The short answer is now.
Over the past three weeks or so, we've all watched the value of our 401k accounts drop and the US dollar drop (in terms of gold), too. That's a bad equation, because if you're cashing out of stocks, the cash from your stock investments when liquidated now buys less gold (one of the very few assets that has been rising while the stock market is falling).
The dollar of 2011 and beyond is guaranteed to lose purchasing power since Uncle Sam is the world's largest borrower. It's almost a lock that any future policy of the Federal Reserve will be beneficial to borrowers. And what is most beneficial to anyone who needs to pay back a debt or loan? A cheaper currency.
If you don't know what I mean, think about the stories that your parents told about their $150 a month mortgage payment, and how easy it became to pay the loan over time. We and our parents make higher wages (as measured in dollars), but real wages over the past 40 years are pretty much the same; it's just that it takes more of a cheaper currency to buy the same things -- and that is going to continue into the future.
I have no way to guarantee the future, but since most of the equipment we sell is manufactured overseas, a long-term falling dollar will lead to higher equipment prices (as priced in dollars), and we're starting to see that today since it takes more dollars to buy the same amount of metals like copper and steel, and labor.
To get the economy "going" again, it's also in the best interest of the Federal Reserve to allow inflation, forcing you to spend your dollars sooner than later since the longer you hold your dollars, the less they'll buy.
Bottom line: Don't be wasteful, but don't hold out for lower prices. I think that they're quickly becoming a thing of the past.