You might be planning to go shopping over the three-day weekend culminating in Presidents Day, given the plethora of sales. But is this the best use of your day off? Which holidays have the best sales, and on what, exactly?
Although sales are designed to get you into stores and buy more than you otherwise would, some holidays have sales with actual savings while others are all hype and little substance.
Anytime there’s a holiday weekend — especially one like President’s Day, when you have a federal holiday off on a Monday — it’s a good time to find deals on large appliances.
Which Holidays Have the Best Sales?
Apparently, Fourth of July sales are great for finding deals on spring clothing, while Labor Day tend to have summer apparel on clearance.
Labor Day sales are also ideal times to find outdoor items on clearance — things like lawn and garden supplies, patio furniture, grills, summer toys, and things for the beach or pool.
Back-to-school items also tend to go on sale around Labor Day.
The next holiday that wraps abuts a weekend, Columbus Day, is a good time to find deals on fall clothing and sweaters.
Forget Black Friday
Although the Friday after Thanksgiving tends to have lots of stores calling their promotions sales, the prices don’t really save you money on anything.
Wait until Christmas and the week afterward, and then everything goes on sale — you literally can’t go wrong shopping then.
As for New Year’s Day, that’s a good day to find deals on gym memberships, interestingly enough.
The month of January can have sales on lingerie — or at least that’s when Victoria’s Secret has its Semi Annual Sale, for instance.
Mattresses and Appliances
Another holiday with a lot of sales, Memorial Day, is best for finding discounts on mattresses. Household appliances are also good deals that day and weekend.
The following month, in June, Father’s Day is the best time to find deals at home improvement stores.
Readers, are you planning to go shopping during any of the Presidents Day weekend sales — or any other holiday this year, for that matter?
Jackie Cohen is an award winning financial journalist turned turned financial advisor obsessed with climate change risk, data and business. Jackie holds a B.A. Degree from Macalester College and an M.A. in English from Claremont Graduate University.