If you've been purchasing the same things for several years, you'll notice that there are times in the year when some of the products will be cheap and at other times the same products would be rather expensive. Knowing this cycle and preparing to buy in bulk [if you can] will ensure that you never miss out on the deals because you weren't prepared. Question: do you guys know the best time to get the best deals on everything you buy? Does that knowledge help you save some money or do you shop as you would normally?
I know the things that I buy regularly, and also know how often I need to replace them, and also how long they will last me once I have bought them. So when they are on sale, I buy as much as I can, within reason, that I know I would be able to use before the product was no longer fit for use. I find that this is the best way to do things, as it means that you are never lost for something to use, and you will always be saving money at the same time, which of course can only be a good thing.
I always go after the season has ended. I'll be buying a new air conditioner probably this October. Currently, in August I'm Christmas shopping, and finding different window covers to keep the heat in, new pipes for the wood stove, and heat shields to protect the wall and floor from the wood stove.
I always sign up to newsletters and look out for discounts and offers. Usually I look at cashback sites to use in conjunction with any coupons and find the lowest price I can. I'm a person who stocks up, so I bulk buy when something is on special.
same here. I try to buy everything in bulk as long as I know it can save until I'm ready for it. Sugar, socks, whatever I can find. I need to work on my bargain hunting skills, though. I am horrible about shopping around for the best price. I see something I want, and unless its insanely expensive I'll settle for it. I lose a lot of money that way.
I'm more of an electronics guy so I buy a lot of gadgets and accessories. Besides gadgets I also purchase clothes year round as well. Not as often a fashion shopper but every once in awhile I do buy clothes. And I definitely agree that knowing the best time to buy your items will save you tons of money. No joke. Since I'm a gadget guy, I do all my electronic deal hunting before or during winter because around those times are where they're cheapest. Especially on black friday. I shop every black friday because you never know when you run across something that's a steal. It's not just electronics either, clothes during this season is the cheapest out of all times in my opinion. Why? Because there's so many off season sales or clear outs, so you could buy spring and summer clothes from shops that post clearance sales. Also as it gets close to Christmas and winter is drawing near, some places will have winter sales to draw in customers preparing for the cold . Really, in my opinion, before and during winter is my favorite shopping season.
Sales are seasonal anyway, and they have a pattern, so you just simply go to the mall during the holidays. Over here, there are 3-day sales that happen twice a year per mall branch, so I usually know when the sales will be.
I refuse to contribute to black friday. My #1 reason is I don't want to get trampled to death. And I have an issue with Black friday, biggest shopping day of the year, being the day after Thanksgiving. That never occurred to me until I heard a comedian say it. And I have agreed ever since.
Whenever there are outlet sales or even end of the month sales, we tend to buy in bulk of our necessities. These items could be tissues, liquid soaps, soaps or shampoos. Watsons here, which is a pharmacy/grocery store, always has a buy one take one promo. We take advantage of that and buy what we need during those sales.
I don't really go to Krogers anymore. But when I did I would get on their website and add different coupons to my Kroger card. You can get some really great deals, that way! Free Doritoes, free Folgers, buy one get one free, 5$ off 15$ purchase in the meat department... etc. I've had to have saved hundreds over time, that way.
I don't always know when my usual purchases go on sale but I do know which ones of them get discounted from time to time and I just try and stave off of buying them until that promo period if I could. For example, I normally don't buy potato chips anymore until the supermarket starts getting rid of their older stock which makes them bundle them together and thus making each pack half priced. Sometimes they even throw in a soda but unfortunately there is no set time for when they do this so I just go about my regular shopping and buy lots when I come across it.
Here where I live it's quite simple. The price of goods are always at their highest at the end of the month when people get paid and usually rush to the malls to spend their money. The best time to buy is during the middle of the month, when prices drop down by up to 40%, and when you come across all kinds of good promotions. It's definitely the time when I invest in the things that I need.
Word of mouth is a great way to find out, too. My mother in law told me about a bunch of clothes and jewelry she got on clearance at Wal-mart, yesterday. As soon as I get a chance I'm going to go check it out, too!
