What to Buy in February

February brings us the month of Valentine’s Day, when love is in the air and apparently also good deals. According to an article in The Wall Street Journal, February may be our shortest month, but it accounts for fifteen out of the twenty biggest discount days of the year. If you’re looking for a gift to get your sweetie, the items that are this month’s best bargains are not exactly the most romantic, but you may still win his or her heart when you show off your shopping savvy when you know what to buy in February. 

What to Buy in February

President’s Day Sales

We’ll start off with one of the prevailing reasons that February is so price cutting prone – surplus inventory combined with President’s Day. Retailers use President’s Day promotions as a way to entice shoppers back to the stores now that they are finally recovering from the budget busting holidays.

Sales are plentiful as a way to help reduce excess stock in preparation for the hottest spring trends. Winter may still be well entrenched in many parts of the country, but the fashion world moves fast. Retail seasons seem to run on some kind of crazy calendar that may not totally makes sense, but by keeping pace with it we can often save a whole lot of cents. February is when you’ll find the final clearance sales for most winter styles and products.

Winter Fashion Clearance

Quite a bit of the inventory will be picked over at this point, but if you’re willing to hunt it could really pay off. Don’t forget to check store websites if you can’t find a particular item at brick and mortar locations. Online sales in February can become the clearing-house for surplus from around the country. This is an ideal opportunity to buy pants, long sleeve shirts, and lightweight jackets in one size up for your kids for next year. Also, if you’re a family that enjoys winter sports, take advantage of deep discounts on cold weather gear and grab it while you can. You can expect prices to be at least 50% off and in some cases maybe even 75% off or more. Don’t forget to check sites like retailmenot.com or even the store websites for printable coupons or online codes that are often eligible for use on sale merchandise. At a minimum, you’re likely to at least score free shipping.

Electronics

President’s Day sales are also a way that stores prepare for all the cutting-edge products emerging from the first quarter trade shows. One of the most anticipated is The International Consumer Electronics Show held every January, which is when the latest upgrades to our favorite gadgets and gizmos are unveiled. Come February, stores begin phasing out all the old models to make room for the newer ones. If you’ve been thinking about getting a digital camera or trading up your current one, now is the time to buy. Fitness equipment will also see some major mark-downs as all those New Year’s resolutions fade at the same time that that the just-out trends hit the shelves. Televisions and associated sound systems are also a purchase to consider as the combination of The Superbowl at the beginning of the month and the mid-month holiday create an environment for some pretty competitive pricing. Don’t be shy about negotiating either; it won’t be long before this year’s state of the art models will be shipping to the stores. So, the sales guys should be motivated to sell what they have on hand sooner rather than later.

Boats

Boat Show season is another set of trade shows this time of year that may have a particularly targeted impact on coastal residents. All the biggest dealers will be unveiling their shiniest vessels with all the coolest new bells and whistles. As a result, used boats will be at their best year-round prices. If you’ve been dreaming of spending your family free time fishing or frolicking in the open seas, you’re not likely to beat the abundance of used boat bargains that will be available.

Cell Phones

Lastly, for whatever reason, this may be a good month to get a cell-phone on the cheap. According to Mark Di Vincenzo in his book Buy Shoes on Wednesday and Tweet at 4:00: More of the Best Times to Buy This, Do That, and Go There (it’s just $1.99 for the Kindle right now) many carriers offer two for one sales in February. Perhaps, they are inspired by all the Valentine’s Day couples that will be texting sweet nothings to each other all month. I can’t help but think that an iPhone or an Android might say “I love you” in a whole lot more lasting way than a dozen roses or dinner at an expensive restaurant.   However, if you think you’ll still be on the hook for those too, be sure to check Groupon or living social for featured local florists and Restaurant.com for some substantial dining discounts.

Looking for other ways to SAVE MONEY?  Then you’re gonna love this post on All the Ways to Save with Amazon.  You can also take a sneak peek at What to Buy in March. 

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Do you have any other tips for what to buy in February?