Year-end and early-year sales are the best occasions in which you could get good discounts. This is the time of the year when retailers try to clear out their old stocks. They sell these stocks at very low prices. So if you’ve been waiting to buy a couple of expensive T-shirts from a retail store for long, just check out now. There are good chances of your getting them at 30-40 % discount.

Good shopping is not only about perfect timing because you don’t get discounts on everything that is available in the market. There are three main categories of items that you can expect to get a discount on. They are clothes, home appliances and electronic games.

For clothes there can’t be a better time than now, especially when the retailers are in a hurry to dispose off old clothes and fill the shelves with new ones in their place. Go to Banana Republic and you’ll get reasonably good clothes at prices much less than the usual. But you should also check out the conditions for the sale before you actually go to the shops. Firstly, many shops are not agreeing to redeem your gift coupons for items sold on sale. Secondly, you may have to buy clothes in the sale under the condition that they will not be exchanged or returned. In the case of clothes, the latter becomes a slightly risky clause because there is every possibility that once you try out an outfit you might find that it is not fitting you well. So before you make a purchase see that you take the best decision. Try out the clothes in the trail room of the retail outlet before you actually buy them.

The time is ripe for purchasing home items too. Domestic appliances and gadgets, and home decoration items are being offered for cheap right from during the holidays. But if you want to buy a brand new TV set just wait a week more. The Super Bowl connection will make retailers sell TV sets at lower prices at this time of the year.

The time is also perfect for purchasing video games. Now, since you know what to buy when, just time your shopping perfectly and save yourself a huge amount of money.

Auto

• New Vehicle:
  Every year during fall, you will notice the launch of new cars in the automobile market. Hence, the month of September is ideal to grab the best deal on last year’s cars. Visit any automobile showroom during the end of September especially on a weekday to get the undistracted attention of the salesperson, who is striving hard to reach the monthly target.
• Used Vehicle:
  Most of the used car dealers rise their inventory in April to boost their sales in spring season. During this time, you will get good variety and negotiated price.
• Recreational Vehicle:
  Good deals are introduced by dealers in winter. However, buying a recreational vehicle is similar to buying a new car.
• Gas:
  Fill up your tank on a weekday. If gas price is going up, fuel up early morning. And if it’s going down, fill up in the evening. Changes in price usually takes place between 10 am to 3 pm.
• Oil:
  Changing car oil can come cheap if you go to a new garage.
• Tires and other parts:
  You can get a free car check-up, free oil change and ‘Buy 3, get 1 tire free’ offer during national Car Care Month (April) and Fall Car Care Month (October).
• Car Wash:
  Get best deals on full service car wash by visiting in early hours (before 8 am).

Travel

• Air Tickets:
  To get the lowest airfare during non-holiday season, book your tickets at least 21 days in advance. However, you also have to spend some days watching the prices before booking. On weekdays, airfares are revised at 10 am, 12.30 pm, and 8 pm. Updating is done only once on Sundays and Saturdays. According to the past records, you can avail tickets at lower price on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and rarely on Saturdays. Wednesday is the cheapest day to travel, whereas Sunday, the costliest. An exception to Wednesday is the one that comes before Thanksgiving. If you get a ticket at cheap price, don’t wait much because price fluctuation depends on market demand.
• Common Traveling:
  Traveling to any part of the world during peak season can be very expensive. Everything from airfares and stay to food and leisure activity is overpriced. Going in the off-season can help you to save enormous amount and the destinations are less crowded.

Food

• Supermarket:
  You will find better deals on Sundays. If you are going on a weekday, shop in the evening. You can save lot of money on the items that has to be sold before day’s close. Get coupons from Sunday newspaper to get added discounts.
• Coupons:
  You will find discount coupons throughout the year in Sunday newspapers. However, you will find many of them in November and December. Turkeys can be purchased at very cheap rate just a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving. During spring season, you will notice many coupons offering discounts on ham, frozen food, seasonal food. In summer, find coupons with discounts on ice creams and other grilling products. And find best soup deals in Autumn.
• Grocery (from farms):
  Most of the dealers avoid carrying perishables back to farm. Hence they intend to sell the whole lot before the closing. So, evening is the best time to buy groceries from vendors.
• Champagne:
  Due to intense competition and excessive supply, you can savor champagne at a very low price during celebration and holiday season.

Clothes and Accessories:

• Clothes:
  Don’t buy any outfits as soon as it enters the mall. Wait for eight weeks and shop on a Thursday evening. On Thursday, the weekend sale starts and you have a good range of clothes at discounted rates. Instead of impulsive buying, it is suggested to buy during season-end sale.
• Clothes for newborns:
  It may sound foolish, but don’t wait for your kid to be born. Shop during pregnancy at season-end clearance.
• Jewelry:
  Holiday and wedding season is the most expensive period. Don’t buy jewelry during this time.

Wedding

• Wedding:
  Like traveling, having a wedding during off season will help you to save a huge amount. If you reside in a cold region, you will save lots in winter months. Likewise, summer months are quite economical in hot regions.
• Wedding costume:
  The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is best to buy Christmas wedding gowns and suits.

Other

• Toys:
  Retailers are generally gearing up for holiday’s seasons during October and November. Hence, this period offers a better bargain.
• Wrapping Paper:
  Post Christmas, that is in January and February.

So, if one of your New Year resolutions is to save money, I am sure you might succeed with the help of these tips. Let me know if you have any other tips.

Saving each dollar by earning cash back on your card, preparing a new budget, not eating out, disconnecting your cable, etc. is a good way to accumulate. However, finding the best bargain is crucial. You cannot just buy anything at anytime, especially when you are being frugal. There is a right to purchase everything.

There is, however, a big problem. How do you when is the right time to buy the right thing? Here is the list:

House and furnishings

• House:
  Generally, most of the purchasing and selling of houses is done in the months amid March and August. So, if you are looking for a better offer, try bargaining in the winter or autumn.
• Floor Covering:
  A good house looks better with remarkable flooring. Find the best deals on carpet, tiles, and other floorings during the end of the calendar year, when the demand and sales is quite low. You will get it cheap at almost any retailer.
• Decorative Furniture:
  New furniture is stocked by retailers in January and June. Hence the unsold ones are up for sale.
• Gas Grill:
  Demand for gas grills is low during winter months.
• Cookware:
  The graduation and wedding days of April-May provides good deals. If you miss it, don’t fret. Wait till the holiday season (Oct-Nov) to get better ones.
• Linen:
  Linen lovers term January as “White sales”, or they wander through the shops during the end of each season, that is to say initial spring days. Linens are sold at over 65% off during this season.
• Mattresses:
  The new ones enter the retail market in the month of May. So, the old ones are sold at a discounted rate.
• Vacuum Cleaners:
  Like any other product, old vacuum cleaners are up for sale when the new ones are bought by the retailers during June and winter end.
• Hardware:
  Find the best deals on Father’s Day or the days between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
• Home Appliances:
  Generally, discount is offered in holiday weekends like 4th July, Presidents Day, Columbus Day, and Labor Day. Also, search for better deals during the months of September and October, when new stocks enter the retail market. These days are the best time to buy any appliance.
• Air Conditioner:
  The sale of AC’s during chilly months is very low. So, the price is considerably down.

Flora

• Flowers:
  Tulips can be bought cheap in February, whereas peonies during May. If you are a flower enthusiast, learn this rule. Unlike home products and holiday packages, flowers are cheap in season.
• Shrubbery:
  The best time to purchase bulbs, trees, and shrubs, is autumn. This is the time when nurseries try to clear the accumulated stock.

Leisure

• General outdoor items:
  You can get the best deals on swings, swimming gears, beach toys, and many other outdoor products in August, when most of the retailers stock their space with winter and fall supplies.
• Bicycles:
  New models are introduced every year during February-March. Get the best deals on the old models in these months.
• Boat:
  Boat exhibitions are held amid January and March offering best prices to customers.
• Fitness Centers:
  Like me, every overweight individual of America resolves to lose flab from 1st January. Hence membership rates are quite high during initial months of the year. However, join any gym at the lowest prices in spring and summer. Also, ask them to waive off the enrollment fee. Trust me, they will.
• Watching movies:
  Not everyone can avoid going to theaters just to save some dollars. So, they best way to spend less is watching matinee shows.
• Other tickets:
  Get the best possible deal on any ticket by buying much before the event.

Electronic Devices and Gadgets:

• Blu-ray players:
  Days subsequent to Black Friday and Christmas offer best deals to buy blu-ray players.
• Television:
  You can find discounts throughout the year due to intense competition among television brands and electronic outlets. You will find better deals on days between Thanksgiving and Christmas, Black Friday, after New Year, earlier than Super Bowl, plus in the days of May and June. Commonly, new models are introduced in August and September. So, you can also avail better deals on old models.
• Mobile phones:
  Don’t buy phones just when they are introduced. You will get it at very low price after six months of launch. Also, try to find coupon codes online.
• Digital Camera:
  New, improved models will soon arrive in the market after any Consumer Electronic Show or Photo Marketing Association meet. Jan-Feb is the best time to search for old models.
• Computer:
  You won’t get many deals after the holiday season. However, don’t target the latest gadget with smart looks. Go for the older version, which the retailer is dying to get rid of. You can also avail free shipment and free accessories.

So, if it’s not urgent, wait for the right time. Okay, enough for home and home-products lovers. My next article will have something for people, who love traveling, eating, driving, and wearing.

• Want to go out for a movie? Just wait! I have a better idea! Why don’t you bring in the movie DVD and call in your gang? Your home is a better venue in comparison to the movie theatre when with friends. You don’t have to sit glued to a chair for two hours! Just make yourself comfortable on the couch and watch your favorite movies. You’ll be saving up on expensive ticket costs too.
• Cooking the party menu all on own? Well, conventionally that may be so. But how about pooling in the food? It will save you a lot of money, time and effort. If you friends volunteer to bring items to the party don’t refuse. Don’t look too greedy either! Offer to host the party all by yourself but if your friends insist on contributing don’t refuse. Apart from saving you money and resources, your guests will get to taste variety and appreciate each other. As an activity, a fun cookery contest will be a nice idea. Pool in money for some gifts and give to the winners. Announce the contest a week before the party so that your guests get ample time to prepare for it. Your friends can also be requested to exchange food between them and take back home any of the food that is left.
• Gifts are a major attraction of any fun party. But at the same time, they are the items that we spend on the most during any party. Instead of the host of the party getting gifts for a dozen guests all on her own, which can be a costly proposition; people can pool in to buy gifts. This by itself can be an activity. The gang chooses names of people and decides what to gift each person. It then collectively buys for that person. In this way, every person gets a gift and every person contributes to buying the gift, therefore sharing the monetary burden.
• Making own gifts is an economical proposition. Gifts bought from stores can be really expensive. Instead, try to make some gifts at home. For women, you need not go and buy ornaments from branded jewelry shops. Buy some beads or other jewelry material and make some fancy fashionable items. Beautiful decorative pieces can be made using wood and leaves and inexpensive material. Your creativity is the only limiting factor.

• The quoted sale prices are most often ridiculous! Be careful of the wording used to bait customers. What is the difference between selling 1 pack of potato fries for $2.50 and 2 packets for a bargain sale price of $5.00? If you are alert to these subtle tactics, you’ll save yourself a lot of money. If you want to know about more sales tactics visit a good website like This Is Money.
• The shopping crowd is maddening and sometimes fatal! Most often at very busy shopping malls, you get to stand in long queues to get a chance to shop. Stampedes are quite common and there were occasions where salespeople and/or customers were killed or badly injured by it. Read about this Black Friday Fight and then decide if you’d like to be a part of such a situation.
• Don’t expect salespersons to show you utmost respect. That is correct! If you think from the point of view of the executive, he/she has to work beyond usual hours and satisfy fastidious customers. Naturally when stressed out so much, you cannot expect them to be very patient with you and show respect. I feel visiting a shop when there’s no sale will elicit a cordial and patient behavior from them. You stand a better chance of being shown around the shop for selecting your items.
• Highly discounted items sell off soon. Imagine, if you were to stand in a long queue for hours together to buy that much hyped $400 HP Laptop, only to find that the stocks are exhausted, before your turn to buy them came. Limited quantities and hoarding of the stock by sales persons are manipulative ways in which stocks with heavy discounts are made scarce. Also, many times a much publicized sale item is not available after customers take a lot of pain in waiting for their turns to buy it. Sometimes, merchants advertise some products to bait customers and then try to sell some others on the pretext of unavailability of the item advertised for. You go to a shop to buy your dream product and come back home with another, most often, not as good as the product advertised for.
• Items on sale are generally those that did not get bought earlier, not those with a high demand as claimed by retailers. Do you think a retailer would slash prices if an item were really in demand? Most often retailers put those items on sale that they want to get rid off soon.
• Sales tempt you to buy more than you need. Beware of online scammers who come up with fake review sites that misguide people into making a beeline for some retail shops whose owners bribe them for good reviews and high rankings in their lists.

Talking about stampedes, let me tell you that the scene is not expected to be all that out of control at some malls. You need not bother about getting injured as the malls have taken special safety measures. Especially since a store worker was tramped to death last year on Black Friday. Most stores are having the double line queue system and that means you’ve got to wait for long hours. Some shoppers intend to reach their favorite stores as early as 3 A.M! Can you beat that?

After coming to know about Black Friday stampede and rush, many of us will back out of the plans to venture out for shopping on Black Friday. But if you’ve still got unflinching enthusiasm for a Black Friday shopping spree, let me caution you that see to it that your effort is well paid.  Don’t get carried away by advertisements too much. Many a time, you get to see that the items that are offered on huge discounts are more often old stock or less popular brands. After all, the pains that you take to get a good gift for your beloved should be paid off well, isn’t it? So why not go online? That will save you the trouble of standing in long queues, for long hours and turning up with something not quite good.

Amongst the best deals that you can actually think of here are three stores/brands that you can most probably think of visiting to get goods worth your hard-earned money and efforts.

• Apple has a Black Friday sales which you can check out on their websites. Visit some good tech blogs where you can get information on huge discounts. You can expect to get up to 30 % discount on computers.
• Why don’t you go for a 42 inch HDTV plasma or LCD TV? This is the time you’ll get them at highly competitive prices.
• Go for netbooks which are being offered at good discounts. Go through online consumer reviews to find out more about the deals. Visit websites like Dealnews.com and Retrovo.com for tracking any worthy sales offers.

Are we leading to any conclusion? Is it an ideal period to purchase a new house? You cannot derive a conclusion so hurriedly before considering these negative and positive points.

Advantages:

Good things first. Let’s have a look at some of the reasons that supports the idea of buying a new house now.

Tax Credits

Signed by President Barack Obama, the recent stimulus offers a tax credit of $8000 for people buying house for the first time. What is this stimulus? This isn’t similar to the tax benefit which we enjoy on mortgage loans where the overall taxable amount is lessened. A tax credit is directly lessened from the income tax amount. However, this is applicable only if you reside in the house for 36 months or more. Obama is doing good for the people and so is the governor of California. People buying houses in this state can enjoy additional benefits that can further decrease your tax burden. But you cannot keep thinking for months because the federal scheme is valid only up to 1st day of December this year. There are high chances that this date would be extended, but no one can assure you on this.

Some weeks ago, the country witnessed lowest ever housing rates especially after the Fed declared that it would purchase more mortgage backed securities. The prevailing rates are a bit higher now than the lowest, it’s pretty inexpensive. At 20% down, you can enjoy paying 4.5% fixed interest for 30 years. FHA loan provides a better deal at 3.5% fixed with a down payment of mere 5%. However, you need to be quite cautious while checking the prevailing rates online and do not disclose your private information. Sites such as bankrate.com are far more reliable than any other sites produced by your search engines.

No need to purchase

An ideal time to purchase a house is when you don’t need a it desperately. The prices are not going to shoot up within a week so you can bargain aggressively. Be serene and keep finding a house that you always wanted to own, a kind that you love. I am sure you will find it pretty soon. Only try to ensure that it can be effortlessly bought by you and committed for a long time.

Disadvantages:

Some reasons that doesn’t support the idea of buying a house right now.

Timing the Bottom of the market

Timing the bottom? You would probably understand what I am talking about if you are an active player in stock market. Sometimes, people try to grab a falling blade in order to get better and quick returns on their investments. However, what they get is deep scars visible on their bank account statement. Now the market is on a stable path and the increase in rates would be dawdling. You won’t miss anything huge if you fail to buy your house today.

Now the dreadful part. Don’t know what to do with enormous cash you are holding? Invest in Real Estate. If that’s your idea of earning through real estate, change your idea. The market doesn’t behave depending on your cash deposits.

Fix and Flip

This method requires expertise in organizing renovation, swiftness quicker than rabbit, and ample of cash. Even then it doesn’t assure positive returns. You cannot rely on the fix and flip ads that were observed during 2003. There are many experts waiting for such occasions, and you think you can outdo them just listening to some spurious speech of a real estate dealer. Keep acquiring precise information and jump on the right deal. Do not assume that any house is the last bargain you will ever get.

If you are risking your money in such a deal get out of the trade as soon as you earn a minimal profit or as soon as you reach above median level. The prices of your renovated houses depend on your neighbor’s house to much extent. Any foreclosures nearby can lead to further price fall in the locality.

Are you really ready?

Consider the amount that you are paying as rent currently. Talk to the owner and try to get the rough amount that he pays as insurance, tax, dues of any association, or other mortgage insurance. This will give you a rough idea about the money that your landlord pays and how much you pay as rent. Keep a track of how much are you currently saving every month and what would be the amount you will be able to spend for the new house.

However, you need not worry about the prices if you decide to settle in the new house for many years. The fluctuating and unpredictable prices that we are here talking about wouldn’t affect you much in the long run. The only price that will bother you then is the sell price.

No dealer or any expert can tell you the right time to buy unless you don’t know the reason for which you are buying. Consider all the above points carefully before you finally arrive at a decision of buying a new home.

1. No Sales Tax

   Generally you are charged a modest amount as sales tax on purchase of most of the goods. However, you can write this off when you file your tax return for 2009. Not on any article, the deduction is just on the purchase of cars. And not on any car, it is deductible on the purchase price of cars bought between 16th February 2009 and 1st January 2010. Recession seems to be helping you for the first time. The deduction is granted to boost the sales and improve the condition of the automobile industry.You think that would be a very small amount, probably in double figures? Consider this example: You bought a vehicle of $40,000 and you otherwise have to pay 6% sales tax i.e. $2,400. Let’s say you pay 25% tax as per the tax slabs. The amount you save on buying a new car is $600. Is it still very tiny?

2. Bigger Discounts

   Along with government, automobile companies also seem to welcome you desperately. Many such corporations are offering either enormous discounts or employing pricing. Some are presenting both. One of the reasons to buy now is because it’s less likely to find such deals later. This is a period when the automobile industry is undergoing various adjustments in the production capacity because the inventory of already produced automobiles is high, hence such rebates. Once they reach back to the level where demand and supply is equated, prices are sure to soar high.

3. 0% Financing

   The downturn of economic trend has led car makers to provide such offers that have never been witnessed. Some companies, like Ford, offer 0% financing to the customers whose credit score is in good health. So, you now don’t have to give away your lifetime savings as down payment.

4. Secured Warranties

   What else do you want if you cars are secured by warranties supported by government? If you are among those who have purchased their cars this year post April, check for warranty backed by TARP offered by companies like GM and Chrysler. Ford, being a domestic player, is qualified to offer such warranties. However, overseas brands cannot enjoy this benefit. So, if you have decided to buy a vehicle, go for a national brand and don’t forget to ask for such warranty.

5. Payment Security

   Along with warranty security, the American car-buying population can also avail income protection. These plans assure to minimize the loss incurred by you due to job loss. For instance, the ‘Assurance’ plan by Hyundai and ‘Total Confidence’ by GM are some of the prevailing protection plans that you can look for. However, wait for a while if you want to avail such facility in your favorite brand, because other players are sure to follow the trend soon. Do remember to read the conditions mentioned in fine print before purchasing any car with payment protection.

6. The boon of Inflation

   People well aware with general economic trends can easily predict the impending inflation that is sure to follow. In layman’s language, 10 apples today will worth 5 apples tomorrow. So, which is a better deal, 10 apples today or 5 apples tomorrow? Purchasing a car at discounted rates with zero % financing is quite justifiable.

7. For the Economy

   This reason may work much toward your personal benefit, but at least it’s enough to assure that you are being a part of the plan that’s working to improve the economic condition by purchasing a new car. However, you won’t contribute much if you buy a vehicle of foreign brand. So, be good, buy domestic. This reason doesn’t motivate you? All right, let me correct the title “6 reasons are enough to purchase a new car in recession” But if you buy for the economy, is it a virtue or patriotism? Who cares? You get a vehicle at lower price.

These 6 + 1 reasons are impelling enough to go for a vehicle in today’s declining economy. For those who had already decided to purchase a new car, no other time can be better than this one.

Along with the decrease in the number of passengers, airlines have also decreased the number of flights and have completely stopped flying through routes that are not profitable. So if your destination falls in such a route, in all probability, you are not going to get the airlines advantage. But still, Thanksgiving being a favorable period for travel as most people travel to meet their dear ones, many airlines are trying to make the best of the situation by offering travel at throw away prices.

Find Out the Best Deals

This is the last minute for booking your tickets as Thanksgiving is just a couple of days away. But you still can find good deals if you browse some good websites informing about airlines ticket discounts. You can also visit the official websites of the different airline companies to find out what they have to offer for these holidays.

Keep Checking For Fares Every Few Hours

The airfares keep fluctuating every now and then, from hour to hour. It is not enough to check the fare prices just once a day. Log into the airfare tracking websites, such as AirfareWatchDog.com, to find out the most recent prices. Last minute fares usually carry big discounts as the airlines are in a hurry to fill up vacant seats.

Tickets to New Holiday Destinations Are Cheaper

The tickets to new holiday destinations are cheaper. Check out new airline routes from their official websites and also from travel websites and find out the holiday routes with the cheapest airfares. Most private airline companies are in fact competing with each other for providing the best deals at very competitive prices.

Business Travel Destinations Are Cheaper

A lot of business travel destinations are cheaper during the holiday season because people usually do not make business trips during those seasons and a lot of seats remain vacant.

Travel on Thanksgiving Day Is Cheaper

Travel on Thanksgiving day because it is cheaper than on the days before or after it. The few days before thanksgiving people travel to visit their relatives and later they travel to return home. Very few people travel on Thanksgiving Day as they are with their people on that day. But don’t blame me if you reach late to find half the turkey already eaten, because of a flight delay!

Gourmet Quality Espresso

Coffee making is an art. Though a simple recipe, it takes a lot of expertise to get that perfect cup of coffee. If you are a connoisseur of coffee, you might have always sought that perfect taste and found it only in some very good coffee shops and might have spent quite a bit of money on that. But now, you can get the same quality coffee with   a good coffee machine. Just put in the right amount of coffee beans in the equipment and its set perfect timing will yield excellent quality Espresso.

Commercial v/s Homemade: Quantity and Price Economy

A cup of coffee on an average is going to cost you anywhere between $1 and $5 a cup. The refined varieties like latte and cappuccino are going to cost you more. At home you can vend as many cups of coffee as you desire. If you drink about 5 cups of coffee a day you’ll have to spend about $5 to $25 each day on coffee and in a month your expenditure will be anywhere between $150 to $750. You are spending about $ 3000 on coffee in about just four months! If you were to invest the same amount of money on a coffee maker, you can drink as many cups of coffee as you want at any time of the day. Also you can add a touch of individuality to the coffee. The price of the very tasty homemade espresso turns out to be 21-22 cents on an average. At a coffee shop you get the same for about $ 1.25. So how does the comparison go with you?

Do you think you are actually missing out by choosing to brew your coffee shot at home? Well, you might miss the social ambiance, but you can always invite your friends to your place and have the same fun.

Try out a cup of hot steaming coffee from the coffee machine. Cheers!