Save Money By Buying Products At the Right Time of Year

By Deborah Fowles

End-of-season sales always offer discounts on items associated with the season that's about to end, as retailers make room for the new season's items. To take advantage of these sales, you have to plan ahead.

General Guidelines on Bargain Shopping

Spring and summer merchandise usually goes into clearance in June and July. Fall and winter merchandise usually goes on sale in January. With a little advance planning, you can save significant amounts of money and avoid charging up your credit card by planning your purchases around these guidelines.

Bargain Shopping Rule of Thumb

Remember this rule of thumb: when demand is high, prices are high; when demand is low, prices are low. In winter, buy lawnmowers, gas grills, and other outdoor summer equipment. In summer, buy items you'll need in the winter.

Other Bargain Shopping Strategies

If you shop online you can often get great bargains at any time of year at sites that specialize in end lots and overstocked items, like Overstock.com or SmartBargains.com.

To save money when shopping directly at a retailer's online store, take advantage of online coupons. Go to Google.com and type in the name of the store, the + sign, and the words "promotional code" or "coupon code." You'll often find codes you can enter at checkout to get a discount.

You can also go directly to a coupon Web site like CouponMountain.com, Wow-coupons.com or CouponsCraze.com to look for coupons on the item you'd like to buy.

Bargain Shopping Warnings

When shopping sales, remember that just because an item looks like it's marked down, you shouldn't assume you're getting a bargain. Know what the items you're buying usually cost. You can get this information easily by comparison shopping on the Internet to get a feel for prices, then visiting your local stores to actually buy the items.

Buying something you don't really need is never a bargain, no matter how discounted the price is.

Even an item that's steeply discounted won't end up being a bargain if you put it on a credit card and don't pay it off right away. The longer you carry the balance on your credit card, the more the interest will eat into your savings on the item. Don't fool yourself into thinking you got a great price if this is the case.

Appliances: Manufacturer's introduce new lines in the spring, so dealers are trying to get rid of inventory during the winter months. Bargain Sales: December through January.

Electronics: Stores want to make room for new new merchandise that debuts at the International Consumer Electronics show the first week in January, so they're very motivated to get rid of their existing inventory, often discounting these items between 20 to 50 percent after the holidays. Bargain Sales: Late December through January.

Furniture: Sales slow down as summer ends, so dealers start marking down furniture starting Labor Day weekend.

Bargain Sales: September.
School clothes and supplies: Those who wait until school is about to start will miss the bargains on school supplies. Bargain Sales: July and August.

Winter clothes: Clothing is a popular item for holiday gifts, so sales slow down after the holiday. Retailers drop prices to stimulate more sales. Bargain Sales: Late December, early January

Cars: Get bargains on new cars that are last year's models just as the new year's models are about to come out (up to 20% off) in October. More bargains take place between Christmas and New Year's as dealers put on a final push for sales before the year end. Bargain Sales: October and late December

Party dresses and dress-up clothing: Sales for party clothes tend to be peak before the holidays, so retailers drop prices after the holidays to stimulate sales. Bargain Sales: Late December, January.

White sales: Save 15 to 50% on sheets, blankets, comforters, other bedding, towels, etc. after the holidays. Bargain Sales: January.

Gifts for women and weddings: Fall is the height of the wedding season, so buying wedding gifts and wedding apparel well before that time will save you money. Bargain Sales: May.