What to Know About Memorial Day Sales

Memorial Day is right around the corner, and that means sales, sales, sales. Most markdowns will be on summer apparel, lawn and garden items, and outdoor gear. Plus, you'll find some sales on a few non-seasonal items.

For sales on camping and outdoor gear and apparel, you'll find discounts of up to 60% at Backcountry.com, 30% off at REI through May 30 and markdowns at Gander Mountain.

For discounted summer apparel, check out the sales at Kmart, which is marking down summer clothing and sandals up to 50%; Land's End, which is offering $20 off purchases of $75 or more; and Old Navy, which has 30% off summer clothing for babies and toddlers.

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You can find sales on appliances at Sears, which is marking down prices on Kenmore appliances by 30%, Samsung appliances by 25% and all other brands by 15%. And Texas will have a sales-tax holiday May 28-30 on Energy Star appliances.

If you're looking for discounts on patio furniture, Home Depot is offering up to 25% off online purchases and free shipping on most orders of $49 or more today (May 23) only. You can save 15% on outdoor sectionals through June 15 at Pottery Barn. Macy's is taking an extra 10% off on already marked down patio furniture (as well as indoor furniture, mattresses and rugs) and free shipping on purchases more than $999.

And you'll find electronics on sale at several stores, including Best Buy and Kmart (which will have discounts in several departments). And you'll find a lot of smart phone applications on sale, says Daniel De Grandpre, founder of dealnews.com.

Find your own best deal

Start by checking out the lists of Memorial Day sales and coupons at Offers.com and in the DaddyoDeals.com forums. You might also want to visit some of our favorite deal sites as the weekend approaches to look for Memorial Day discounts.

To find out if your favorite store is having a Memorial Day sale, sign up for its e-mail alerts, or follow it on Facebook or Twitter. If you have a smart phone and are out shopping, download the foursquare app to "check in" at stores and unlock discounts or get freebies.

Better deals for those who wait

As you might have noticed, many of these Memorial Day discounts aren't that deep. De Grandpre says you can find much better deals on most of these items at the end of summer (the best electronics deals are on Black Friday). So if you're not in a hurry to buy new patio furniture or a grill, hold out until August or September. But it might be worth the extra cost to purchase them now, De Grandpre says, if you really need outdoor seating for friends and family and want to cook burgers for them.

Before you make any purchases, though, visit Cheapism.com for reviews and its picks for best cheap grills, tents, coolers, appliances, outdoor furniture, sleeping bags and much more. The site can help you find quality products at budget prices.

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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.