Posted in Gifts, Saving Money and expiring

Now is the Best time to Buy… Off-season Products!

If you’re anything like me, you want to save money. But I don’t just save money – I make it an art form! I pre-plan my purchases every year so I can buy only when items are at their cheapest. Spring is a great month to save on fall and winter-related products. Winter stock in particular is being sold for ultra-cheap: stores want to rid themselves of their seasonal goods.

Are you looking to save as well? Here is my list of my off-season purchases for spring:

1) Christmas stuff

April is the best time of the year to buy your Christmas decorations, lights and miscellaneous bits and pieces. Why? It’s simple economics! Demand is down, so prices go down. Christmas-related companies are selling their stock cheap, and it’s a smart time to take advantage of their sales. The specialty stores are the place to go: for example, ChristmasLightsEtc.com has a 40% discount. Heck, you know what you need already, you don’t need to wait until the Xmas rush and high prices to buy it.

2) Presents for all the kids

Have you ever made a gift closet? If not, you really need to. If you have children, grandchildren, nieces or nephews, it’s a great way to stock up on all the presents you need for the rest of the year. This is especially true if you have kids of your own who also have dozens of friends’ birthday parties to go to. Why spend heaps of cash and time on last-minute purchases? Stock up on gifts now when prices are low and stores are trying to rid themselves of what’s left-over of Christmas stock.

Source: All the Frugal Ladies

3) eBay becomes more active

eBay is wonderful post-winter. Everything that was gifted in Christmas, but not desired, will be up for grabs for cheap! Enough time has passed that the receivers of the gift will no longer feel guilty, or they may lose desire or use for the product. This winter hit hard, so shipments and selling was limited… no one wanted to walk to the post office in such extreme conditions. But now that the weather has warmed up, the goods are up for grabs!

4) Non-spring clothes and shoes

Anytime the season is changing, stores will provide sales and discounts on their product in order to make room for the new seasonal trends. March and April is the moment when I go to stores and check out what they offer from their Winter stock. I get all the necessary goodies that I need for the winter – jackets, heavy coats, boots, and sweaters. I’ve gotten insane discounts at times, even paying 10% of the original price. The trick is to avoid the overly trendy clothes and shoes: pink and black dots may have been on trend this past season, but they may be untrendy a year from now!