Best Time to Buy?

First, I just want to say thanks to everyone who commented on my Blissdom decision. I agree that upon reflection, not going when it is this close would be waste of an awesome opportunity. So I am going!!! I will for sure be at the Friday Night Cocktail Party if nothing else. We will see about the Saturday session. If you are going, please send me an email and let me know so we can meet up! I can’t wait to meet everyone and I promise to take lots of pictures to share!

Now – moving on, I had a conversation with another friend of mine the other day. It went a little something like this.

Friend: “Hey, so we think the washer is dead.”

Me: “NOOO! Are you sure?”

Friend: “Well we got it fixed, but it is on its last leg. It makes the most horrible sound.”

Me: “Ugh – as if nothing could make doing laundry worse.”

Friend: “Yeah, so um – anyways, I was calling to see if you knew when those normally go on sale.”

Me (Zero Hesitation): “Oh, well the end of the year is the best time to buy because they are getting rid of last years models, but I would think by Martin Luther King Weekend they will have some pretty big sales and if there are any left over older models they will be marked down big time then.”

Why do I know this? Well there are a couple reasons. One, is that I work in retail and I know that almost everything goes on sale in January. (For the most part.) Two, is that I grew up with a father who is OBSESSED with Consumer Reports that used to tell you when it was the best time to buy major purchase items. Because of this, I know he has told me at least 119 times that if I am thinking about buying appliances that I need to wait until the end of the year when they go on sale.

I have all these random dates in my head that my dad has given me over the years and have become a reference of sorts for my friends. (See Exhibit A above.) However, I have always wanted something more consolidated – without having to pay for a subscription to Consumer Reports.

Fear not my friends – I give you “The Best Time To Buy Almost Everything” from the fantastic peeps over at Getting Rich Slowly.  The best part is that they have really highlighted the end of each "season" for an item in retail.  So for appliances - technically, they start cleaning out the old models in Sept/Oct but you can typically catch great deals on holiday weekends too.  Guess what else is good to buy right now in January?  Furniture! 

Now you can bookmark it, print it out, and become a price savvy shopper as well.

Just don’t forget who gave it to you!

So tell me, do you wait until certain times of the year to buy things? Or do you just buy them when you need them?