Laptops

It's easy to know that you're getting the best deal around when shopping through dealnews, but sometimes you want to plan for purchases in advance. So to help you out, we've mined our archives of product prices, sales, and coupons to see what consumer goods are best buys throughout the month of May.

While every month features its own unique deal fluctuations, we often see overlap across months, especially when they fall within the same season. As such, some of the advice for May might sound familiar if you've diligently followed the April guide. That said, May has some unique shopping characteristics to take note of, like stellar Memorial Day sales later this month. So dive in and brush up on the best and worst things to buy in May.Read more

A few weeks ago, I was helping my dad clean out his garage of old unwanted stuff – you know computers, components, printers, scanners, fax machines, magazines – and I got sidetracked leafing through some of the 20-plus year old issues of some great magazines and comics.

The ad above grabbed my attention because first it had Mac in the headline and that's one of my favorite computer makers.

It offered to turn an out-of-shape person into someone people could respect and admire without totally replacing him.

It kind of reminded me of the issues we and other third-party, system upgrade/enhancement producers have in helping consumers extend and expand the use life of their Mac/PC notebooks and ultrabooks.

Lots of people have systems that are only one to three years old, are perfectly good for their work, are paid for but are like Mac in the ad – they don't have the muscle of the new sleek faster, more powerful portables that are introduced.

Like the bully in the ad, the new systems make your system look scrawny.

It wouldn't take much for your laptop computer to "get into shape."Read more

Winter is thawing out, and spring is upon us. So what's a good buy in April, and what should you hold off on buying?

Cruises
Typically, April is a good month for cruises. But we discovered last month that cruise prices in general have been dropping when compared to last year, likely due to the industry's tumultuous string of recent public disasters. In fact, when compared to similar cruise deals from this time last year, 2012's offers are as much as 11 percent less. And we have continued to see an increase in the sheer number of cruise deals as well, making it still a good time (price-wise) to look into a vacation on the seas.

Spring Apparel… Almost
The general rule of thumb is to wait about two months after a new line of apparel hits stores to start seeing some of the better discounts. Many retailers began to debut their spring merchandise in late January and February, so that places April at about the two-month mark for some. Look closely at the discounts though: a spring sale that takes 30 to 40 percent off is still a mid-season promotion; you'll want a sale that takes at least 50 percent off or more, and if you can hold steady for a stacking coupon code, all the better. If you truly want the lowest prices — which of course comes with reduced selection — you'll likely want to wait until May.Read more

The short month of February is here, and just because it's a mere 29 days long doesn't mean it's any less chock full of deals. Check out the list of the best and worst things to buy in February, which the dealnews editors compiled after poring over their extensive archives of sales, coupons, and individual products from years past. If you're curious about Presidents' Day sales, gifts for Valentine's Day, or prices on electronics, outerwear, and more, then read on.

Valentine's Day Deals Are Predictably Not Great
Since this is the time of year in which jewelry, flowers, and perfume are in their highest in demand, it shouldn't surprise anyone that you probably won't get the best price possible on these items; perfumes, for example, generally see better discounts in late February after Valentine's Day and March. That's because there's less incentive for retailers to offer truly great deals on these items when they're selling so well due to circumstance. Try buying your sweetheart a less routine Valentine's Day gift in a category that's more likely to see a fair discount.Read more

Does the sagging economy, national debt and the previous list of the 11 things that will be more expensive in 2012 have you feeling down? Well, here's something to look forward to: to help counteract some of that 2012 gloom, the editors at dealnews have gathered 12 items they predict will cost less in 2012.

From TVs to laptops, cash-strapped shoppers should keep an eye on prices for these items; even wine might see notable discounts this year!

So cheer up and read on for the good consumer news.

12 Things That Will Be Less Expensive in 2012:

1. Apple iPad 2
The iPad 3 will not feature a significant price drop (if any at all), but one thing is guaranteed — Cupertino's forthcoming tablet will most certainly bring down the price of refurbished iPad 2s.

2. Wine
With less disposable income, folks have left wines priced at $30 and above untouched on store shelves. So to move stock, retailers are expected to offer more sales and even flash deals on wines.

3. Desktop Replacement Laptops
Intel's Sandy Bridge CPUs may be dominating the laptop landscape, but it's AMD's recession-friendly Fusion APUs that are driving prices down, particularly in the realm of desktop replacements.Read more