OK. We've already discussed this, but in case you forgot, this weekend is your big break. The South Carolina Sales Tax Holiday begins at 12:01 a.m. Friday. For three days, back to school shoppers (and regular shoppers) will not have to pay the state's 5 percent tax and other local taxes on a long list of items.

If you are shopping in Chesterfield County, this means you will save 7 percent on clothes, shoes, hats, bed linens, pillows, computers and most school supplies.

It's a good deal for people shopping for back-to-school supplies. It may not seem like much savings (seven pennies on every dollar spent), but it quickly adds up when you are buying notebooks, pens, pencils, bookbags, calculators, printers, sneakers, blue jeans, skirts and shirts. For many families, this tax free weekend eases the financial burden of getting kids ready for the school year, as well as allowing them to get in a few other purchases at a bargain price.

And retailers don't suffer a loss. In fact, sales jump tremendously during the tax free weekend; many can't keep their shelves stocked during the three-day holiday.

The loss of revenue is at the state level, but obviously legislators have weighed the benefit to so many people and kept the holiday intact.

This year, a number of items have been added to the list of tax exempt items. We haven't quite figured out the rhyme or reason for selecting things to be included on the tax-free list, but we like the fact that the list is growing. (See page 1B for the new items, or go to www.sctax.org.)

For those of you always clamoring for another tax break, here's one that doesn't come with any special eligibility rules.

But it's only for three days. It's back to fully loaded taxes on Sunday at midnight, so don't miss out.