The Best Things to Buy in May

Spring is a great time to stock up on some new furnishings and other household items, especially in May. Here are the best things to buy this month.

Every month, we look back at the best times to buy anything during the year, and pull out items each month to remind you what's coming. Obviously, none of this is to say you should go on a shopping spree—but if you've been holding off for a lower price on something, these are the things that get the sale treatment in May.

All Spring

• Televisions and Other Electronics: The Japanese fiscal year ends in March, which means Japanese-made goods—like the electronics we all love so much—are going to be on sale as they try to get rid of old stock. If you didn't grab a TV during the pre-Super Bowl sales, now's the time to grab one. Author Mark Di Vincenzo notes that these sales are probably even better than the February ones anyway, as long as you're comfortable buying last year's model. Note that it's probably not worth getting a 4K TV just yet—there isn't a lot of content out for them. Wait for them to drop in price more.


• Houses: According to Bankrate, spring is a great time to buy a house. Prices aren't quite as low as they can be in the winter, but you'll have a much larger selection to choose from, so you can take the time to find your perfect dream home. The spring weather makes the yards look great, and everyone comes out of the woodwork looking for a new home, which makes competition fierce. A lot of families start buying and selling at this time so their kids have time to make the transition during summer vacation, too.


• Cookware & Kitchen Accessories: As graduation season draws closer, you'll see a lot of sales for common graduation gifts. Kitchen tools and cookware are at the top of the list, says Bankrate, so even if you aren't heading off to college next year, take advantage of the graduation-centric sales to stock up on any must-have kitchen tools now.


• Digital Cameras: CES has come and gone, and while last year's digital cameras start going on sale in February, you're probably going to find the best deals during the second quarter of the year, according to Digital Photography School and Digital Camera HQ. Not sure what camera you want? Check out our Hive Five for DSLR and mirrorless 4/3 cameras.


• Thrift Items: It's spring cleaning time, which means you can not only sell all your old junk, but buy other people's junk too! If you're a thrift store shopper, now's a good time to get even better bargains than usual, since places like the Salvation Army will be getting lots of new inventory.


• Vacuum Cleaners: Speaking of spring cleaning, if your vacuum just doesn't have the sucking power that it used to, it's the perfect time to buy a new one. New vacuums usually don't come out until June, so Bankrate says you should grab the old models now as they're clearing them out (though if you can wait, Dealnews says Black Friday will see the lowest prices).

May

• Office Furniture: Both Furniture Brains and DealNews note that office furniture tends to start dropping after Tax Day, and gets lower and lower once you get into June. If you've been looking to ergonomically optimize your workspace, now's the time—and you might start with one of the five most popular office chairs.


• Mattresses: Even though mattresses usually come out all year round, May often sees some pretty great price drops, according to DealNews. And, as long as you do your pre-shopping research, there's no reason you can't still get a great one.


• Refrigerators: Most big appliances go on sale later in the year, but refrigerators are the big exception. New models are on their way, says Money Crashers, which means last year's models are on sale. So, there's no better time to get a good discount on a barely outdated fridge for your newly rebooted kitchen.

We'll be posting updates for you guys every month, so you're aware of the deals going on all year round. If you're curious to see what's coming up, you can always check out our full best time to buy guide to see the entire year at a glance. And, if you know of any deals we didn't mention, share them in the comments below.