If your New Year’s resolution is to save more money, mark your calendar with a few key dates that offer the opportunity to save a lot of cash.
From January to December, these are the days in 2023 when you can cut costs. If you save during these times throughout the year, your purse should be a little fatter than it otherwise would be when 2024 dawns.
1. Memorial Day weekend
The first holiday weekend of summer falls on May 27-29 in 2023. This is a great time to save big on specific items during the Memorial Day sales that many retailers schedule.
Traditionally, Memorial Day is viewed as a good time to pick up mattresses, appliances and seasonal items such as spring clothes and patio furniture.
2. Prime Day
Amazon’s most famous sale of the year has quickly become a must-shop event for many people.
The date of Prime Day varies but typically has fallen in July. The event has been such a smashing success that Amazon has taken to offering a second Prime Day in the fall. The sale features daily deals on a variety of products, but you’re likely to find the deepest discounts on Amazon-owned brands.
Not only can you score great prices at Amazon, but a growing number of other retailers now schedule their own sales to go head-to-head with the Amazon blowout.
3. Tax-free shopping days
Each year, a slew of states offer days — often over a week or weekend — when you can temporarily avoid paying sales tax on specific types of items.
Some of these tax-free holidays are geared toward back-to-school shoppers. Others are focused on disaster preparedness or another theme.
To find out the date of your state’s next tax-free holiday, keep an eye on the Federation of Tax Administrators’ list of state sales tax holidays.
4. Labor Day weekend
Summer starts with sales for Memorial Day, and at the other end of the season, you will find Labor Day weekend, which offers its own great deals. It is scheduled for Sept. 2-4 in 2023, with Labor Day on Sept. 4.
Just like during Memorial Day sales, you will often find good deals on mattresses and appliances over Labor Day weekend. You will also likely find bargains on summer items that retailers are hoping to clear out, such as grills.
Cars and computers also tend to go on sale during this time.
5. Black Friday
Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, falls on Nov. 24 in 2023. But you probably are making a big mistake if you wait until that day to start shopping.
In recent years, retailers have rolled out their Black Friday sales much earlier than in the past. In fact, in 2022, Black Friday sales started as early as Oct. 6 in the case of Target.
6. Cyber Monday
Just like Black Friday, Cyber Monday — the Monday after Thanksgiving, which is Nov. 27 in 2023 — has expanded as the years have rolled on.
Now, it is not uncommon for Cyber Monday to extend to a Cyber Week. In the past, this shopping holiday has offered better deals on some products — such as shoes and beauty products — than you would find on Black Friday.
7. Target gift card discount weekend
This is one of the more recent additions to the list of annual savings days, and it’s a welcome one.
Typically scheduled for the weekend after Cyber Monday, Target allows shoppers to buy up to $500 in gift cards at a 10% savings. That means you can get as much as $500 in gift cards for just $450.
In essence, if you use these gift cards for your Target purchases, it’s like getting 10% off of everything you buy from the retailer, at least up to the point your gift cards run out.
We noticed that in 2022, Target unveiled its gift card weekend with less fanfare than in the past. So you might have to look hard to find the announcement of the event. Check out the weekly circular that comes out on Sunday, Nov. 26 — the day before Cyber Monday — to confirm that Target plans the gift card sale for the following weekend.
8. Green Monday
Flying a bit under the radar — at least compared with other entries on this list — is Green Monday. It falls on the second Monday in December, which this year is Dec. 11.
This shopping day got its start in 2007, when eBay began celebrating it for historically being one of the retailer’s best of the year for sales.
Now, stores such as Macy’s and Target have taken to also rolling out their own sales on Green Monday. To get a flavor of what the day is like, check out some of the deals that were available in 2022.
9. The day after Christmas
Once Santa is safely back at the North Pole and everyone’s thoughts turn to New Year’s, retailers roll out one last big sale for the year starting on Dec. 26.
Of course, you can save big on holiday decor — 50% or more — and get a head start on the 2023 holidays. But you will also find plenty of bargains on clothing and other items.