A few dollars means more than it did before our country entered the current economic downturn.

People these days have to take advantage of every opportunity to save money, and one such opportunity, the state’s sales tax holiday, will take place Aug. 6-8.

As it has the other four years of the program, Clanton will participate and also give customers a break from the city sales tax. Neither the county nor any other county municipality will participate, but most of the stores that sell merchandise that qualifies for the holiday are located in Clanton. Items eligible for sales tax breaks are back-to-school goods, such as clothes and computers.

With the city’s sales tax taken off as well as the state tax, residents can save a good bit of money if they wait until the holiday weekend to buy all their school supplies.

In these trying times, one can’t blame them.