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NEVER Stop Paying Attention...to Sales Tax

 If you've ever been fortunate enough to live in or near the border of a state with no sales tax-the 'NOMAD' states of New Hampshire, Oregon, Montana, Alaska, and Delaware-then you know how good it feels to not pay the extra 6-, 7-, 8%...or more on your every day purchases.  But, if you're like most people living in one of the other 45 states, the added cost of sales tax is just a feature of daily life.

I live in a city/region/state with an 8.375% sales tax-not the highest in the country (that honor belongs to Calera, Alabama with a combined city/region/state tax of 13% -13%!), but higher than the national average of 7.53% (as of October 2026).  So, whenever I travel and have a bit of a backlog of items I'm on the hunt for, if I'm in a city where there is savings I can find on the product due to the sales tax (purchase price otherwise being equal...but more on that in a different post! :)), then I'll go ahead and pull the trigger and buy the items in the lower sales tax state.

It may not seem like much, but if I end up spending $1000, and can save 1.5-2% in sales tax, I will happily take that $15-$20 savings and treat myself to lunch that day. :)  

I realize that not everyone can plonk down $1000 in everyday item shopping, but with some advance purchase planning-and advance purchase budgeting (especially if you were going to spend the $$ eventually over the course of 3-4 months instead of one go), while it may not seem like much, that $15-$20 in savings can add up over the course of a year-or several years.

The one gotcha to this strategy?  Making sure that you save enough space in your luggage (if you're flying) or car (if you're driving) to be able to get your purchases back home!

So, the next time you plan to take a trip somewhere, as part of your trip planning look up what the sales tax is in the city you'll be staying in, and if it's a lower rate, you may want to factor in some shopping time as part of your trip and budget plannig!

Happy Travels!

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