If you’ve been mulling over the purchase of a few items to better prepare for emergencies, this weekend may be the time to do it. A sales tax holiday starts at midnight Saturday and ends at midnight Monday.
In the last four years, North Texas has been hit by a few natural disasters that might make a person want to prepare for further shenanigans. There was that massive storm that blew in in June 2019 that caused citywide power outages. There have been a few floods and tornadoes. Winter Storm Uri in 2021 kept almost the entire state in the dark and cold for days when the grid failed after temperatures plummeted to subzero levels.
“While we can’t know in advance when the next flood, tornado, or hurricane may strike, we can make sure our families, homes, and businesses have the supplies they need to face these and other emergencies,” State Comptroller Glenn Hegar said in a press release.
Last year, we asked experts and people who have actually lived through disasters about how to prepare and recover from floods, freezes, tornadoes, and more.
In light of the 8.25 cent savings per item you can get this weekend, I thought I’d share what my family has purchased since Uri that would qualify for the sales tax exemption.
Power
The cheapest option for powering flashlights, cell phones, and radios is, of course, batteries. Everything from AAA to 9-volt batteries is covered this weekend, as well as some cell phone batteries and chargers. Car and boat batteries are not included. Use this opportunity to stock up on batteries and maybe also some portable charging devices for your phones, which can come in handy for more than just power outages. You can spend up to $75 per item for batteries and cell phone chargers.
If you want to power more things, generators that cost less than $3,000 are on the exempt list. That would include the small gas-powered generator we purchased shortly after Uri, which costs about $800. There are more expensive and bigger models, of course, but we weighed our storage space with our modest needs and went with a smaller model. We also realized that we might not use it often enough to justify a bigger model. It’s also not the smallest model available either, so if you’re looking for a smaller entry point, sporting goods stores like Cabela’s and Bass Pro Shop will have even smaller options priced between $300 and $400.
The other thing that factored into our decision to go smaller on the gas-powered generator was another purchase we made: a portable power station. We picked up this model by Anker on Amazon, but there are several to choose from at local electronics stores like Best Buy. (Note: Our model is no longer sold, but Anker emailed to recommend the Anker 521 Power Station or the Anker 555 Power Station.) Priced at $100 and up, this is a good buy even without the sales tax break and is also a good option for apartment and condo dwellers because it doesn’t require the user to take into account the exhaust a gas-powered generator produces.
Because this power station can run a small fan or space heater, charge all of our devices, or even provide enough juice for an electric kettle or hot plate, we figured out early on that it was easier to keep this charged up, since it plugs into a wall outlet when not in use, and can be ready to go at any time. We can then use our gas-powered generator for things like recharging that power station, running our outdoor movie projector if boredom sets in, and camping and tailgating.
Food storage
This weekend you can also spend up to $75 on coolers, ice chests, and reusable ice products for food storage. That’s not enough for a Yeti, of course, but there are some pretty good alternatives within that price range, from Coleman, Hydro Flask, Arctic Zone, and Igloo. Ice packs (even if you don’t put them in a cooler) can help keep your freezer and fridge cooler during an outage. We like this non-bulky, budget-friendly option by Ozark Trail, a Wal-Mart brand.
Other necessities
In addition to batteries, you can also pick up flashlights, candles, and lanterns this weekend. Tie-down kits and tarps, carbon monoxide and smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, axes, radios, and first aid kits are also included in the list of items you can spend up to $75 on this weekend.
Now, for the fine print: Each individual item’s price determines whether it qualifies as tax-free, not the total purchase. So go crazy. You’re not limited to $75 in batteries, you’re limited to $75 per package of batteries.
You can also buy online, but the state comptroller’s office said you’ll need to make sure that you’ve factored in any delivery costs to the total price of the purchase. If your $70 cooler costs $10 to ship, it won’t qualify for the exemption, for instance.
For a full list of what is and isn’t exempt from sales tax this weekend, go here.
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