There are SO many ways you can save on your groceries every month… many of us coupon, but you don’t always need TO coupon to save on your grocery bill.
One of the biggest things we should all be doing to save the most money is to stockpile… I don’t know what might pop up in your head when you hear that word … but for many, it is probably a crazy image of a garage or shelves FULL of toilet paper.
Or, shelves full of ketchup.
Mustard.
Maybe even pasta sauce.
If you watched all those series shows of Extreme Couponing, that might be why you immediately thought of that – right?
I never watched that show at all, so when I hear the word stockpile my first thought is that someone is savvy in their efforts to save long term.
What is a Stockpile
To stockpile essentially means that you will buy an item when it’s on sale, for a ROCK bottom price – not only that, you will buy as many as you can afford to buy, that will get you through the next 6-8 week sales cycle.
Almost every item that’s grocery, household or personal care will go on sale at least once in a sales cycle of 6-8 weeks – if those items are a super price, pick up what you think you will use during that cycle..
(Don’t buy 20 or 30 just because you can – you DO NOT need it – hate to say it but there is no reason to be greedy).
WHY Should you Stockpile??
The obvious reason for stockpiling is to save money.
Buying in bulk at a lower price can actually be a HUGE cost savings… We are HUGE proponents of stocking up on toilet paper… with so many of us in the house, we go through it quite fast…
Recently, we had several GREAT deals on Amazon and another on Jet.com — that one made toilet paper less than $.10 per Roll. We stocked up HUGE – we probably have over 150 double rolls tucked in cabinets and in the garage at our home.
Did you see the sale we had on pasta a few weeks ago? It was FREE – that would have been a great opportunity to stock up on boxes. Now, when you need a box of pasta you won’t have to pay FULL price for it because you can reach in your pantry.
We recently had a sale on C&H Sugar, as low as $.59 per 4 lb Bag – if you use conventional sugar, stock up… pick up 8 – 10, and you won’t have to worry about a sugar sale for several weeks. By the time the next sales cycle rolls up (6-8 weeks) you will likely have spotted another chance to stock up for the NEXT sales cycle.
Likewise, if you can spot a sale on cereal and pay $.49 – $.74 per box, you can likely save yourself a BUNDLE against paying FULL price for a box when you run out..
Sometimes the savings are HUGE, and sometimes the savings are not quite as large… either way the savings DOES add up over time!
Advantages of Having a Stockpile
While saving money is the BIGGEST advantage, there are also OTHER advantages too…
- Having an exciting stockpile allows you to avoid eating out for meals, because you will have the items at home to make meals for your family
- Stockpiling helps you prepare for unexpected guests that may show up – quickly throw together your lunch or dinner with items IN your pantry
- If you have a friend or family member who is struggling, pass along a few items from your stockpile to help them until they get back on their feet.
Make sure you set a budget for how much you can spend on stockpiling every month – I recommend $10 – $15 when you first start out (if you can afford that!) Do NOT go over that amount… or your savings will dissipate quickly!
If you can’t use your stockpile allowance in ONE week, make sure you carry it over to the next – as some weeks will be better than others.
But.. a word of caution – a stockpile IS great. And yes, it CAN help you save. But you don’t NEED to go crazy with coupons to stockpile… and you don’t need to go overboard. If your stockpile impedes the way you live, you might need to question why you are buying MORE than what your family can reasonably use.
Do you have any tips for those who are starting a stockpile?
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