The Best Time to Buy

This year, since we were travelling for the holiday, Britney and I decided to wait until after Christmas to buy our presents for each other. While that takes a little bit of the fun out of Christmas day, it also takes a LOT of the sting out of the prices you pay for the gifts you buy. We found several places where almost everything they carried was marked down - some of it pretty substantially. That got me thinking about timing what I buy and whether or not I could get substantial savings if I bought things at certain times of the year. I did a little research and here is what the experts at Smart Money and Market Watch have to say:

Cars - buy in September (weekday mornings if possible) - next year's models are in or on their way and dealers are eager to make deals and offer incentives. Buying on a weekday morning ensures that you won't be competing with all the weekend shoppers and are likely to get more time to negotiate since the salesman has no other customers to attend to.

Airfare - if it's for non-holiday travel, try buying 21 days in advance either on a Tuesday night or Wednesday morning. Airlines change prices frequently but most major adjustments happen on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. Prices go up inside of 21 days and then go WAY up inside of 14 days and again inside of 7 days.

Holiday Airfare - buy your Christmas tickets in September and your Thanksgiving tickets in August. Planes fill up months in advance for the holidays and prices are not going to go down (the airlines know there's no need to lower prices) - so buy well in advance or you'll be taking the red-eye that connects through Sheboygan.

Appliances - holiday weekends in September and October - look for big Labor Day/Columbus Day sales the next time you need a new refrigerator or washer/dryer. Just like cars, appliances have new models every year and they hit show room floors in September and October. Stores are eager to dump old inventory and often run big sales on holiday weekends when shoppers will be out in mass.

Toys - the best time to buy toys is in October. Stores start targeting Christmas shoppers in September and by October, prices are falling and offers (like buy one, get one free) start popping up as competition heats up. Shopping in October also gives you a better chance of getting that toy that won't be available anymore come November/December.

Weddings/Wedding Dresses - November/December - the vast majority of weddings are held during warmer months. This means big savings for those that are willing to have a winter wedding or shop for their wedding during the winter. Around Christmas, almost everyone is focused on gift buying, meaning big discounts from wedding retailers looking for revenue during what is traditionally a dead period.

I could go on and on - but you get the point. There's a science behind the way things are priced and if you're willing to do a little research and planning, you could save big. I'll leave you with one other common sense tip - the worst time to buy (for almost everything) is in December in the weeks before Christmas. Retailers have almost no incentive to lower prices until the very last minute and by then, most things are very picked over. Shop then if you must but otherwise, wait until after the holiday or shop in advance!!