Buy Ketchup in May

Did I tell you? We had to get a new TV over the Christmas holidays. This fall, the color had been doing some funny things that JD pointed out (and I refused to believe), and then, on Christmas Eve, it began its slow crawl into a red death. JD, Lucy and I were mid-“Love Actually” (best Christmas movie, by the way), and the screen turned to red. We flipped it off, waited a few minutes, turned it back on, and the picture reappeared. We were able to get through the whole movie before it redded out again at the end of the night. Considering we had received several gifts that required a TV (I’m great at Wii Resort frisbee!), we had to get a new one, pronto.

Thankfully for us, December and January are great months to buy a TV. We got an excellent deal from Best Buy, and in a matter of minutes, JD ordered it online then went with his strong brother-in-law to help move it back to our house. So easy.

Also, we knew we were getting the TV at a great price because of a book my mom gave us for Christmas: Buy Ketchup in May and Fly at Noon: A Guide to the Best Time to Buy This, Do That and Go There by Mark Di Vincenzo.  

Not only does this book detail when you should purchase big ticket items and why, but it also reveals great times to travel abroad, when to take your vitamins, and when to go to Disney without all the lines. I haven’t read the whole thing, but it so far has such a refreshing outlook! I definitely recommend it for home-owners since there is a huge section about home improvement: building fences, planting your garden, fertilizing, etc.

If you can’t purchase the book (it’s only $10 on Amazon right now), check it out from your library. Otherwise, here are a few other good sites with tips on the best time to buy… anything:

The Best Time to Buy… Anything by MSN Money

The Cheapest Days to Buy Certain Items from Smart Money