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Get ready to shop and save all year with our Best Time to Buy Everything Guide!
You’ll see a pattern here. Usually, the best time to buy something is after everyone else has bought that thing and sellers are afraid they’ll be stuck with inventory. Supply and demand in action people. When everyone wants something, think Christmas wrapping paper, prices soar. But on December 26th when all the Christmas gifts for the year have been wrapped, sellers don’t want to have to store the remaining wrapping paper until next year. They’d rather sell it to you for 50% off.
The risk, of course, is that all the best stuff will be picked over by then. If you have your heart set on a very specific product, and you’re willing to pay full price, we won’t try to stop you. But just think: if you could get a similar product at a 30-50% discount, would you?
So let’s get to it! Here’s the best time to buy everything and save money all year long!
January
- Home linens
- Lingerie (Victoria’s Secret Semi-Annual Sale)
- Winter clothes
You might be a touch strapped for cash in January after all your holiday spending. But you might also have some gift cards you can use to take advantage of these January deals!
Home linens, like towels and bedding, are deeply discounted in the many “White Sales” going on in January. Snag high-quality bras, undies, sleepwear, and even exercise clothing during Victoria’s Secret’s Semi-Annual Sale). And grab some winter clothes for next year in the clearance section while retailers make room for the spring collections.
February
- Jewelry (and all things Valentine’s Day, starting February 15th)
- Mattresses (President’s Day Sales)
- Appliances (also President’s Day Sales)
According to Bloomberg, Americans each spend about $140 on Valentine’s Day. Want to cut your Valentine’s Day expenses in half without sacrificing any of the quality? Celebrate on Feb 15th. Half-off chocolates, flowers, and cards. Full restaurant menus at reasonable prices with better food and better service (since the chefs and servers aren’t over-extended by the Val Day Crowd). Because really, do you have to celebrate your love precisely on Feb 14th? You don’t even get the day off work!
President’s Day has become the national go-to day for mattress and appliances sales. Because there’s no better way to honor America’s presidents than by contributing the American economy, I guess.
March
- Nothing! (or maybe a cruise…)
March could be a great opportunity to try one of those no-spend challenges on Pinterest. One month where you don’t buy anything that isn’t necessary to your survival. You’re not missing any important deals this month.
But, if a cruise is on your buck list, March is the time to book it. Cruise lines are anxious to fill the empty cabins on their upcoming excursions, so you can get a good price on the trip of a lifetime.
Heads-up: a great deal on a cruise doesn’t mean much if you also have to book a peak-season flight. Before booking a cruise make sure any flight needed to get to the port won’t break the bank.
April
- Vacuum Cleaners
- Home Organizers
- Anything Easter
April is another meh month for shopping. Unless you really need to organize your home or get a new vacuum.
You can also save some money by picking up some Easter decorations the day after Easter. But how many Easter decorations do you really need?
May
- Spring clothes
- Flowers and jewelry (for Mother’s Day)
- Appliances (Memorial Day Sales)
Retailers are stocking summer clothes in May, so you can get your spring clothes at a fraction of the retail price.
Flowers and jewelry go on sale in the week or so leading up to Mother’s Day. One for mom, one for you!
And because America loves to celebrate 3-day weekends with appliance sales, Memorial Day is another good time to buy appliances.
June
- Tools and maybe some tech (both for Father’s Day)
- Lingerie (Victoria’s Secret Semi-Annual Sale)
June is the month to buy some tools when the home improvement stores start advertising their Father’s Day deals. And many electronics retailers offer Father’s Day specials too, so you might be able to get a new computer or other tech for less.
Then head back to Victoria’s Secret toward the end of the month for the second installment of their Semi-Annual Sale.
July
- A grill
- Amazon gadgets (Prime Day sometime mid-month)
- Work clothes (Nordstrom Half-Yearly Sale at the end of the month)
The perfect time to buy a grill is July 5th, after all the 4th of July BBQ’s have ended. You’ll still have a good chunk of summer plus labor day weekend to use it this year, and a grill will last for the next decade or so!
If you’re in the market for a Kindle, a Fire Tablet or an Echo, July is the perfect time to get a stellar deal. But you have to be in-the-know and act fast! Amazon hosts a huge sale on Prime Day. The exact date changes every year, but it happens sometime mid-July and is filled with crazy flash sales on great Amazon products.
Btw, if you don’t have an Amazon Prime account, you should seriously consider getting one. My Prime account saves me over $80/month!
Last thing: for some grown-up, perfect-for-career clothes, check out the Half-Yearly Sale at Nordstrom in July.
August
- Summer clothes
- Office supplies (thanks to Back to School Deals)
Last call for summer clothes! Summer clothes will be available at huge discounts in August as stores ready the racks for sweaters, flannels, and boots. Which is great for my friends in SoCal because you know the temp will be in the 80s through November. And for my friends in the Midwest, you never know when you might get an Indian Summer 🙂 Otherwise, stock up on summer basics to serve as the base for next year’s summer wardrobe.
Anyone else get stupid excited about Post-Its and highlighters? Then you’ll love the Back to School Sales in August. Stock up on your home office necessities and get some colored pencils or crayons just for fun. Target is still my favorite place for back-to-school shopping.
September
- Patio furniture
- Camping gear
- Some appliances and mattresses (Labor Day)
Summer’s officially over, so now you can get patio furniture and camping gear for dirt cheap (well, as cheap as those things get anyway). And again, you’ll be able to enjoy these things for years to come, so who cares if you have to buy in the offseason and store them for 6 months before they get any use?
And then there’s Labor Day weekend. So, you know, mattresses and appliances again.
October
- Older-model iPhones
New iPhones launch in September, which makes October the perfect time to get an older-model iPhone while supply is high. If you really need a new phone, that is. Otherwise, October’s another ideal month to try a no-spend challenge! And maybe save that money for Christmas presents so you can have a credit-card debt-free Christmas 😉
November
- Electronics (Black Friday Weekend)
- Holiday gifts (Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday)
- Travel (Cyber Monday)
Time to spend! Do your part to boost the US economy and buy presents for your nearest and dearest.
Yes, Black Friday has absolutely gotten out of control. It now extends through the entire 5-day Thanksgiving holiday now (yeah, we’re counting Cyber Monday), so you can take advantage of lowest-price-of-the-year sales that whole time. Electronics and holiday gifts are all offered at reduces prices. Just do yourself a favor and shop online. Get your deals without getting trampled. And be able to actually enjoy Thanksgiving with your family instead of braving the crowds.
Planning to book some travel? Airlines and hotels have started offering sale prices on Cyber Monday. While it may be too close to the holidays to book holiday travel, it’s perfect for booking a spring trip (ahem, Spring Break in Cabo, anyone?).
December
- Last minute toys
- Next year’s Christmas decorations, wrapping paper, cards, etc.
As long as you’re not the person responsible for getting that one toy-of-the-year for any of the kids in your life, you can wait until the last week or two before Christmas to buy toys. Naturally, stores stock up on toys for the holidays and don’t want to carry all that inventory into next quarter. So they slash prices to get rid of the toys in the days leading up to Christmas. With such low prices, you might even be able to afford an extra toy or two for your local toy drive.
New holiday tradition: head to Target and Hobby Lobby on December 26th to buy next year’s decorations, wrapping paper, cards, etc., etc., etc.! That stuff will be at least 50% off.
The first year I did this, I was afraid it would diminish my Christmas experience the next year if I was using last season’s stuff. But the fact is, I stashed that stuff in a closet as soon as I got home, and by the time I got back to that closet in November, I had totally forgotten what I bought. So the stuff was all still new and exciting to me. All the more so since I didn’t have to spend any of my November paycheck on it.
How to save when you need to buy right now
Can’t wait until the best time to buy? Here’s how to save when you need to buy right away.
- Check Amazon. Amazon has friggin everything. And they often have better prices than the brick and mortar stores. Save even more with a Prime Membership.
- Go to the discounters (TJ Maxx, Ross, Marshals, etc.). Clothes might be hit and miss at these discount stores, but they are a goldmine for shoes, handbags, luggage, accessories, and even housewares (Home Goods!!!). And they have lots of brand name stuff from last season if the tags are important to you (or if you just know that Calvin Klein makes the only jeans in the world that fit your weird proportions).
- Speaking of brand names, outlets are a great option for your fave brands. I’m in love with the Anne Taylor Loft Outlets.
- Buy in bulk if you have room to store everything. People with storage space swear by Costco.
- Check online for coupon codes. There’s just no reason to buy anything online without a quick Google to see if there’s a coupon code for that store.
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Do you have tips for saving while shopping? Leave ’em in the comments; we’d love to hear ’em!
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