What to Buy in September Sales [Best September Sales]

September sales present us with a great number of deals that are the best purchases either in the next few months or for the entire year.

With the fall now here, new items are coming on sale, and that makes September a great month to go shopping.

What to Buy in September Sales

Taking advantage of September deals now a great way to save money on items we normally purchase when needed.

The principle of buying items when they are at their lowest prices instead of when we have to purchase them insures we are getting the best deal most of the time.

With any item on this list I recommend using one of the shopping rebate websites to make your purchase online, even if you are choosing the in-store pickup option for shipping. This can save you an additional 1-15% depending on the retailer.

Clothing Sales

While Labor Day is the marquee event in September, the truth is that there will be clothing sales going on all month. Summer clothes are on clearance and fall clothes will see their first sale prices.

Denim is a big buy in September because everyone usually buys their jeans for back to school. Any overstock is going on sale now so look for great prices on some top line jeans.

If you miss any sales that you really wanted to take advantage of, there will be another round of sales next month for Columbus day.

Mattresses

Whenever you get a holiday sale the Mattress people seem to step up with a week of sales to lure you into their stores. Expect labor day to be no different than any other holiday with deep discounts on mattresses and bedding.

Old Model iPhones

New iPhones and other Apple products are coming out soon so expect the older models to start seeing deep discounts. That being said, you can always find comparable Android devices for less money.

Televisions

September sales are the best prices you will get on televisions until Black Friday. So if you cannot hold out until the end of November now is the time to strike on a 55” or 32” television.

Judging by the way my favorite college football team played their first game, I am going to wait so their performance will look a little better with a blur.

Textbooks

College and high school are now in full swing. This means any textbooks that did not get sold are losing value quickly. With the rate that new editions of these books come out, any time a textbook goes unsold there is a chance it could end up worthless. If you waited until after verifying with your professor that you actually need the book.

If any college guys are out there looking for a way to get to know the pretty girl in class. This is your chance to ask if you can study together since the book store “ran out” of the text book and has yours ordered. I cannot say this works 100% of the time, but you have at least a 75% chance at worst.

Cruises

The Cruise industry heats up in the summer and cools off quickly in the fall. They are looking to fill up ships as best they can. Cruises make most of their money on stuff that happens on the boat and not on the rooms themselves. This means they will sometime even take a small loss on the room to get you on the boat.

If you have the ability to take time off after Labor day to take a cruise, you can score and amazing deal.

Grills

It is finally here. Grill clearance is upon us. If your big box retailer has a bunch of the grill you have been eyeing, then check back every few days to see if they have dropped the price more. You can get up to 50% off the original price of that beautiful meat cooking piece of magic.

Airfare

Like cruises people travel less for pleasure during the school year. If you can take your trip before the holiday travel days heat up the prices, then you can score a great deal for vacation spots.

Bikes

Anything outdoors is going to go down in price pretty quickly. As the cold weather slowly rolls into the country bikes will go down in price. They will bounce back as a Christmas gift, but now is the time to score a deal. The last time my wife and I bought bikes we found them on cleareance at Target for 70% off. Through in the 5% discount with a Target RedCard and you can really rack up the savings.

Broadway Tickets

I had no idea Broadway had a time of year where the tickets were cheaper. There is this amazing time called Broadway week which is actually two weeks (September 5-18^th). You can frequently get BOGO tickets to top Broadway shows.

I am going to be checking with local theatres to see if they are going to offer any deals at the same time. My wife being a chorus teacher, we try to hit a musical from time to time.

Cars

Next year’s model cars are hitting the market so the 2017 new cars are going to dip in price. You can see up to 20% off the price of a new vehicle (some haggling with annoying sales managers may be required).

Plants

All the summer perennials are going on sale now. If you live in a climate where it is too cold already to get them established to survive the winter, you can keep them potted inside until it is warm enough in the Spring to put them in your garden.

School Supplies

The school supply rush is over and all the stuff that is left over is clogging up the shelves. Now is a great time to get next year’s items dirt cheap. I am sure that 24 count crayons, glue sticks, and Kleenex will be on at least one of my kids supply lists so might as well get in on the deals.

Featured Foods

Apparently, September is a popular month to feature major food items. “Holidays” honoring foods in the month of September include:

Bacon
Cheeseburgers
Cheese Pizza
Chicken
Guacamole
Lobster
Potatoes
Rice

Expect to see restaurants and grocery stores run specials on these items some time throughout the month.

Produce in September Sales

September is a transitional month for produce. This is your first chance to get some of the fall foods on sale and is your last chance at getting the summer produce at sale prices, before retailers have to start importing from warmer areas of the planet. Produce that should be at low prices in September include:

Apples
Berries
Beets
Cantaloupe
Cauliflower
Eggplant
Grapes
Figs
Green Leafy vegetables (aka the food that my food eats)
Melons
Mushrooms
Pears
Squash
Sweet Potatoes

Expect the big discounters like Aldi and Walmart to drop these prices significantly this month.

What Not to Buy in September Sales

There are specific items that are not a good deal in the month of September or the good deals are so close that you want to wait a little longer to make that purchase.

Coffee

While this is technically a September buy you will want to wait until October first to buy high end coffee. This is because the 1^st is national coffee day and the big boys are going to cut prices on beans, grounds, and coffee drinks of all varieties.

The New iPhone

I never recommend buying an iPhone. There is nothing frugal about the device, but if you are buying the latest model when it comes out, you are getting the absolute worst deal in all of cell phone shopping. At least wait until the initial rush is over and they start offering a little discount.

Appliances

If an appliance breaks down and you have to buy a new one then so be it, but if you can wait until November, you are going to get a MUCH better deal.

I purchased all new appliances at Lowes, for a new home that I moved into in December. I was able to score more than 20% off with sale pricing, 10% off with a store coupon, and $300 in gift cards. That is how crazy it gets in November for the appliance market.

Halloween Costumes

Halloween costumes are at their most pricey when people are rushing to get the “good” costumes. If your children are not super picky and will go with you right before Halloween everything that is left over will be on sale.

If you are planning ahead, wait until after Halloween to pick up next year’s costume at up to 90% off.

Upcoming Months

October

Along with Columbus day, October sales have a lot of excellent deals for the frugal shopper.

November

November is a top month to buy many things because of Black Friday. However, there are not many November sales that give you top deals throughout the month.

December

Along with toys and tools, December sales have some great deals on cookies!

Final Thoughts on September Sales

If something isn’t listed in either of these lists then you can get some OK deals, but probably not the rock bottom price we are looking for. If it’s something you really need, then go for it, but