I love the dopamine hit of swiping a bargain but I’ve been markedly more reserved in my post-Boxing Day spend this year. Pre-cost of living crisis I’d have been keen to seek out all manner of cut-price wares in early January but I’m trying to be more disciplined — only buying what I know I need, will use and enjoy, rather than just spending because it’s too good a deal to miss.
The new year is the perfect time to refresh your home and garden — whether your resolutions for 2023 are decluttering and reorganising your rooms (note: see savings on stackable storage boxes at Wilko from £1.80 for a 5.6L box to £8 for underbed storage, wilko.com) or plotting a makeover for your home or garden. Canny January purchases include reduced masonry paint at B&Q (was £26 for 5 litres, now £15, diy.com) and out-of-season outdoor furniture from John Lewis’s reduced-to-clear section for alfresco chairs, tables and shower-proof cushions.
The start-of-year sales can be also provide a great opportunity to bag a big-ticket item for your home such as a TV, domestic appliance or mattress. Cutting through the online noise to hunt out a good deal can be a challenge though — I’d say most of my best bargains were nabbed from physical clearance rails and aisles (after I’d checked whether I could find them cheaper anywhere online).
My shopping list includes a new laptop (my seven-year-old MacBook is on its last legs so I’ll need to bite the bullet and replace it soon) and a stereo system. When online shopping, where possible I’ll arrange my search results by biggest discount and always scour promo code websites for an extra reduction before hitting buy — a bit of internet questing can often result in an extra 10 per cent off. I can recommend Karma, a Google Chrome extension that automatically scans the web for valid discount codes at (online) checkout. Ignore high-pressure tactics from websites, ie, “88 people are viewing this right now” and over-inflated claims about “before” prices — use a tool such as PriceRunner to compare prices between retailers.
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Consumer champion Which? monitors prices year-round and has picked out some of the best deals available now. You can bag a great price on a Google Pixel 6 Pro smartphone via Amazon — originally £849, now £449. Sony’s 55 inch XR-55A90J MASTER Series 4K Ultra HD OLED TV, released in 2021, usually costs £1,799 but is on offer for £1,598 at Currys while LG’s LED UQ91 43 inch 4K Smart TV is typically £549.99 but down to £369 at sonicdirect.co.uk. Which? says the best vacuum cleaner deal is on the Shark IZ201UKT cordless upright vacuum cleaner — typically £379, you can get it for £260 at Argos right now, argos.co.uk, and it comes with a five-year warranty. If you’re in the market for headphones, Sony’s WF-C500 wireless bluetooth earbuds have a five-star rating from What Hi-Fi? and are available for £49.99 from John Lewis, half the original price. The well-reviewed Lighter Hybrid mattress from Eve Sleep is reduced by 40 per cent to £299 for a double.
Some home brands have done away with the constant humdrum of end-of-season sales. Furniture manufacturer Loaf, for example, is holding its annual Little Sale until the end of January — its only sale of the year with (admittedly small) discounts across most its sofas, beds, mattresses and cabinetry. Buy Me Once is a shopping site for long-lasting products for buying less and buying better and is offering 30 per cent off Solidteknics seamless wrought iron pans. The pans are chemical-coating free and pretty much indestructible, coming with a lifetime warranty — although heavy to manoeuvre, iron cookware is ideal for achieving the perfect sear on steaks and vegetables (26cm frying pan is £76.30, down from £109, buymeonce.com). Good luck getting bang for your buck in the sales this week.
