By Danielle Rexrode
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

Are you preparing your home for sale, but need to update your appliances, replace your carpet, or spruce up your lawn and garden? If you wait until your dishwasher dies, you could be missing out on big savings.

Just like buying a car or planning a vacation, timing your purchases to coincide with manufacturer rebates, clearance sales, and off-season discounts will ensure you get rock-bottom prices on almost anything. Take a look at the best time to buy some popular household items:

Big appliances
Best time to buy: September and October

According to Home Appliance Magazine’s editor Diane Ritchey, just like the fall clothing influx, new models of major appliance models such as ranges and washing machines hit showroom floors in September and October about the same time last year’s models go on sale to make room. “Critical timing and seeing the patterns of the retail world can make a huge difference in appliance shopping,” Ritchey says.

Carpet
Best time to buy: May, June, early September, December 16 through January 31

According to consumer advocate Alan J. Fletcher there are three key times of the year to save money on carpet. The first is from May 1 to June 30. “The tax refund is spent, Memorial Day weekend is busy, the kids are getting out of school, vacation planning is underway and there is plenty of springtime gardening to do,” says Fletcher.

“Buying new carpet is not at the top of the priority list for most people during  this time.”

Fletcher says the next key date is December 15. “The Christmas trees are going up and holiday shopping is at an all-time high. This means that buying after December 15 is a great time to buy new carpet,” he says.

Your last chance to save comes right after the kids go back to school and lasts the whole month of September while everyone is getting settled into a new school year and not ready to start thinking about getting the house ready for the holidays yet.