Don't Jump at the Sale

"Blowout Down Comforter Sale!" "Cheap Down Comforters--All Prices Slashed!" "Lowest Discount Down Comforter Price!" You see these headlines in ad copy and on television. You have an inclination to buy a down comforter because your old one has lost its loft permanently.

Do you jump at the chance to buy a cheap down comforter? Better look before you cheap! If a bedding store advertises discount down comforters in July, be advised that the best time to take advantage of a down comforter sale is November. While you can pick up white sale bargains in January and August, retailers are more keen to sell in November. If you do buy in July, make sure the cheap down comforter fits your bed. Don't settle for a full/queen discount down comforter if you have a queen bed, no matter how reduced the price or whether or not the store throws in a free toaster.

If you're looking at a discount down comforter that isn't pure white or doesn't have maximum fill power, wait until November or scour the Internet to find coupons at sites such as GatorSaver.com. Check Overtsock.com and SmartBargains.com until you find the down comforter sale with a comforter you want. Don't be fooled by ad hype into buying at a down comforter sale--and don't let too many exclamation points (usually an advertising red flag) fool you.

Redecorating a Bedroom with Discount Comforters

What room do people spruce up or embellish when they feel the hosue is looking a bit drab? Here's a hint: You begin your day in it. And if you answer the computer room, you've got a problem. You feel better about your life when you go to sleep in a bedroom that makes you feel comfortable and happy. You like waking up to bright colors or subtle warm tones that make you think, "Gee, I'm happy to be awake, even at five a.m. for my 45-minute commute (or my two-second walk to the computer room to telecommute)."

Usually the best way to add some new pizzazz or elegance to your bedroom is to buy new bedding. But with your new home business and the price of gas, you're strapped right now. Or you can afford to spend more, but are saving for a rainy day. Try a discount bedding set or shop for a bedding comforter discount. Nothing makes you feel more comfortable than a new fluffy down comforter. Even changing one item in your bedroom can make the whole place look brighter--unless you realize that you now also need new curtains.

Try discount bedding pillow shams or a luxury discount bedding duvet cover. You can pick up new discount curtains to blend with those rose pillow shams or jacquard discount designer bedding--or have Aunt Millie sew those curtains while she regales you about her juicy life as a Broadway chorus girl. As the Mastercard commercial says, "Priceless." And so is your discount bedding. But if you spend that limited decorating budget on new wallpaper for the computer room, you're beyond help.

Discount Silk or Satin Bedding

Designer silk bedding. Just the words make some people go into paroxysms of bliss. Unfortunately, you have silk tastes and your honey sticks to sensible flannel. Silk is so expensive, your honey argues. Same for satin. Flannel lasts. But what if you can find silk and satin discount luxury bedding? Unless your charmeuse silk sheets and duvet covers are custom made, you can get discount bedding in silk and satin.

Try buying a swatch kit from your discount luxury bedding seller so you and your honey can test out the bedding, then look for the best bargain online in discount fashion bedding stores. A well-made naturally hypoallergenic satin or silk discount bedding set will last as long as your honey's flannel discount bedding, and will help you feel healthy and blissful. Whereas flannel doesn't have the 18 amino acids similar to those in human skins, silk does. You can even buy silk blankets with cotton flannel lining to knock the price down a few notches.

Now you're blissfully happy, and your honey has learned to enjoy his silk blanket with flannel lining, because if Mama ain't blissful, ain't nobody blissful!

Futon Bedding Discount

Futons aren't just for the first-college-apartment population. You might buy one to use as an extra bed, in case your old college friends show up for those star-gazing or Star Trek parties. When shopping for a futon bedding discount on futon discount designer bedding, remember the following futon hints:

• You're not ten years old--don't buy a rocket-ship print just because you've been offered a discount bedding set. Unless your pad is galactic, man!
• If you love the deal on your futon disount designer bedding but hate the print, there are plenty of inexpensive futon covers--just make sure to choose cotton or percale rather than special-care wool.
• Make sure you're getting a great futon mattress with your bedding discount. Your futon matterss should have several layers of foam.
• Don't just opt for that blanket with the rocketship that's bundled with the futon discount bedding set--if you're going to be sleeping on the futon, search for a bedding comforter discount and use a comforter with your futon.

You can make or buy your own rocketship duvet cover! You're ready to bring back some college memories with a futon that you got at college prices. Relax and watch the Big Dipper or the Enterprise as you lounge on your futon's discount designer bedding.

Least Expensive Goose Down Comforter

You're so tired of shopping for a goose down comforter sale that you're tempted to fly north and pluck Canadian geese or Norwegian geese. Before you use up your frequent flyer miles, you want to investigate less-expensive goosedown that goes into quality discount down comforters. Siberian goosedown, Canadian Hutterite goosedown, and eiderdown are supposed to be the most luxurious and expensive types of goosedown, especially with 900 fill power.

Be warned before you settle. Less expensive goosedown in cheap down comforters usually comes from anywhere. The feathers are immature, smaller and weaker. They don't provide as much loft, even if the cheap down comforter boasts 800 fill power. Because the feathers are weaker, they don't last as long or provide as much warms, so you'll be on that plane looking for a V-formation of geese within a few years. Don't settle when it comes to discount down comforters.

The key is to wait for a down comforter sale or buy, say, a 420 fill power discount down comforter, although many bedding experts advocate at least a 550 fill power comforter. You can compensate for a lower fill power with a higher thread count (400 to 800). Still, you're mainly buying a down comforter for the warmth of the goosedown, so it comes back to waiting for the right cheap down comforter. If all else fails, you can down a parka and chase Canadian geese.

Closeout Sales--Don't Close Them Out

You subscribe to the theory that only fools buy wholesale or closeout on big-ticket or high-quality items. Meanwhile, you just maxed out your third credit card. Here's a hint, moneybags: take advantage of that down comforter sale at closeout prices, or show that retailer that regularly offers discount down comforters...every day.

You can usually test for low quality, but if a cheap down comforter, regularly $200, is $59.99, you can put the difference in the bank and use it to pay off your credit card bills. You can even buy a 550 fill power lightweight cheap down comforter, so it's light on your wallet. Your discount down comforter will help you sleep even though you're plagued by nightmares of creditors. You might even draw up a budget now that you've learned the joys of shopping on sale!

Tommy Hilfiger and Other Designer Deals

You have several eBay auctions bookmarked. You search Overstock.com and SmartBargains.com. Your local Costco knows you by name. You got a great deal by buying direct from an Alexandra Jordan bedding comforter discount merchant. But you have your eye on a Tommy Hilfiger discount bedding set.

What's a good price to pay for Tommy Hilfiger discount designer bedding? If you don't have your heart set on that discount bedding set, you can bid on Tommy sheets and duvet covers on eBay for around $20. You can pick up, for instance, a Tommy Hilfiger Reese Mad For Plaid duvet cover for your Alexandra Jordan comforter and wait for a bedding discount on Tommy Hilfiger Reese Mad For Plaid sheets. Or you can buy a Tommy Hilfiger Reese Mad For Plaid Mini Duvet Set in a closeout sale for $50-$60.

If you can't wait for the Reese Mad For Plaid sheets, try Tommy's solid sheets for $20-$80. A rule of thumb in buying discount designer bedding or luxury discount bedding: Wait for the closeout sales. Now while you're waiting to find out if you've won that autographed picture of Paul Newman, go scope out the other designer bedding discount sets online.

Discount Designer Bedding For Murphy Beds

You saw it on HGTV and just had to have it. It's the Library Murphy Bed--you know, the cool bed that pops out of your bookcases. But now that you've paid thousands of dollars to install that Murphy Bed, you're in sore need of a bedding comforter discount and a discoutn bedding set. Will a down comforter even work with your Murphy bed? Actually, yes.

You might want to use one with 250 fill power or 600 fill power, which will give you a bedding discount. You can also save on discount designer bedding, since you don't want to have too many pillows and shams when you're tucking away the Murphy bed. Choose luxury discount bedding sheets in cotton or percale, preferably fine Egyptian cotton sheets with 400 to 600 thread count--nothing too slick or slippery, so you can skip the sateen finish. Be sure to fasten your sheets with clips, especially if you choose Egyptian cotton and sateen. Now it might be a good time to take a break from HGTV and enjoy your new Murphy Bed.

Cheap Down Comforter, Not Hypoallergenic, Don't Bother

You scored a down comforter for $80 at a down comforter sale. You're thrilled--or at least you could be if you weren't sneezing and rushing out of bed every five minutes. You haven't been able to enjoy your cheap down comforter. Many hypoallergenic down comforters aren't cheap, and not all cheap down comforters are hypoallergenic.

Alexandra Jordan, for example, offers discount down comforters that keep out the dust mites and allergens. But if you absolutely must buy a discount down comforter that doesn't have allergy control, at least use a hypoallergenic duvet cover, with an extra encasing cover between your cheap down comforter and your duvet cover.

Still, hypoallergenic measures may not prevent the sneezing, and you don't want to spend your down comforter sale savings on Benadryl. It's best to pay a little more to safeguard your health.

Poor Quality Cheap Down Comforters

You know that the diamond jewelry your husband gave you is cubic zirconiu--you had it appraised. Now he's eager to get out of the doghouse by buying you luxury bedding. In his defense, he couldn't tell cubic zirconium from diamonds. How can he tell poor quality discount down comforters from good quality ones? Here are our cheap discount comforter clues for the clueless:

• Squash the discount down comforter, then shake it back into place. If it doesn't regain its loft, the down is lesser quality.
• Check for "pilling," knobs, nubbins, and fraying.
• If feathers stick out of cheap discount comforters, it's time to find another down comforter sale.
• Cotton covers usually provide the best value, since they allow the feathers to "breathe" and be lightweight without flimsiness.
• Be wary of any discount down comforters with wool batting that may shrink when you clean the comforter.
• Watch the salespeople--if they seem especially eager to sell and pressure your husband to buy, he should go elsewhere.
• Check the label for eiderdown, Canadian goose down, or Siberian goose down.

Do the squeeze test--labels can lie! Now you can enjoy a quality full price or cheap discount comforter that your husband bought with a clue. But he still swears by the cubic zirconium. Arrgh. Give him a discount down comforter for the doghouse.