TAKING ADVANTAGE OF SALES CYCLES

WHAT IS A SALES CYCLE?

Most items that you purchase on a regular basis often have some type of cycle for how often they go on sale. This is especially true for grocery and household-type items. Did you ever purchase something like laundry detergent to end up seeing it on sale the next week? That drives me crazy! Many of these items go on sale on a somewhat regular basis. If you can get yourself into a rhythm with making these purchases, you can wait until they go on sale to purchase them at their lowest prices.

KNOW YOUR PRICES

If you don’t have a good idea of what things cost it can be difficult to take advantage of sales. You don’t want to purchase something on sale that is not really a great deal. A store might have a 5-pound bag of potatoes on sale, but if the sale price is more than you normally pay at another store, you would not want to take advantage of that sale. At the same time, if the sale is only a very small discount from your normal price, it might not be worth stocking up.

STOCK UP IF YOU CAN SO THAT YOU HAVE SOME FLEXIBILITY

There are several items that I always try to have at least one backup on hand. I do this so that I don’t have to run out and purchase these items as soon as I run out. By keeping a backup on hand I can wait until the item goes on sale to purchase more. Some items that I do this with are: Coffee, Laundry Detergent, Shampoo & Conditioner, Dishwasher detergent, and certain frozen snack-type foods (clam strips, popcorn chicken, etc.) I read that generally every 3 months on average items are at their lowest price. I have never really tracked anything, but I do notice that once I need to restock on any of these things, it’s usually not too long until it goes on sale again.

DON’T BUY SOMETHING JUST BECAUSE IT’S ON SALE

There is one thing that is most important to remember when buying something on sale. If you did not need the item and did not really intend to buy the item, you did not save money by purchasing it at a sale price. Often we can get led into thinking that we really need to take advantage of a great deal. This can get us into a situation where we are making a purchase that we really had no plans on purchasing. Always remember that it’s not a deal if you don’t need it. Even if something is for sale at a huge discount.  If you didn’t plan to purchase that item, you are just spending not saving!

MAKE A NOTE OF SEASONAL SALES FROM STORES THAT YOU LOVE

If there are certain places you love to buy from that have annual or semi-annual sales, make a note of when those occur. You can plan to stock up during those sales. Again, it is important to know your prices of what the products typically cost outside of these sale days. I don’t have too many of these types of sales that I take advantage of, but I do have a couple. I love the Bath & Body Works hand soaps, body washes, and lotions. So, I save up a few dollars each week throughout the year. I make a note on my phone to check for the semi-annual sale which usually occurs in Jan and July (I think!).

Once the sale hits, I stock up on the products that are on clearance trying to stick to those that are on sale for 75% off. I know that I will use up everything that I buy, so it works out really well for me because I never buy the products at full price. Yankee Candle has semi-annual sales also. So, if there are any of these types of stores that you like to shop at be sure to take note of when they have their yearly sales.

AFTER HOLIDAY SALES

I used to love after holiday sales, but I don’t seem to do as well at these more recently. I still do go and pick up some things, mainly after Christmas. During that time, I always make sure to pick up wrapping paper, tissue paper, gift tags, and holiday cards. But, I feel like the selection isn’t as good as it used to be. Maybe the stores have come up with better ways to manage inventory or put things on sale earlier so that there are not as many products to put on clearance. I do have to say that this year we went to Michael’s after Christmas and did find some good things. We went to Walmart the day after Christmas and they really didn’t have much at all.

OTHER SEASONAL TYPE SALES

If you have a purchase coming up, take a look online to do some research on the best time to buy. Most things have a time of year when they are more heavily discounted. For example, computers are often discounted in July and August to encourage back-to-school purchases. Late August is a great time to buy summer clothes, and late January is a great time to buy winter clothing.

Thanks so much for checking in! If you would like to hear the podcast version of this topic to check out Lola’s Frugal Life Podcast! Also, be sure to check out my other blog posts on this site!

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