Stockpiling

What is it?
It can be daunting and overwhelming to see pictures of extreme stockpiles, so don't go looking for them!  I don't have a grocery store in my basement (or a basement at all!), and I don't foresee the need to be prepared for the zombie apocalypse (yet) but I still technically "stockpile."  So if it's not hoarding, what is stockpiling?

Have you ever purchased your favorite cereal on sale, maybe half off, and gotten two boxes instead of one? It probably felt pretty good to have twice as much cereal as you normally get at the same price that you usually pay for one.  But...what happened the next time you had to buy that same cereal?  It probably wasn't on sale this time and I bet you wondered why you didn't get more of those half off boxes last time.  Was it because buying 6-8 boxes of cereal just didn't feel right?  It's time to change your thinking!  It is right, if it saves your family money, and if you are actually going to use it.

The concept of stockpiling is very simple.  Stockpiling is buying enough of an item at a rock bottom price to last you until you can get it again at another rock bottom or "stock up" price.  

Why Should I Stockpile?
Here's a scenario taken from my shopping trip today:  

I bought 6 boxes of Raisin Bran Crunch (my husband's favorite) for $4.79 each.  Without following sales and using coupons, I would have spent $28.74.  It wouldn't have been gone all at once, but the money would have been spent over the course of the next month in weekly shopping trips. This week, the cereal is on sale for buy one, get one free AND I have 2 $1/3 manufacture coupons to use as well.  My total?  $12.37 for 6 boxes.  That's $2.07 per box, or a savings of 57%!

The time I spent looking for the coupons and paying attention to the sale (which was minimal) in order to save $16.37 was so worth it.  And that's just one example of one item, one week! 

Think about how much YOU can save for your family by stockpiling.

How do I Begin?

First of all, start to pay attention to prices of products you use all the time.  If you have a favorite cereal, take note of what it costs normally, how often you see coupons for it, and how frequently it goes on sale at your store.  I promise, if you pay attention, you will start to notice the patterns in which sales on your favorite items occur.  That being said, lots of products seem to be on a 3 month sale cycle.  

Okay, a product I use is "on sale."  How do I know if I should stock up?

Be weary!  Many stores, especially drug stores, will advertise in their ad that items are on sale, but it still might not be a good price!  I stock up on grocery items when I can get something more than half off, or when I know that the price is the lowest I've seen.

Ruth from LivingWellSpendingLess.com has an awesome rock bottom price list that I used as a guideline when I started to shop for savings.  She shops at the same stores I do, namely Publix, CVS, and Target, and she also lives in Florida.  You should look for other rock bottom or "stock up" lists from your area if you are outside Florida.  Ruth also has an entire section on her website devoted to beginner couponing, which helped and inspired me to really focus on saving.  I highly recommend checking it out.

That's really all there is to it!  Buy items at the lowest price you can, add coupons to save even more, and get enough to last you until you can get them at that price again.  It's worth it, I promise.  As an added bonus, you will probably last a little longer during the zombie apocalypse, with all the cereal and toilet paper you will have on hand. 

Happy Savings!
~Coral