale makes me nauseous. To all of you that venture out: Good Luck!

All in all, I prefer to think of Black Friday as the kickoff to a sale-filled Holiday shopping season. I mean there are so many holiday parties, and you don't want to be photographed in the same thing twice (even if it is just going on facebook and not the cover of US Weekly)! Oh yeah, and I guess there's something about buying presents for other people as well. Regardless, no one wants to get stuck paying full price for something.

I find the best way to monitor Holiday Sales (other than reading my blog, obviously) is to sign up for email lists. I know some people are quite averse to "junk mail" but being informed that Neiman Marcus has marked down items up to 80% off AND has Free Shipping, is hardly what I call "junk."

Another way to help save money (and by save, I mean stash for the next must-have item) is to take advantage of Tax-Free Shopping!!! I love the feeling of getting up to the cash register and actually having an item be the price it says on the tag :) See below for details!
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DC Sales Tax Holiday
Monday 11-19-2007 2:41pm ET
WASHINGTON - Holiday shopping will be a little bit lighter on the wallet starting Friday.

The District's next sales tax holiday starts then, until Sunday, Dec. 2.

The holiday exempts specific items under $100 from the city's 5.75 percent sales tax. The eligible items include clothes, shoes and accessories.

The rules say that the tax exemption applies to each eligible item no matter how many items a customer buys on the same bill.

It can also apply to layaway sales if the buyer and seller begin the layaway agreement during the tax holiday, or if the customer makes the final payment on the layaway item during the holiday.