The Best Things to Buy in the Month of June — and What to Avoid

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June marks the official start of summer, which is cause for celebration in itself. But since this month also brings Father’s Day and higher gas prices, you’ll need to stretch your budget if you’re saving for a beach getaway. To help you out, we’ve created this guide to all the items you should purchase in June.

Lingerie

June is typically one of the best months of the year to shop for lingerie, thanks to the highly anticipated Victoria’s Secret semiannual sale. The event generally lasts for two to four weeks, during which you can expect to see bra prices drop to just $10, while panties and beauty items go as low as $4. Stocking up with bundles will be the best way to save; we see five pairs of panties selling for around $28 almost every year.

Uncharacteristically, the shipping minimum was lowest during the first week of the Victoria’s Secret semiannual sale last June, increasing from $50 to $100 halfway through the month. It may be wise to shop early this time around — especially if you wear a popular bra size.

It’s not all about Victoria’s Secret, though. The brand’s sale inspires category-wide discounts at competitor stores like Bare Necessities (which could again start its 4th of July sale early), Frederick’s of Hollywood, and Soma (where you can likely shop sports bras from as little as $10).

Donut Day freebies

One of the most delicious food holidays falls on June 1: National Donut Day. On the first day of the month, you and your sweet tooth can expect to nab a free donut from pastry proprietors like Dunkin’ Donuts. Although many stores require at least a beverage purchase to qualify, Krispy Kreme was one of the few that didn’t last year; you might want to make it your first stop of the day.

Father’s Day gifts

Contrary to popular belief, we don’t see particularly good tool deals leading up to Father’s Day. In fact, we see significantly fewer dedicated Father’s Day events than Mother’s Day sales. So Dad’s gifts may call for more creativity.

We see ample food and restaurant deals to satisfy foodie fathers, and Groupon is a great place to start. Along with cost-cutting local vouchers, you’ll probably see Groupon’s ever-popular Omaha Steaks Father’s Day combos, which have previously saved shoppers as much as 74 percent on steak and grill bundles.

You can also expect Restaurant.com to knock its $25 gift certificates down to $2 in June, which is its best price of the year! If you’re really strapped for cash, know that select eateries will likely let Dad eat for free on his day. Head to Spaghetti Warehouse, Medieval Times or TCBY.

Another option for dads is a discounted magazine subscription. You can expect DiscountMags to drop the price of Outside magazine and Men’s Health print subscriptions to around $5, while Amazon will have Kindle subscriptions starting at $4.

Free fishing permits

This June, several states will allow license-free fishing on public bodies of water in celebration of National Fishing and Boating Week. These permits usually cost anywhere from $25 to hundreds of dollars (depending on where you live and what type of fishing you’ll be doing), so it’s a hefty savings for anyone looking to test the waters.

It’s not necessarily the best time of year to shop fishing gear, unfortunately, but you can still nab a deal or two. Dick’s Sporting Goods will host the best offers on equipment, and you can expect to see rod-and-reel bundles that drop the per-unit price as low as $15. And Angler kayaks will likely sell at Editors’ Choice-worthy lows of around $215 at Walmart, for those looking to make a bigger investment.

$1 family movies

With the kids out of school, you’ll need plenty of ways to keep them entertained. Luckily, a selection of movie theaters (including Regal and Cinemark) will offer $1 movie tickets on second-run family titles in June. Each location will have a different schedule, so be sure to check your local theater’s showtimes.

Fresh produce

It’s always best to eat in-season fruit and vegetables. They’re not only at their tastiest, but you’ll also stand to save more money. In June, you can shop watermelons, strawberries, peaches, apricots, peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers while they’re more than 50 percent cheaper than their midwinter highs.

Gym memberships

The summer weather inspires most people to exercise outside. Coupled with vacation season and the kids being off school, June is a very slow month for gyms. This means your local spot will be more open to negotiating a good deal on membership fees. Nerd up on the competition and try to leverage this info to get a discounted rate. If that doesn’t work, you may still get a free month or your sign-up fee waived!

Dinnerware

June is peak wedding season, which means department stores will be competing for your gift budget and dropping prices on registry-friendly items — especially dinnerware.

Macy’s should be top of your list for highly discounted sets, including designer pieces. Last year it offered select Kate Spade dinnerware from just $7. You can also expect dinnerware and flatware specialist Oneida to host its best sale of the year in June, knocking a massive 35 percent off across the store.

Pizza

Every day of the year is a good time to eat pizza, but June is an exceptionally good month to buy it if you’re a fan of Papa John’s. The company has launched a selection of value deals to combat slumping sales. The Papa’s Meal Deal, for example, includes a large one-topping pizza, choice of a bread side, and a 2-liter drink for just $12.99.

That’s it for our roundup of deals to expect this month. Meantime, you should also be aware of …

The 3 Worst Things to Buy in June …

Gas

Last month, we anticipated gas price hikes, and that unfortunately held true. On May 1, NBC reported that gas prices had reached a nearly three-year high, topping $3 per gallon in many states. Recent political developments could drive the price of gas even higher.

To cut down on costs, shop around when filling up your tank. Also, ditching your credit card to pay with cash may earn you discounted gas at select stations (depending on your state). Paying with a good cash back credit card could also take the sting out of higher gas prices.

Laptops

We see lots of deals on laptops every day of the year, but June is not necessarily the best time to buy. If your hardware can hold out another month, know that July back-to-school sales bring significant price drops on all types of builds.

If you’re shopping for a low-end rig, you can expect an 18 percent price drop on basic Intel Celeron-equipped laptops. Prices go as low as $130 on Dell and $150 on Lenovo models in July. You can also anticipate a substantial price drop for affordable gaming laptops; last year July’s best price came in at $123 less than June’s.

Summer apparel

Shopping seasonal apparel is going to be costly in June. New summer stock likely won’t see discounts until next month, and it won’t reach the clearance aisle until August. Instead, shop spring clearance, where you can typically score T-shirts, shorts, and sandals anyway!

If you have to stock up on summer colors, make use of storewide coupon codes to knock a couple bucks off new pieces. Gap is a great starting point, as this retailer frequently knocks as much as 40 percent off sitewide. You can also plan to see extra discounts of up to 30 percent off at Macy’s, which will slash the prices of its seasonal designer goods in June.

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