Hurricane Season & The Tax-free Holiday Begins

Yesterday marked the first day of hurricane season here in Florida. The hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30. It was also the first day that we had any rain here in a long time. Hooray! We're in a bad drought and need the rain very badly.

The drought has caused prime wildfire conditions and these conditions have led to roughly 1,300 wildfires that have burned more than 75,000 acres around the state of Florida from January through March. Some of the Florida highways have even been shut down at times due to all the smoke and ash.

As for the cool liquid, it rained from about mid-afternoon yesterday all the way through until around noon today - and we should get more this weekend (fingers crossed). Heh, it's actually the first time in weeks that my car has been clean! It's either been covered in dust from all the dryness or in ash from all the wildfires.

Florida's Tax-free Holiday

If you're one of my awesome readers from Florida, then don't forget that you can save money on the things you'll need for this hurricane season! Yesterday also marked the start of a 12-day hurricane preparation sales-tax holiday. Yep, no sales taxes! This tax-free holiday allows you to save money on common hurricane supplies like:

• Portable radios, two-way radios and weather-band radios. One notable change this year is that now you can spend up to $75 - as opposed to last year's $50 - on portable radios.
• Flashlights & other portable, self-powered light sources costing $20 or less.
• Batteries costing $30 or less (AAA, AA, C and D cell, and 6 and 9 volt batteries).
• Gas or diesel fuel containers costing $25 or less.
• Tarps costing $50 or less.
• Storm shutter devices costing $200 or less.
• Non-electrical food storage coolers costing $30 or less.
• Carbon monoxide detectors costing $75 or less.
• Portable generators costing $1000 or less.

So don't delay! This tax-free holiday only lasts until June 12.