Newport News author shares ‘best time to’ tips

When is the best time to come up with an ingenious idea?

Apparently in the middle of the night.

Around 3:30 one summer morning in 2007, Mark Di Vincenzo's wife, Jayne, woke up and began scribbling down a book proposal for her husband.

The idea was for a guide on the best time to buy this, do that and go there.

"I was working on another book at the time, so I put this one on my mind's back burner," recalled Di Vincenzo, "but it just kept popping up."

The result of his wife's insomniac inspiration is the just-published "Buy Ketchup In May and Fly At Noon" (Harper, $13.99). The book is a straightforward series of questions, grouped by topic, on the best time to do a range of things -- from buying frozen turkeys (after the holidays, when there is a glut of unsold birds) to finding a sympathetic insurance-claims adjuster (4 p.m. Friday, when preweekend giddiness kicks in).

He took an initial burst of questions from his wife, gathered others from friends and set about researching answers through the Internet and interviews with such experts as lawyers, doctors, educators and travel agents.

"In the vast majority of cases, there were two to 12 sources per answer," Di Vincenzo said.

Only one question had a single source -- the best time of day to Dumpster-dive (6 to 8 p.m.). Di Vincenzo relied on an author who had written a book on how to find almost everything in trash receptacles.

The book's timing, he acknowledges, "was awesome. A lot of people are looking for ways to make money or save money. The longest chapter in the book deals with that."

It isn't all about bargains, though. "I wanted it to be broader than that," said Di Vincenzo, a former newspaper reporter for 21 years. "If you put these things into practice, you'll be happier, healthier and wealthier."

The biggest surprises he found?

The best time to put ice on a burn -- never. "Ice slows the healing process, although it does provide some initial pain relief."

The best time to buy champagne -- December. "I thought that would be the worst time, with the demand for it being high. But competition is so fierce, prices actually lower and sometimes stores lower them further in the hopes that you'll come in and end up buying things you normally wouldn't buy."

The best day to make an offer on a home -- Christmas Day. "People selling homes are in an especially good mood and are more likely to take your offer."

By the way, the ketchup deal referenced in the book title occurs when companies discount condiments so consumers will stock up for the summer.

As for flying at noon, you avoid workday rush hours, afternoon thunderstorms in the East and morning fog on the West Coast.

Di Vincenzo, a recent guest on Martha Stewart's radio show and National Public Radio's "On Point," taped a segment with chef and talk show host Rachael Ray that will air Tuesday.

Does he actually put his expertise into practice?

"I can't say I follow all of the advice in the book," he said. "The best time to exercise or lift weights (6 p.m., when muscles are warm and ready to be tested), I'm almost never able to work out."

Mark Di Vincenzo talked to hundreds of experts while researching his book "Buy Ketchup In May and Fly At Noon."

Among other things, he found out the best time of day to buy shoes, the best month to look for a job and the best day of the week to get a vasectomy.

Here are some tips from the book:

• Buy shoes in late afternoon when your feet are swollen and at their largest, to be sure the shoes will still fit after you've been running around all day.

• December is the best month to job-hunt. Some companies want to spend current-year personnel budgets so they won't have to fight so hard to justify asking for the same amount in the future. Job seekers assume hiring slows after Thanksgiving, meaning there's less competition.

• Get a vasectomy on Friday. Urologists say patients (a) need a couple of days' rest and (b) often are embarrassed to talk about the procedure, so having it done Friday means men can return to work Monday with no one the wiser.

• The best time to have your picture taken is between late morning and early afternoon. Your eyes will have lost their overnight puffiness, but you won't already look tired from the day's events.

• Tell a new-car salesman you have a trade-in after you've agreed on a price for the new car. Negotiate the lowest price you can; then and only then should you find out what the dealership will give you for your clunker. Know what your old car is worth so you can make a wise decision.

• Replace your furnace in spring or fall. Contractors won't be as busy with emergency heating and cooling calls, and you might get a better deal.

• Get prescriptions filled in late morning to save time. Busiest hours tend to be right after the store opens, during lunch and after 4 when people get off from work.

• Mulch your leaves with a mower when they're less than an inch deep. Too many leaves means too much mulch, which will block sun and rain from your lawn.

• Fire or lay off an employee in late afternoon. Fewer people will be in the office, and you're less apt to affect his or her health. Heart attacks are more likely to occur in the first three hours after waking. Between 6 a.m. and noon, blood pressure and heart rate peak, putting stress on arterial walls.

• See a dentist at 1 p.m. or after 3 p.m. for two reasons -- no waiting after the office's lunch break and, doctors say, higher pain tolerance in late afternoon. Avoid 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. You may be kept waiting while hygienists struggle to clean the teeth of patients who arrived with bits of breakfast or lunch still in their mouths.

• Hit flea markets and garage sales just before they end. Sellers dread packing up stuff and returning it to storage.

Buy trees and shrubs in the fall when nurseries are trying to clear out their stock.

Contact Julie Young at (804) 649-6732 or .