The Best Times to Buy Anything, All Year Round [Buying Guide] (via Lifehacker)

I know you like saving money as much as I do, so check out this article from Lifehacker:


The Best Times to Buy Anything, All Year Round [Buying Guide]:
You're always hearing about off-season, post-peak times to save money on purchases and food, but it always arrives too late. We've compiled a timeline and lots of best-time-to-buy suggestions into one post to help you plan a more frugal 2010.
We scoured the net for advice from financial sites, gadget bloggers, and other sources on the best times to buy particular items, ranging from little goods you can stock up on (aluminum foil) to big-time purchases you can easily overpay for in the wrong season (boats). We threw together all these tips, organized them by time frame, and, through the keen eye of one Jason Fitzpatrick, assembled a timeline of some of the major items to keep in mind throughout the year.
Click on the image below for a larger version, and right-click it and save it to grab the 1200-pixel-wide version for safekeeping.

Like your savings tips in text form? Here's the data dump from our little research experiment. The reasons for these items being suggested in their particular months varies, but generally they're pinned to getting a better deal when sales are slow, when new products are just about to roll out, or when every single retailer is selling at a discount.

Winter

Jan. 1 - March 31
• Air conditioners
• Gas grills
• House (for price)
January:
• January: Bicycles and sporting goods
• Furniture
• Linens and bed sheets
• Carpeting
• Digital cameras (earlier models)
February:
• Tools
• Chocolate (Feb. 15-March 1)
March:
• Luggage
• Frozen foods
• Boats (March-April)

Spring

April 1 - June 30
• Televisions
• House (for availability)
• Boots and winter wear
April:
• Used cars
• Car accessories & parts
• Laptops
• Fabric
April & May:
• Cookware
• Vacuum cleaners
May:
• Patio furniture (last year's models)
• Bottled water
• Party supplies
June:
• Health club/gym memberships
• Tools (June 1-20, around Father's Day)

Summer

July 1 - Oct. 1
July: Furniture
Aug.-Sept.: Laptops
September:
• Cars (Weekend mornings)
• Lawn mowers
Sept.-Oct.:
• Big appliances
• Fancier wine
Oct.-Nov.: Cookware

Fall

Oct. 1 - Jan. 31
Shrubs, Trees, and Bulbs (that you can store until spring)
October:
• Car accessories & parts
• Jeans
• Big appliances
Oct.-Nov.: Cookware
November:
• Candy
• Aluminum foil & plastic wrap
Nov. 15-Dec. 24: Wedding dresses
Nov. 15-Jan. 31: HDTV and Home Theater

Sources

• The best time to buy — anything [MSN Money]
• From TVs to toys, the best time to buy everything [CNN Money]
• The Best Time to Buy Everything [SmartMoney.com]
• When is the best time to buy electronics, furniture, and more [Yahoo! Finance]
• Dealhunters: Buy Your Laptops in August, September and April - Best time to buy a laptop [Gizmodo]
• Shopping 101 - When's the Right Time to Purchase a Product? [GoogoBits.com]
• The Best Time to Buy Everything [About.com]

Buying and Saving Good Food

When's the best time to buy food? That all depends on where you live.
Honestly, we would have loved to assemble an all-in-one chart and help you buy peaches in vast quantities, then dine on the canned and frozen rewards all year long. But while pretty much everything is available and fresh all the time at, say, the Lifehacker West office, those of us who can see snow outside are in the thick of basement potato season, with grocery stores stocked full of goods trucked or flown in.
That doesn't mean you can't benefit from smart shopping and preservation, however. Here are some great resources that will get you informed about what's good and fresh when you buy it, and how to keep it edible throughout the whole year.
Find fresh food

• Epicurious' Peak-Season Map: Click a month, click on your state, and see what's growing good, plus grab a few recipes for those ingredients.
• Seasonal Chef: Geared toward farmers markets, but valid information on coast-to-coast food availability.
• Sustainable Table: Pulls information from the National Resource Defense Council on foods you can feel good about buying, and when to buy them.

Store your food
The basics on freezing fruits, vegetables, and meat come direct from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The USDA's page on freezing and food safety gives the skinny on freezing vegetables:

... Most vegetables that freeze well are low acid and require a brief, partial cooking to prevent deterioration. This is called 'blanching.' For successful freezing, blanch or partially cook vegetables in boiling water or in a microwave oven. Then rapidly chill the vegetables prior to freezing and storage. Consult a cookbook for timing.

Helpful, but not super-specific. Food blog The Kitchn offers lists of items you can buy in bulk, and our archives offer up a few hints on getting the most from frozen food:

• Getting Started With Canning, aka Home Food Preservation
• Freezer Jam: A Baby Step To Canning (Original post)
• 10 Simple Freezer Tricks to Save You Time and Money

What about meats, both raw and cooked? Here's how the USDA breaks down freezer life at 0 Celsius, or 32 degrees Fahrenheit:

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We've put together a lot of tips on when to buy good gear, but that's far from the end of the list. If you've got any tips of your own on when to snag great discounts and bulk prices, tell us in the comments. We'll update this post as we find the good stuff in there.

From the Tips Box: Frozen Locks, Beard Trimming, and Loose Items [From The Tips Box] (via Lifehacker)

I got this on my reader this morning. Of the tips, I think the hand sanitizer bit and squegee idea are definitely the best!!! Thanks to New England winters for that perspective...

From the Tips Box: Frozen Locks, Beard Trimming, and Loose Items [From The Tips Box]:

Readers offer their best tips for de-icing frozen car locks, trimming your beard without a guarded trimmer, and remembering to bring loose items out the door.

Don't like the gallery layout? Click here to view everything on one page.

About the Tips Box: Every day we receive boatloads of great reader tips in our inbox, but for various reasons—maybe they're a bit too niche, maybe we couldn't find a good way to present it, or maybe we just couldn't fit it in—the tip didn't make the front page. From the Tips Box is where we round up some of our favorites for your buffet-style consumption. Got a tip of your own to share? Add it in the comments, share it here, or email it to tips at lifehacker.com.

Use Hand Sanitizer to De-Ice Car Locks

Photo by akemp42.

Kevin Kelsey shows us another handy pocket item that acts as a multitasker:

Went to a movie on Christmas, and when we came out, the car locks were frozen. No stores open for miles. I said to my wife that if we just had some alcohol, we could use that to unfreeze it. She gave me a small bottle of hand sanitizer, and I dipped the key in it. The lock opened right up. Neat, huh?

Use a Regular Comb as a Beard Trimming Guard

handbra gives beard-rockers a tip to keep it neat without a guarded trimmer:

If you have facial hair (I have a goatee) and forgot your guarded trimmer, you can use a comb as a guard and use the trimmer on the back of most electric razors. Just 'comb' your beard and run the trimmer over the comb. It takes a little getting used to, and it isn't the cleanest trim, but you can touch it up when you get through, and is much better than letting it grow out for the duration of your trip.

Keep a Squeegee In Your Car for Easy Snow Removal

Photo by VirtualErn.

spacecoyote lets us know about another useful windshield-clearing tool:

When the snow starts a-falling, throw a squeegee in your vehicle along with an ice scraper. It's much more efficient at clearing snow from the car and doesn't have bristles that clog up with snow and ice that will later melt inside your vehicle. If you have one with a sponge side, you can use that on painted areas if there's a worry about scratching the paint with the rubber squeegee. I've been using a $3 cheap-o from Wal-Mart and it hasn't let me down yet.

Leave Loose Items With Shoes For Quick Remembering

Enginerd keeps us from leaving important items behind with this tip:

Going to somebody else's house? Place the things you need to remember in (or on, if this grosses you out) your shoe, such as keys, wallet, or phone. Since you can't leave without your footwear, you're certain to remember these other items.

For those of us that are really forgetful, this tip works at your own house, too.

Signs of Impending Disaster (via I can has a cheeseburger)

Don't we all feel we are surrounded by mounting disasters some days? I know I do!!!!