Smart Savings Tip #2 – Know and Follow the Cycle of Sales

Hi there, I'm Jess!  If you are just joining me, you may want to start at the beginning and read my first post: Smart Savings Tip #1: Have a Plan!

This week I’m going to tell you all about my second tip: 

Smart Savings Tip #2 -  Know and follow the cycle of sales

I’m sure you’ve noticed the ‘Buy One Get One’ (BOGO for short) bin at your local grocery store and wondered how the store decides what is going to be on sale for that week. There is definitely a method to the madness. Weekly (or monthly) sales generally coincide with events and seasons and also tend to recycle in a rotation of about six to eight weeks. If you miss a sale on an item, rest assured that the sale will come back around in about six weeks. When my favorite items go on sale (non-perishables), I try to load up with enough of them to hold me over until the next sale. Here is a monthly list of events and sales that coincide with them:

 

January (New Year’s Eve/Day):

Weight loss and health items.

 

February (Valentine’s Day, Super Bowl):

Candies and chocolates, cards, snacks and chips.

 

March (National Frozen Food Month, Lent):

Frozen food and seafood.

 

April (Easter, Earth Day):

Organic, healthy items and gardening sales.

 

May (Mother’s Day, Cinco De Mayo):

Flowers, cards, chips, snacks and soda.

 

June (Father’s Day, BBQs):

Hot Dogs, condiments, summer produce and Father’s Day gifts (razors, shaving gel).

 

July (Back to School, BBQ):

Cereal, school supplies and condiments.

 

August (Back to School):

School supplies, snacks for kids (peanut butter, cookies) and summer clearance.

 

September (Fall Cleaning):

Home fragrance, cleaning supplies, back to school clearance and Halloween candy.

 

October (Halloween, Fall):

Bagged candy, baking items and Fall décor.

 

November (Thanksgiving, Black Friday):

Cooking items (soup stock, turkeys, hams, canned and frozen veggies, desserts and baking items, butter, etc.

 

December (Holidays/Christmas):

Same as November, plus cold medicine/remedies.

 

I hope this list will help you to plan better and encourage you to stock up on your favorite items while they are on sale. My husband might give me the ‘side eye’ because I have a shelf of deodorant and shave gel in the garage, but he sure is proud when he sees my receipts and savings!

Here's a picture of part of my stockpile!

 

May the sales be ever in your favor!