Article content continued

“Everybody is fighting it out for a smaller piece of the pie,” says Ms. Bodge.

Timing your shopping experience can save you a thousands of dollars on everything from cars to contraceptives. Condoms and other adult-themed items can be discounted as much 10%-20% in February, reports Ms. Bodge.

Yes, contraceptives. It seems they go on sale in February ahead of Valentine’s Day — an event you would think would promote their use and therefore drive demand.

“A lot of retailers in certain sectors will create promotional times because of what is going on on the calendars and Valentine’s day is a logical time,” she says.

It’s not completely unlike January when gyms starts discounting like mad knowing that people are hungry to work away the holiday fat and embark on the new year with fresh goals.

Flower sales don’t exactly take off in February so there is a lot of discounting right around Feb. 14 — the price leaps are for last-minute shoppers.

The real key to getting a deal is hitting that sweet spot in the market when prices start to fall but there is still plenty of selection within your product category. You might find a pair of boots that are 70% off in July but not necessarily in your size unless you get lucky.

Want to pick the worst time to buy a large screen television? March and April will see you face big ticket prices for new models with all the old inventory mostly gone.

Americans seem to get this. A survey from the website fatwallet.com finds among people looking to buy a television during the next year, 32% will do it during the Super Bowl sales week. That’s even more than the 25% who plan a purchase during Black Friday sales.