Tips 'n Tricks: GST/HST and Snack Foods

Ever buy trail mix? Ju jubes or other chewy candy? Chocolate or salted nuts?

GST or HST applies to all of them. In some cases, so does the provincial sales tax.

Any snack-type foods to which salt has been added, even if they are sold in bulk - such as salted nuts and seeds - are GST/HST applicable.

The tax also applies to unsalted or salted mixtures of otherwise non-taxable food items; ergo, trail mix. In that case, you're paying for the service component of the 'Goods and Services' tax.

Among non-taxable bulk food items are chocolate chips for baking; raisins; dried fruit such as mango, cranberries, cantaloupe, grapefruit, apricots and pineapple; and unsalted nuts and seeds. (Beware: unshelled nuts sold in packages are taxable, regardless of whether or not they are salted.)

Therefore, if you want to buy trail mix but don't want to pay the tax, buy each of the ingredients individually - all unsalted. Then mix them together yourself and add salt, if desired.

For chewy candy, go for dried cantaloupe, which is eerily similar to sugar-coated candied jelly; or dried mango, grapefruit, pineapple, and so on. Experiment!

To satisfy your craving for chocolate, buy it in chip form from the bulk bin or in packages where it's sold for baking.

You can make a further saving if you have a food dehydrator. Then you can dry your own fruit and other foods.

I'd acquired a free food dehydrator a few months ago. Unfortunately, it didn't work. Am hoping that another, functioning one will find its way here eventually.

ETA: Carob chips, which are a vegan alternative to chocolate chips, are also sales tax free. Added bonus! - they're about two-thirds of the price of chocolate chips and can be used in baking as a substitute for chocolate.

Tips 'n Tricks: Baking soda

Was cleaning my kitchen sink just now and began wondering why anyone would use any cleanser other than baking soda for the job. It's cheap; environmentally-friendly; isn't harsh on skin, the cleaning cloth or the cleaning surface; and is as effective as any higher-priced commercial cleanser.

It does a whole lot else too. So does plain old white vinegar.

Between the two, there's no good reason for spending precious dollars on anything else to clean one's home. Or, for that matter, to clean oneself; baking soda works as well for toothpaste, shampoo and deodorant.

ETA, April 8th: There's an additional advantage to using baking soda for all your cleaning needs instead of manufactured and often environmentally harmful products: no PST, GST or HST!