Mondays / Online Shopping: It's no coincidence that Cyber Monday is not Cyber Sunday. Consumers typically shop less online during the weekends. They have time to actually go to the stores. But on Monday morning, everyone is sitting at their desk and retailers know the best way to reach them is by sending deals to their inbox.
Bonus Tip: Abandon Shopping CartSavings: 30 - 50% off
Tuesdays / Airfare: More than three-quarters of airfare sales occur on Tuesdays, but wait till late afternoon (east coast) or early evening (west coast) to book so that airlines have time to match each other's prices.
Savings: 10 – 20%
Wednesdays / Groceries: Most store ads go into effect on Wednesdays, meaning they are fully stocked on sale items and may even honor sale prices from the previous ad.
Befriend butcher and ask what time of day they typically do meat markdowns. This is meat approaching its sell by date, but it can be frozen and used later. Markdowns start at 30%, but may go down even further if the store does two rounds of markdowns.
Savings: Check percentage on bottom of your receipt to see how much you save. You should always try to get it at least 25% saved, but possible to get if up to 40%.Last year, the average annual expenditure on food at home (Bureau of Labor Statistics), was $3,977. Shop from the ad and save around $1,000 a year or $83 a month on groceries.
Thursdays / Department Stores: Often stores lower prices the night before a big sale kicks off so they are ready to hit the ground running in the morning. This can make Thursday night, right before closing, a great time to shop. You can enjoy sale prices without the crowd and without selection being picked over.
If items aren't already marked down, ask your salesperson if you can do a pre-sale. You'll be able to put the items on hold at the sale price and come back and pick them up once the sale has started. Savings: I never buy anything from a department store unless it is at least 30% off because I know chances are, it will eventually go on sale.
Fridays / Night Out: Who wants to shop on a Friday? We want to kick back and enjoy the weekend. Use a site like Goldstar or ScoreBig to find discount tickets.
Savings: 50% Last year, the average annual expenditure on entertainment (Bureau of Labor Statistics), was $2,482. Look for free or low-cost activities and tickets to cut that number in half.
Saturdays / Gas: The best day to head to the pump varies by state, but a GasBuddy.com study found that 65% of states saw lower prices on weekends, especially Saturdays.
Shopping on the weekends may only save you a couple of nickels per gallon, but combine that strategy with two others and you'll see a substantial savings. Considering consumers spent an average of $2,418 on gas last year (Bureau of Labor Statistics), it's a savings that will quickly add up.
Shop on weekend: Save 15¢ / gallon Use cash: Save 10¢ / gallonUse gas pricecomparison app: Save 30¢ / gallonTotal potential savings: Save 55¢ / gallonGrocery gas rewards program: Save 10-20¢ / gallon**Another way to save, but usually for a specific gas station so would be used in place of a gas price comparison app
Sundays / Appliances: Shopping for an appliance can be a whole day affair, which is why most people do it on the weekends and why retailers typically offer their best sales on the weekend.
Savings: Look for sales of around 25% off, but consider potential savings of buying Energy Star appliances.Energy Star Rebates $50 - $75Replacing 15-year-old top freezer fridge with Energy Star = $70/year in energy savings.
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