Best time to buy

You're always hearing about off-season, post-peak times to save money on purchases and food, but it always arrives too late. We've compiled a timeline and lots of best-time-to-buy suggestions into one post to help you plan a more frugal 2010.

We scoured the net for advice from financial sites, gadget bloggers, and other sources on the best times to buy particular items, ranging from little goods you can stock up on (aluminum foil) to big-time purchases you can easily overpay for in the wrong season (boats). We threw together all these tips, organized them by time frame, and, through the keen eye of one Jason Fitzpatrick, assembled a timeline of some of the major items to keep in mind throughout the year.