Best times to buy big ticket items

The best way to buy big ticket items is with impeccable timing. You’ll do yourself and your wallet a great service by doing your due diligence on year-round pricing trends to schedule steal-worthy savings. The following are just a few examples of some of the most common big ticket items people tend to budget for and just exactly when you’ll be in the best possible position to get them for a bargain.

New houses

If your New Year’s Resolution is to find your dream house, then you’d be well-advised to refrain from house-hunting at the start of January and put it off until February or March. From about February to mid-March, the selling prices of most homes can be as much as 5 percent less than the median asking prices during the middle or end of the year.

Technology

Despite the long lines that tend to form whenever new models of smartphones get released, early adopters only represent about 2 percent of the country. As tempting as it may be to camp out for your shot to own the hottest new release from Apple or Android, it would be smart to hold off. You can forego getting the newest edition when it’s new altogether and instead adopt a policy of buying one generation late. Immediately upon the release of any new model of a big ticket tech device, the price of the previous model gets significantly lower almost immediately as a result.

Automobiles

Though 87 percent of the country dislikes something about car shopping at dealerships, you can make your trip much more enjoyable with good timing. If you want the best shot at getting a car for a more affordable price, then your best bet would be to wait until autumn. Since newer models generally roll in around the end of the year, dealers are oftentimes a lot more likely to lean towards the agreeable side when it comes to negotiations for whatever unsold cars are still sitting on their lots To improve your chance at scoring a great deal from the dealership even further, make a point to schedule your visit on a weekday toward the end of the month; this way, your purchase is positioned in a time where both the season and the dealer’s sales quota will both be in your favor.

Engagement Rings

Statistics show that most people buy their engagement rings between November and February, but this is likely due to the holiday promotions pushed by sellers for more business and not significant seasonal savings. Rather than aiming to be opportunistic about the best time to get an engagement ring for a certain price, it’s better to simply buy with the time of engagement in mind. In surveys to examine engagement ring prices, most experts have weighed in on the discussion with the opinion of there not really being a time of the year with significantly more economical ring-buying potential than others. Whenever the ring is bought, allowing about 3 months of so of time between buying the ring and proposing is ideal for working out logistics.

Adam Richards

About Adam Richards

Adam Richards is a semi-retired business professional originally from Bangor, Maine. He spent the majority of his career in sales and marketing where he rose to the marketing lead of a Fortune 1000 company. He then moved on to helping people as a career counselor that specifically helped bring families to self-sufficiency through finding them rewarding careers. He has now returned to Bangor for his retirement and spends his free time writing. This blog will be about everything he learned throughout his career. He'll write on career, workplace, education and technology issues as well as on trends, changes, and advice for the Maine job market and its employers.