Bikes, Jeans & Holiday Airfare: What To Buy In October

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Black Friday is just around the corner, but you don't have to be afraid to shop now. October is full of great deals.
Nancy Ngo with the Pioneer Press has tips on what's worth buying this month.

Columbus Day Sales

Columbus Day is just around the corner. As part of it, expect sales around the Oct. 8 holiday.

The nice thing about Columbus Day sales is stores such as Macy's are planning deals across the board -- from fashion to home accessories. The holiday deal I'm most looking forward here at Macy's is the shoe and boot sale, where its 30 percent off your purchase of one pair and 40 percent off when you buy two pairs.

Jeans

Jeans are a hot back-to-school commodity. Now that back-to-school shopping is over, retailers are looking to get rid of any overstock.

That means some of the best prices you'll see all year round on jeans -- we're talking everywhere from 30 percent to as much as 75 percent -- during the month of October.

Couple that with holiday promotions -- for example, Macy's is offering an extra 20 percent off select sale items that includes jeans -- and you can really double down on those deals.

Holiday Airfare

When talking travel deals, while other months of the year might be better for booking a cruise or that tropical vacation, October is when holiday travelers will want to book their holiday airfare to get the best possible price.

Airfare comparison websites such as Hipmunk.com report savings of 24 to 27 percent for Thanksgiving travel and up to 31 percent for Christmas travel when you book by the end of October.

In the weeks that follow, prices will start to peak.

Bikes

New bike models tend to start trickling into stores in the fall. So what happens in October is in order to make way for the new, retailers will offer some of the best deals you'll see all year round as a way to whittle down existing inventory.

In the past, we've seen markdowns as much as 40 percent on bikes during the month of October.

Gardening Accents

Now that it's starting the get chilly out, not many people have their minds on gardening so, in October, prices can drop anywhere from 50 to 90 percent.

The nice thing is, there's still some gardening to be had as long as you get things in a few weeks before the ground freezes. Why not plant some bulbs so you'll have tulips in full bloom next spring or plant some perennials that will come back next year.