Get ready, get set, SPEND! All across Mississippi today and Saturday, hopefully, residents will get out and spend a little money in local stores.

This weekend marks the second year Mississippi has sponsored a sales-tax free weekend for clothing and shoes.

The idea behind it is two-fold.

First, it serves as an added incentive for consumers to spend a little more freely since every item under $100 in value effectively contains a 7-percent discount without the tax.

Second, the hope is to provide a little economic stimulus to residents by giving them just a little bit of savings as the national economy continues to slowly creep out of the Great Recession.

Of course the downside is that the sales tax that would normally be applied will not be available for city and state usage. But that’s a small price to pay if the incentive encourages some money to flow in our community.

Our area merchants depend on local consumers for their livelihoods.

Even many of the shops that are normally considered ones aimed at tourists say they depend heavily on locals.

As we’ve said hundreds of times, spending money locally — whenever possible — is important. And, if a special tax holiday helps us all do that a bit more, all the better.