article: For a start, they do not have to wait for the new year. Many retailers started advertising cut-price deals well before Christmas. Despite the advance of internet shopping, the image of snaking queues outside department stores is still how we picture the sales season. Yet, it is not just High Street retailers that are offering bargains for cash-strapped consumers. And, with the looming prospect of a hefty credit card bill arriving in January, people are trying to save money by looking for cheaper options. So what discounts and money-saving tactics are around in the first month of the year? Love is blind to everything but the calendar. Official statistics show there are usually about a sixth of the number of weddings in January that there are in August. With only about 6,000 or so weddings in England and Wales in the first month of the year, there is room to haggle for good deals on venues, photography and cars. Civil partnerships are a little more spread out over the year, according to quarterly data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Yet, overall, good offers are available for these events, according to Sandy Moretta, director of the UK Alliance of Wedding Planners. "Suppliers who only work in the wedding industry will come up with good offers in January, and they expect people to negotiate and haggle now," she says. Although there is a specific cost to some services, such as food or a wedding dress, there are often deals available as "some work is better than no work", she adds. Table displays can be cheaper if there is a winter feel of sprayed twigs, rather than much more expensive flowers. The cost of drinks is also generally lower, with couples often choosing to serve mulled wine and hot chocolate to guests rather than champagne. And Mrs Moretta says that January weddings can be great fun for guests. "January is one of those months where people are not doing a lot, they might need a lift after Christmas, and they are less likely to be shattered or hungover as they are in December," she says. Cut-price tickets are available for West End shows from the start of January to mid-February, The Get Into London Theatre scheme, an annual promotion that has run for more than 10 years, sees discounts of between 25% and 55% on the face value of 45 productions. "We want to make theatre as inclusive as possible. We want to see people who have not necessarily been to the theatre before," a spokesman for the scheme says. There is no booking fee or packaging charges for these tickets. However, theatregoers may have to be flexible over which show they want to see and when. Each theatre production decides individually what proportion of tickets will be made available for the cut-price promotion. It may be the quietest time of year for the theatre, but some shows are still very popular. As a result, it is extremely unlikely that the cheaper tickets will be available for shows on a Friday or Saturday
summary: Gone are the days when the January sales season offered a welcome but narrow window for shopaholics to hunt for bargains on the High Street.