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The Daily Money: Back-to-school shopping tips


Good morning and Happy Friday! This is Betty Lin-Fisher with Friday's consumer-focused edition of The Daily Money.

I know it is still summer, so the kids definitely don't want to talk about going back to school. I'm married to a teacher and he also doesn't want to talk about going back to school!

But the back-to-school shopping season is upon us and started as early as June for some shoppers. According to the National Retail Federation, even more consumers — worried about the economy and tariffs — started their back-to-school shopping in July.

Shoppers are also pulling back on some purchases.

There are ways to save money. If you live in one of the 17 states that have a tax-free shopping holiday, you can skip paying tax on certain items.

Every participating state is different in when they hold their tax-free holiday, and some states offer a wide variety of things that are eligible, while others limit it to school-related items. In other words, even if you aren't back-to-school shopping, you may still benefit in some states.

New Mexico and Tennessee have their sales-tax holiday weekends starting today.

Is your state on the list?

Still working from home? How to get ahead

Are you a remote worker with pressures to return to the office? Or are you permanently remote, but you want to make sure you are not overlooked?

My colleague Rachel Barber has this interesting story with some good data and advice.

Here is how you can still get ahead if you work from home.

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About The Daily Money

Each weekday, The Daily Money delivers the best consumer and financial news from Paste BN, breaking down complex events, providing the TLDR version, and explaining how everything from Fed rate changes to bankruptcies impacts you.