Smart Shopping: The Best Time To Buy

Without fail you can head into any mall or retailer at any given time and they will be offering some type of special; buy one get one, a percent discount, a gift with purchase, etc. But did you know that there are traditionally certain months or times of year when you can get items for the very best price? Many of you may already know about when to buy a new car based on the newer model year coming out, but you can shop for the rest of the items in your life very similarly.

Let’s break it down:

January – Bedding! New year, new bed! Retailers across the board offer the best deals on bedding and linens in the month of January to help you refresh your home as much as the rest of your world.

February/March – This is the best time to stock up on the winter looks you love. Heading into March and April means we are looking at spring. Retailers begin to put out their springtime gear and even the swimwear starts to appear (if it hadn’t already) making February the time when they start to discount great winter pieces to make room for all the new season’s products.

May – Similarly to February, May signals a new season approaching: Summer. Spring looks will start to be shifted to the sales racks to make room for this new season’s goodies. Best part of this transition is that many pieces for spring transition well into the summer months, so you could be picking up items that you won’t have to wait around to wear.

June – June = The Victoria’s Secret Semi-Annual Sale. Enough said. Stock up.

August – August and back-to-school also mark the end of summer which puts those cute bikinis on sale. This is a great time to buy an extra bikini bottom in a solid piece to replace the one you’ve worn a million times or that suit you’ve been eyeing the last few months so you’re ready for poolside fun next summer.

September/October – Denim! Back-to-school sales offer great deals on denim as families look to stock up for the school year. However, stores stock up knowing that most people will buy in August as they prep for the school year. That leaves additional stock hanging around the store into September and October that gets discounted to the best prices you may see all year.

November – Two words: Black Friday. You know I love a good deal and Black Friday delivers them in spades. I prefer to skip the lines and do all of my Black Friday shopping online from the comfort of my couch. If you manage to miss anything, there’s always Cyber Monday a few days later! If you haven’t done any holiday shopping yet, this is the time to grab everything you need for the special people in your life. (Doing that now also means missing the insane holiday shopping crowds in December).

December – Gift sets are the name of the game for me in December. Many brands now offer a holiday set or packaging and more often than not are at a better price that you can often get during the year.