THE WORST THINGS TO BUY IN OCTOBER

COSMETICS

“Cosmetics of all types are a bad buy in October, and that means both drugstore and department store brands,” said Lindsay Sakraida, director of content marketing with DealNews, a comparison shopping site.

“The reason? A surprising number of drugstores and beauty brands will offer huge discounts on Cyber Monday,” she said. “Many of these brands only go on sale during Black Friday or during bi-annual friends and family events. If you buy cosmetics in October, you could end up paying about 30 percent more.”

A USED CAR

Not all used cars are bad buys, but as hurricane-flooded cars make their way out of Texas and Florida to unsuspecting consumers, you’re at higher risk of getting a lemon.

“Flood-damaged vehicles that have been repackaged and dressed up are a common scam after major weather events like what we’ve seen recently,” said Willie Hall, a detective sergeant with Arizona Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General, in a news release.

A flood-damaged car should have a salvage title, but scammers fake the title. Buy a vehicle history report using the car’s VIN that can reveal flood damage info. Use your eyes to discover silt and mud in places where scammers probably didn’t take time to clean. And believe your nose if something smells “off.”

IPHONES

If you want to save money on your Apple products, Sakraida also recommended passing on the new iPhones in October.

“Many people don’t realize that even new iPhones eventually see deals, and you might not need to wait that long for a discount,” she said. “At the very least, we expect to see the iPhone 8 come with gift cards of up to $250 during Black Friday, while December will bring straight discounts.”

More difficult to predict is when the iPhone X will go on sale. “It’s almost like a new product line,” she said. “However, history tells us that we’ll likely see a discount of some kind on the iPhone X within the first six months.”