The Best Time of Year to Buy Anything.

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How to get the best deal on everything from cars to electronics. Because everything goes on sale at some point and it's usually during the exact same month every year.

Here we are, the middle of February and I haven't even told you my New Years Resolution yet. I didn't make one. Now you're up to date.

I always halfways resolve to spend less money on food. I don't eat a lot of meat and I grow the majority of my own vegetables - YET I spend thousands of dollars on food.

I sat down a few years ago and tried to answer that question myself. Why do I spend so much money at the grocery store? It turns out I have a gambling problem.

No I don't.

I do, on the other hand, have a recipe problem. Whenever someone drops by for a visit 90% of the time I'll be in the kitchen cooking. The other 10% I'm in the backyard cooking.

If I see a recipe I think I might like I have to make it. It's a compulsion. Usually these recipes require one ingredient I don't have which means a trip to the grocery store which means a whole world of exciting impulse buying food possibilities.

Speaking of this recipe addiction of mine, the Thug Kitchen cookbook has yet to produce a clunker. It's a vegan cookbook but I'm nowhere near a vegan and I've loved every single recipe.

Go buy it now before I tell you why you can't buy another thing. It's worth it for the Toasted Quinoa Oatmeal recipe alone.

In addition to offering a plethora of grocery impulse buying options, my particular grocery store also offers a floral department, wine store, clothing, kitchen appliances, and household accessories impulse buying options. So there's that.

It turns out a lot of my grocery bills consist of pillows and sweater dresses. I just wasn't paying attention to all the things I was buying that I loved but in no way needed.

One January I even resolved to not go to the grocery store at all. Plain and simple. If I didn't have the ingredient I needed, I substituted. No fresh ginger? I'd use dry.

Doing this one thing for one month saved me hundreds of dollars. For real. I had no idea I was wasting so much money and I had no idea how easy it would be to stop.

Now I know. So I looked into other ways to stop spending money stupidly and found a few things out.

Wanna learn another way to save hundreds of dollars without having to sacrifice your desire to impulse shop down the snack aisle?

Don't buy anything until it's on sale. And everything eventually goes on sale.

Almost all major (and minor) items have dedicated months they go on sale. Sometimes just because it's tradition (The White Sale) and sometimes because it's the time of year when manufacturers release new models and retailers want to clear their shelves of the old models.

Get your calendar ready to start marking things down for any big purchases you have this year.

I'm about to lay it on you.

Table of Contents

What to buy in January

Linens
Toys
Treadmills and ellipticals (New Years Resolutions anyone?)
TVs (smallish sales because of pre-Superbowl tv buying frenzies)
Winter clothing

What to buy in February

Humidifiers
Indoor furniture (to make room for newer models. Floor models often as low as 60% off)
Treadmills and ellipticals (There's still some hope for that resolution)
High end Chocolates (right after Valentine's Day)
Televisions - More TV sales at the beginning of the month. Even bigger sales can be found in March though.
Pig parts. Really. I have no idea if this is the case around the world but in my neck of the woods, whole pork bellies, shoulders and other pork pieces good for curing can be found at your grocery store this month.

What to buy in March

Humidifiers
Sandals. (Sandals first hit stores in January! First markdown on them in March which gives you a better price while still having a great selection)
Small consumer electronics
Vs (Retailers visit the Consumer Electronics Show in Jan, order their new stock, which is delivered in March)
Winter sports gear
Golf Clubs
Frozen Food (March is frozen food month ... seriously)

What to buy in April

LAST season's television model (if you can still find them in stock you'll get the cheapest price possible on last year's model)
Laptop computers
Desktop computers
Lawn mowers
Spring clothing
Digital Cameras (last year's model as they make room for the newer ones)
Thrift Stores (with spring cleaning comes spring heave hoing. Thrift Stores get their biggest influx of new goods at the same time as spring cleaning) This means older stock gets reduced and newer stock has a bigger selection.

What to buy in May

Athletic apparel and shoes
Camping and outdoor gear
Carpeting
Cordless phonesRefrigerators (May is when new fridge models are introduced)
Lawn mowersMattresses
Small consumer electronics

What to buy in June

Camcorders
Carpeting
Computers
Dishes (both fine china and everyday because June is the month of weddings so most places put their
sets on sale)
Tools (father's day means big sales on tools so take advantage even if you're a mother. Or sister. Or orphan. Everyone needs a few tools)
Pots, pans
Summer sports gear (already starts to be marked down)
Swimwear
Vacuum Cleaners (new ones come out in June)

What to buy in July

Indoor furniture
Outdoor furniture (prices start to get slashed on outdoor furniture now)
Swimwear (if you buy in July you'll get a good price and relatively good selection)

What to buy in August

Cars (dealers are making room for the newer models coming in)
Air conditioners
Backpacks
Dehumidifiers (your best defence against centipedes by the way)
Outdoor furniture (prices start getting slashed on outdoor furniture now)
Snow blowers (if you can find a snowblower in the summer months chances are it's going to be cheap)
Laptops (back to school sales)

What to buy in September

Bikes
Large appliances (new models come out in September, other than refrigerators which come out in May)
Lawnmowers
Cars (lower price still as they make room for new models)
Digital cameras
Gas grills (BBQs) (cause the outdoor grilling season is winding down)
Lawn mowers
Shrubs, trees, and perennials (THIS is the time to buy all those expensive trees and shrubs. They're often 60-75% off at the end of the season)

What to buy in October

Bikes
Computers
Digital cameras
Gas grills
Lawn mowers
Winter coats
Outdoor furniture
Jeans (once back to school is over retail can start discounting their price on high end denim)