Stockpiling

What do frugal grocery buyers do, that others do not? (No, this isn't a bad joke, by the way) They stockpile!

When I first heard this term, I had images of 1950s cold war bunkers flash into my mind-- really not sure why, but go with it. I also couldn't imagine buying a lot more than you needed of something, just because it was on sale. There are 2 versions of 'stockpiling'. One is keeping on hand what you can use for roughly 2-3 months (since that's about how often items go on sale in a store). The other is, in my mind anyway, borderline hoarding... but we'll talk about that the next time. (Aha! A cliff-hanger!)

Many stores throw items on sale at least once every 3 months, if not more. Because of that, if you can get that item at a great sale price [and with coupons :)], then purchase as much as you think you'll use over a 2-3 month span of time (or as much as you have room to store). If you can't get that much at a great price, get as much as you have coupons for (I know, I ended the sentence with a preposition. Please don't write in red ink on your screen.).

For example:  In early November, Publix threw their Resolve laundry spray on sale BOGO and I had $.50 off coupons. I bought 4 bottles (because I had 4 coupons) and after the BOGO deal and doubled coupons, I only paid $.75/bottle!

This week, they have Halls cough drops BOGO for $1.47. If you use the Target coupon for $.50 (which will be doubled), they'll end up costing you $0.47. However, if you stack that with the January 2 Smartsource coupon for $0.35 (which is also doubled)... well now (insert cheshire cat grin here)... now they're paying you  $0.23 to take those bad boys home.

For those of you screaming at the top of your lungs right about now, "BUT WE DON'T HAVE PUBLIX!!", I hear you (literally). :)

Here's another example:  Kroger has their Softsoap pump on sale for $.88 this week, which by itself is already a decent deal. However, in the January 2 Smartsource newspaper insert, there was a $.35 coupon. Kroger doubles up to $.50 --atleast in our region-- and I had 3 coupons. Before tax, I purchased 3 bottles for $.18 each. Woot woot! Now, with a family of 6, do I think 3 bottles will last 3 months? Probably not. However, if it doesn't, it'll get us most of the way there and by then, Dial or some other company will have thrown their own soap on sale. Get the gist?

Pay attention when you go to the store to see what the 'regular' price on items you use are. That way, when the store puts out a sale sign, you'll know if it's a good deal or not. Just because there's a sign that says, "Was" and "Now" doesn't mean you're necessarily getting a great bargain and they know we can't always remember how much something cost a couple of weeks (or months) ago.

So, pay attention to prices and keep your notebook up-to-date & organized, you'll soon find yourself getting items for nearly free or paying only sales tax for it! Always be on the lookout for items you can get for free or nearly free, because like I said yesterday, even if you can't use them, you can donate them to a food bank so someone else can. How does that sound?? Sounds like a winner to me! :)