Best and Worst Buys of February 2014

Several big-ticket and seasonal items are on sale in February. So if you've been thinking about purchasing any of these things, now is the time to buy. Hold off on jewelry, luggage and smart phones, though, for a month or more to get a better price.

What's on sale now ...

Big-screen TVs. Now that 2014 models have been announced, retailers are trying to clear out 2013 inventory. Dealnews.com expects prices on some 55-inch HDTV models to dip as low as $500 and prices on some 3-D HDTV models to fall below $700. For more, see 6 Great TVs at Great Prices.

Boats. Winter is the off-season for boating in most parts of the country, which makes it a good time to find recreational boats on sale at boat dealerships. It’s also a popular time for boat shows, which can be good places to get a deal, according to personal finance site CreditDonkey.com. But the Boat Owners Association of The United States cautions that if the dealers at the boat show are actually located hundreds of miles away from you, you might not be getting such a good bargain if you don't have easy access to their service shops when repairs are needed.

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Home goods. Linens and home goods typically are marked down during January white sales. But you'll also find these items discounted as much as 70% to 80% during Presidents' Day sales at major department stores on or around February 17, according to CreditDonkey.com.

Mattresses. Look for discounts of up to 60% on mattresses during Presidents' Day sales, according to Offers.com.

Tax software You'll see deals on tax software up until the April deadline, but the best discounts last year were in February and March, says Louis Ramirez, senior features writer at dealnews.com. For instance, TurboTax Basic, which sold for $39 in January 2013, dropped to $21 in February. The Deluxe and Premier versions dropped to $35 in March from $55 in January.

Winter apparel. Retailers are marking down outerwear and cold-weather clothing an extra 30% to 60% on top of clearance prices that already are 70% off original prices, according to dealnews.com. Stores such as Aeropostale, American Eagle Outfitters, Ann Taylor Loft, Express, Gap, Ralph Lauren and Urban Outfitters are having particularly good sales, according to dealnews.com.

What a little longer to buy ...

Jewelry. Because jewelry is a popular Valentine's Day gift, you won't find it deeply discounted until after February 14. Some of the best jewelry sales of the year are in March, when discounts reach as high as 80%, according to Offers.com.

Luggage. Hold off on luggage purchases until spring, when retailers mark it down because the busy holiday travel season has subsided and the summer travel season hasn't begun. Look for discounts ranging from 20% to 70%. Another good time buy luggage, according to CreditDonkey.com, is fall.

Smart phones. Prices should drop on current smart phone models after new models are announced later this month at the Mobile World Congress -- an international phone convention in Spain -- and during events in the spring, according to dealnews.com. So wait a few months for discounts to appear on previous-generation smart phones (or to get the hottest new phone).

Award-winning journalist, speaker, family finance expert, and author of Mom and Dad, We Need to Talk.

Cameron Huddleston wrote the daily "Kip Tips" column for Kiplinger.com. She joined Kiplinger in 2001 after graduating from American University with an MA in economic journalism.