Saving, Spending

Many items get discounted for key sales days, like Memorial Day, Labor Day, and Black Friday. However, there are certain months where the timing is more advantageous to make specific purchases.

January

  • Key Sales Days:  New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day
  • Fitness equipment.  Capitalizing on New Year’s resolutions, retailers offer deals on fitness equipment and apparel.
  • Bedding.  Linens, comforters, and towels are sold at steep discounts during January’s “White Sales”.
  • Televisions.  Electronics like TVs and home theater systems go on sale leading up to the Super Bowl.

February

  • Key Sales Days:  Super Bowl, Valentine’s Day, President’s Day
  • Televisions.  Look for great deals before the Super Bowl.
  • Winter items.  Winter sporting goods & apparel will be discounted as winter comes to an end.
  • Household goods.  Retailers discount numerous items for President’s Day.

March

  • Key Sales Days:  St. Patrick’s Day, Easter (occasionally)
  • Golf clubs.  As summer approaches, items like golf clubs and bicycles will be on sale.
  • Grills. Buy and assemble your grill in spring so when the weather warms, you’ll be good to go.

April

  • Key Sales Days:  Easter (most of the time), Tax Day
  • Jewelry. Avoid buying jewelry around major holidays like Valentine’s Day.

May

  • Key Sales Days:  Memorial Day, Mother’s Day, Kentucky Derby, Cinco de Mayo
  • Appliances.  Memorial Day offers some of the best discounts on appliances for the entire year.
  • Furniture. One study found 70% of moves occur between Memorial Day and Labor Day. With 40 million Americans moving each year, Independence Day sales are a great time for furniture deals.

June

  • Key Sales Days:  Father’s Day
  • Gym memberships.  There won’t be a rush like in December/ January, so there is potential to negotiate a good deal, especially toward the end of the month, which is the end of Q2 for many companies.

July

  • Key Sales Days:  Independence Day; Amazon’s “Prime Day”
  • Furniture. One study found 70% of moves occur between Memorial Day and Labor Day. With 40 million Americans moving each year, Independence Day sales are a great time for furniture deals.
  • Sporting goods. Look for summer savings with outdoor activities.
  • Prime Day. For Amazon’s Prime Day, expect discounts in every category from both Amazon, but also other retailers

August

  • Key Sales Days: Back-to-School
  • School supplies. Retailers compete to get your back-to-school dollars.
  • Lawn mowers. As retailers make room for items like toys and Christmas trees, bulky summer items like lawn mowers will be discounted.
  • Swimsuits & pool toys.  With summer over, this excess inventory will be on clearance.
  • Domestic travel. One study found that August is the best month to book domestic travel.

September

  • Key Sales Days:  Labor Day
  • Mattresses. Labor Day Sales.
  • Appliances.  Labor Day Sales.
  • iPhones.  Over the last few years, Apple announced its latest iPhone models in September.  The unveiling is usually followed by a drop in prices for current phone models.
  • International travel. One study found that September is the best month to book a vacation abroad.
  • Property.  Getting pre-approved for a loan and securing a realtor prior to September are prudent.  Driven by factors like people moving in the summer when kids are out of school, one study found that on average, buyers face 26% less competition and there’s 6% more inventory in September. 

October

  • Key Sales Days:  Halloween
  • Patio Furniture.  With temperatures cooling, expect deals on the bulky outdoor furniture inventory that retailers are trying to flush through.
  • Candy.  Retailers discount Halloween candy as the 31st approaches so they won’t have to toss excess inventory the next day.

November

  • Key Sales Days:  Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday
  • Basically everything is on sale.
  • TVs, computers, tablets, phones, appliances, gaming consoles, everything.

December

  • Key Sales Days:  Christmas
  • Christmas decorations.  Buy the day after Christmas.
  • Vehicles.  New models arrive to dealerships in September & October.  Dealerships are trying to meet end-of-year quotas.  It’s a great time to buy a car.

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