Best Recession Bargains: How to get great deals on big-ticket items

YONKERS, NY — Consumer Reports Money Adviser found that savvy consumers can benefit from deeply discounted prices on goods and services in the lousy economy.

With consumers more focused on saving and delaying the purchase of big-ticket items, now may be the perfect time for people in good financial shape to take advantage of retailers’ needs to unload goods and services. Consumer Reports Money Adviser experts took a look at big-ticket items to find potential bargains. Here’s what they found: 

Automobiles  If you have the money to buy a car, this is as good as it gets. Dealers are desperate to sell—new or used—so they’re in the mood to deal. Look for combo discounts: Car buyers who once had to pick either low interest rates, cash back, or special lease deals may be able to get a combination of incentives. But don’t buy on incentives alone. Consider fuel-efficient models that get the highest ratings from Consumer Reports for reliability, performance, quality, and cost of ownership.

Travel  The recession has hit the tourism industry hard, resulting in deep price cuts, especially for overseas travel and cruises. Cruise in your backyard. Cruise lines have canceled some international itineraries and rerouted ships for shorter sails from U.S. ports, which can cut or eliminate the cost of airfare. Celebrity offers cruises from Baltimore and Charleston, S.C. Carnival’s summer sailings depart from 14 home ports. Look for bargains. Great deals can be found in cities that have lost convention business (Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Orlando, Phoenix, and San Francisco.)

Major appliances  You’re likely to find plenty of incentives at local retailers. January sales of cooking appliances, refrigerators, and washers and dryers slipped between 20 and 30 percent from a year earlier. Comparison shop carefully. Don’t assume that the first deal you see is the best one. And it’s worth trying to haggle an additional discount or free accessories or services. Avoid delayed interest hits. No-interest deals offered by many retailers typically require that you pay the total cost of the item by the end of a certain period. If you don’t, you’ll be charged interest from the date of purchase.

Cell-phone service  Two big carriers were offering major savings this spring. Most Verizon Wireless contract plans let you make unlimited calls free to 5 or 10 designated numbers on any network—on top of free calls to 80 million Verizon customers. Boost Mobile, a prepaid service that uses Sprint’s Nextel network, was charging just $50 per month for unlimited national calling, texting, and Web access. Try prepaid. Trading in a contract plan that costs more than $50 per month for a pre-paid phone can save you $120 to $1,080 in the first year.

Clothing  You can still find clothing sales of 50 percent to 75 percent off, but they’re not as common as they were at the end of 2008. Shop sample sales online. You can find big discounts on designer duds on sample-sale Web sites like www.gilt.com, www.hautelook.com, and www.ruelala.com. Think inside the box. Big-box stores carry some designer labels at low prices. Alexander McQueen designs for Target, Kohl’s sells a Dana Buchman line, and Norma Kamali is in Walmart.

Also in the June issue of Consumer Reports Money Adviser:

Geezeo: Connects with 10,000-plus institutions (www.geezeo.com). This service caters to people who want to create specific financial goals and chat with other members about their progress. It’s feature-rich, but the busy layout is a bit off-putting. Bottom line: Worth trying for a snapshot of your personal finances and to chat with others about goals.

Mint: Connects with 7,500-plus institutions (www.mint.com). Mint is easy to use. It took just 10 minutes to set up three accounts. It’s also intuitive in labeling downloaded transactions. However, you can’t download future income or spending, nor can you input upcoming expenses, like checks that haven’t cleared. Bottom line: Good for a snapshot of your spending but not for the complete financial picture.

Quicken Online: Connects with 5,400-plus institutions (www.quickenonline.com). This Quicken is easier to use than the software version, though it’s not as comprehensive. The RealBalance feature shows how much money you really have to spend after accounting for yet-to-clear checks, as well as what you’ll have next month after expenses and income. Bottom line: The basic tools to track spending, budgeting, and cash flow.

Yodlee Money Center: Connects with 11,000-plus institutions (www.yodlee.com). Ad-free Yodlee makes it easier than the others to create a comprehensive budget; it displays a complete list of expenses and lets you remove what you don’t want to track. It also lets you customize charts and graphs so, for example, you can leave out certain expenses or income sources. Bottom line: The most comprehensive online program CRMA tested.

Consumer Reports Money Adviser is a monthly newsletter that answers tough money questions and provides expert financial advice. Its proven information and successful strategies make any financial decision an easy one. Each month, CRMA provides feature articles and helpful investment, savings, and spending advice that will prepare consumers for anything life may bring them.