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The best time to buy summer staples like flip-flops, swimsuits and patio furniture is at the end of the season when you can get everything on clearance. But if you still need some things — and you will — then this is where to get those summertime staples throughout the season.
1. Buy sunscreen at Target when it’s less than $1.
You know you’ll need it. Lots of it. Target will run sunscreen deals starting in April. We’ve even seen their brand Smartly for less than $1.00 on sale.
Use your Target REDcard — a free debit card — to get an extra 5% off of every single purchase.
You can find all of the current sunscreen deals here.
2. Buy swimsuits on Amazon for under $15.
We regularly see kids’ swimsuits under $10.00 and women’s under $12.00. With Prime Wardrobe you can order select items, take seven days to see if you like it, then return what you don’t want. Shipping both ways is free, too.
Follow our Amazon deals page for our favorite swimsuit deals.
3. Buy $1 flip-flops at Old Navy.
Old Navy runs their $1.00 flip-flop sale around the third weekend in June. They also have several other flip-flop sales throughout the summer that will bring the price to around $2.50 or less per pair.
4. Buy beach towels at Kohl’s for 79% off.
The BIG One Beach Towels sales at Kohl’s happen throughout the summer. You can plan to save at least 58%, but if you combine sales with discount codes and Kohl’s Cash, you can sometimes save as much as 79%.
Follow our Kohl’s deals page to know when to buy.
5. Buy patio furniture at Walmart when prices drop in July.
Walmart starts clearancing out their patio furniture as soon as July. In 2018 we saw some sets priced as low as $45.00!
Follow our Walmart deals page and we’ll let you know as soon as the prices start to drop.
6. Buy shorts at Old Navy and save 50%.
Plan to save at least 50% at Old Navy on shorts for the family. The sales on shorts are usually only a day or two, so sign up for KCL deal alerts in our app if you want the best deal.
7. Buy pool toys at Walmart and save as much as 80%.
Walmart starts rolling back prices off and on in March, and they start clearancing pool toys as early as July. Look to save at least 40% and as much as 80%.
8. Buy Lauren Conrad sunglasses at Kohl’s and save 50%.
We start seeing deals on sunglasses — like Lauren Conrad and Apt. 9 — at Kohl’s in March, and they run off and on through the season. Look to save at least 50%.
Psst: Follow our Kohl’s page for the best online promo codes, and remember to ship to store for free.
9. Buy camping gear at Dick’s Sporting Goods and save at least 50%.
We saw camping gear clearanced as early as June in 2018, with regular sales all summer long. Plan to save at least 50% on your big ticket items, like tents.
10. Buy your grill at Lowe’s in September to save at least 50%.
If you want to make the most of grilling season, you should pick up your new grill during April or May when you can save 30-40%. Otherwise, you might want to wait until September when Lowe’s starts clearancing them out and you can save at least 50%.
11. Buy your Otterbox cooler at Best Buy and save 50%.
I know, Best Buy isn’t really the place you think of for coolers, but stay with me. In 2018 we saw the Otterbox Venture 25-Quart Cooler drop from $229.00 to $114.99 in July.
12. Buy allergy medicine at CVS and save up to 89%.
If you’re a CVS ExtraCare member — it’s totally free — then you’ll get awesome deals to stock up your medicine cabinet for the summer. They recently offered bonus coupons that made a Cetirizine Allergy Relief just $1.99, which saved us $17.00!
RELATED: 7 Ways to Stack Coupons at CVS
13. Buy movie tickets on Groupon and save up to $5.00.
You probably won’t want to be outside all the time this summer, so plan for a few movie days to stay cool.
Groupon offers deals on movie tickets through Fandango. You can score $5.00 movie tickets to some theaters, or $2.00 off your next purchase with Fandango. The deals typically come in the form of a promo code that you can use online when purchasing tickets.
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