DECEMBER/JANUARY: TVs

The first two weeks of December are the best time to buy brand-name and high-end HDTVs, while no-name HDTVs are strongly discounted from Black Friday through early January, says Jeff Contray, managing editor for dealnnews.com. However, the last weeks of January leading up to the Super Bowl are typically bad times to buy HDTVs. If you hold out until February (or early spring), you'll see a dip in prices on older models as retailers try to make room for new models.