So, I take it you make frequent road trips to the Duty Free store in Sault St. Marie, Michigan, then?
Food isn’t taxed in Wisconsin. Yet. ;) I don’t shop much other than for food, and as you probably know, I garden big time, so grow a lot of our food, too. I buy other things we ‘need’ on the Second Hand Market. For example, if I buy a used book, I’m paying a nickle in tax, versus $1.37 in tax for a new hardcover at full price. Or, I use the Library. We rarely eat in a restaurant, never do ‘fast food.’ We don’t go out to bars - even if we could, still being locked down in Wisconsin. :(
I drive very little (as are so many right now) so I pay little in gasoline taxes, which are supposed to pay for roads, but our last two Rat Governors diverted the $80 Million (or some such astronomical number) in funds to their own pet projects! I drive once a week, about 20 miles round trip, max.
At age 60, I’m in the process of SHEDDING possessions, not adding. I sold all of my land/house, so no property taxes anymore. Our house and 48 acres is paid in full. No car payments, no CC debt.
I do what I can. You should, too! It’s a fun game to play; look at every purchase you make and see how you can do it differently. Or, just quit buying stuff. Trust me - that works to avoid taxes 100% of the time, LOL!
I’m already figuring out what to do when I start drawing SS in less than two years. That will be ‘taxable income’ though technically, it’s my money to begin with. Mother Government has been p*ssing it away on things I disagree with since I had my first paycheck at age fifteen.
Starve The Beast! :)