Seasonal Buying
Save money by knowing when to buy
Seasonal buying is something that some people dabble in without even consciously doing so. Marketing campaigns are often geared to drawing in the numbers with a seasonal 'hook'.
Just by studying what goes on in different industries we can maximize our savings with a little foresight and diligence with your shopping diary.
WHAT TIME OF DAY Perishables are often reduced (eg. bread, chicken, fish, meat, baked goods) at the end of the day. Local markets often bundle up trays at much lower prices due to turnover needs. Use your freezer if you have one and take full advantage of these savings.
WHAT TIME OF THE WEEK
FUEL
Tuesday and Wednesday are the best days (Aust) for filling your vehicle
SUPERMARKETS
Study what day your local supermarket instructs the staff to reduceprices on perishables.
CHAINS
Stores like Kmart and Target also have routines scheduled for staff tomark down clearance products. Find out the day and diarize it for yourconvenience. | |
| WHAT TIME OF THE MONTH
Whitegoods stores, Electrical and other stores often have a monthlyroutine with pricing and promotions and when targets are not met,prices can be slashed (more often it is at the end of a month.)
WHAT TIME OF THEYEAR
The beginning or the end of a season is a time when marketers arehammering certain items.
eg. - juice, soft drinks, sports drinks as SPRING arrives
- soups and hot 'meals' as winter arrives
- all fruits and vegetables have seasons (and many can be stewed,blanched, bottled and frozen). Local produce costs less to transport sofind out your local growing seasons to capitalize on these lower prices. | HEATING AND COOKING
- dont wait til summer to buy a cooler as they are always cheaper at the end and of course heaters are cheapest at the end of winter. CLOTHING
Stick to classics and dont get sucked into seasonal 'trends'. Winter clothes will be marked down before the end of winter as spring lines come in. Summer clothes likewise will be cheaper at the end of the season. SPECIAL OCCASIONS
Christmas, Easter, Mother's Day, Father's day. Always check out the sales after these occasions and start a treasure chest. Also keep an eye out for the June clearances. PROPERTY SALES
If buying a home, spring is the worst seasonal buying time as prices go up as many people want to sell and buy in spring. Buying in winter can show you more about a properties potential problems and save you money as well.
January is to be avoided for rentals and purchases as students, teachers and others who are linked to school dates are all looking around this time. February or March may be better as there will be less demand. BUYING VEHICLES
Once again, dealer or company targets can feel the pressure at the end of the month and especially at the end of the financial year. This is to your advantage as long as you have the funds ready to hand over and do a good deal. OFFICE AND SCHOOL SUPPLIES
To capitalize on this seasonal buying time, suppliers of stationary and other school supplies do their best discounting at back to school preparation time in January.
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