By ERIN TURNER
By now you should have lots of coupons, have them somewhat organized in a binder and maybe have even scored a deal or two! You are one step closer to being a Coupon Queen/King (thanks to my mom for pointing out that being frugal isn’t gender specific!).
So, the next step in your quest for coupon royalty is the most critical. However, it’s often the one step that people tend to avoid. That step is called grocery “stockpiling.” This is the act of stocking up on items when they are dirt cheap so that you are never in the position of having to pay full price for an item! If you don’t want to stockpile, then extreme couponing isn’t for you.
Now, everyone’s stockpile will look different and have different amounts of certain things. I know lots of single people out there think they can’t stockpile…why not? Sure, you don’t need to stockpile 20 peanut butters but why not 3-5? You need to develop your stockpile to what YOU personally use in a 3-6 month cycle (or 1 year depending on the item and the sale). An important key to stockpiling as a savings tool is: ONLY buy what your household uses…do not stock up on things or buy in amounts that you won’t use!
Obviously, your grocery stockpiling items need to be shelf stable or have the ability to be canned or frozen. If you are just starting out, the best things to stock up on are: toothpaste, toilet paper, paper towels, deodorant, cereal, pantry items (e.g. spices, olive oil, etc), shampoo, soap, and lotion.
Now my rule of thumb for stockpiling prices is any item 75% off the retail price. You should easily be able to get your toothpaste, deodorant, and toilet paper for free. When cereal is under a dollar, it’s time to stockpile! As I mentioned before, just keep the 75% off rule in mind as you judge an item’s “stockpiling worthiness.” The 75% off price will be achieved by a sale price stacked with coupons.
My best grocery stockpiling deal was dishwasher detergent at CVS. I bought 7 months worth of detergent and ended up making $4.75 after coupons and promotions! Now, that’s what I call “royally” stocking up! One of my favorite items to stockpile is fruit. Since fruit is expensive out of season, I love it when I can score a deal and freeze or can the fruit. Last month, Safeway had blueberries for $3.99 each and had a ‘buy 1 get 3 free’ sale! So, I stocked up and froze 24 pints. I also got a great deal on strawberries recently and made jam with them.
Grocery stockpiling may be completely foreign to you and it may be a tad bit scary. Let me clarify something: by stockpiling you are not becoming a doomsdayer or part of some cult…you are simply stocking up on items that your household uses regularly so that you never have to run out and buy it at full price. Plus, by eliminating those “quick” runs to the store, you will not be prone to spending more than necessary on impulse items that call your name!
I grew up with parents who believed in stocking up so it’s second nature to me and just makes sense. For those of you new to it, start slow. Start with toilet paper because you know you will use it. Then graduate to toothpaste, paper towels, etc. Pretty soon, you’ll be figuring out ways to freeze milk and eggs so you can stockpile them, too! (You can freeze those things, but that’s another blog.)
A word of warning: in order to get your stockpiles started, you may not see a huge dip in your monthly budget. Yet when you use your coupons and match them with sales, you will be getting more bang for your buck. Keep in mind that once you have built up a stockpile, you will see your monthly expenses plummet!
I spent January re-building my depleted stockpile and I can’t wait to tally up my February expenses because my stockpile has been providing plenty for us this month!
Now it’s your turn. Tell me about a great stockpile deal you’ve had or what your favorite item is to stock up on. Back to Save It blog home page and SAVE IT CLUB.
Click here to see the Coupon Queen’s “Save It” archive.
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Erin Eisenman-Turner is proud to be a native Missoulian. Along with her husband and three sons, they raise chickens, pigs, rabbits, and vegetables at Turner Family Farms in the Orchard Homes area. When the farm chores are done, the coupons clipped and the blog written, you can find Erin exploring Montana, collecting antiques and trying to maintain a well-run, happy and organized home for her family.
waited all day for this blog – thought I missed it. I recently bought gold fish crackers 10 for $10 but had coupons for $1 off 2 so I got them 10 for $5.00 and they are a great snack when unexpected friends come & play all day on a no school day. I also bought chi chi salsa for .99 after coupon which is 1.50 off the reg price. limit was 2 but I went back twice – cuz I forgot something the first time! love stockpiling & it is definitely a slow process. my pantry is not that big but we are working on re-doing it. it shares space w/ gun safe, extra refrig, dog food & hockey equipment from time to time. my house is plenty big but with 3 boys & no farm land to spread out – we get cramped during the winter months trying to do our activities inside & not the garage. I may be slow, but I’ll get it. thanks to Erin & her followers.
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I am a huge fan of stocking up… especially with a large family, it comes in handy being able to ‘shop’ in the storage room at any given time. The kids know to go down to the storage room and find this or that if we are out in the pantry. Laundry soap, Dishwashing soap, Fabric softener, Paper towels, soups/noodles, are just a few items found. My latest finds were Ultra Purex 32 load at Walgreens during their $1.99 sale, paired with the $1 mfr q ( thanks to eBay!), we are set for 6+ months. Plus Tide during Target’s clearance sale, matched w/ q’s, adding more to the stockpile. Love all the tips you have to offer, Erin. Keep up the great work!
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how do you determine how much to stockpile? do you stock pile once a year on some items and more often on other items? i would love to figure this paret of couponing out….I can’t seem to figure out how coupons off e-bay will benefit me if they expire or the weekly sale price goes away b/f I get the coupon. what am I missing here?
thanks for your advise….I’d love to go to the store less often
also – what is your take on warehouse stores like costco & sam’s club? are they worth the membership investment or just another way to get us into the store to buy more than we need at a price that appears less. i am finding myself memorizing pricing but then realize that I need to accept that some items will never go low again b/c of the economy. all this makes my brain confused – can you help? thanks Erin
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Great questions, Robin! Almost worth its own blog! But until I can write that blog, here is a little info to get you started. First of all, remember sales are in a cycle so stockpile with a 3-6 month rotation in mind. We do it a little differently simply because we know come time when the farm is at full tilt, we won’t have time to do the extreme couponing. So, we have been stocking up heavily the last couple of months with the anticipation of getting through until November before we can do some serious stockpiling again. We have stockpiled for a year on these things: toilet paper, paper towels, tissues, oatmeal, cereal, peanut butter, toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, lotion, soap, dish soap, dishwashing detergent, fabric softener sheets, pasta, canned goods, razors, allergy medicine, cough drops and lip balm. A lot of your stockpiling is dependent on space, too!
Okay, now about the Ebay coupons! You can sign up at Walgreens.com for a sneak peek at their upcoming ad on Thursday before the sale starts on Sunday. Most of the grocery store sales run for a week. So, in order to benefit from ebay coupons, you need to get a jump start at the very beginning of the week and coupon match. Once you determine which coupons you need from Ebay, then order them asap. I have had good turn around time…I always try to do the Buy It Now option so my order gets processed immediately. Also, make sure to set up a Paypal account so you can pay for it immediately. This way you get your coupons in a few days and still have plenty of time to hit the sales. Unfortunately, with extreme couponing you increase your trips to the store! But overall, you lessen your time in the store…which is always a good thing! Today, I went to CVS and was in and out in 15 minutes—and I even had the boys with me!
My jury is still out on warehouse stores. I never liked going to Costco because I always spent huge amounts. Now, that I am doing the extreme couponing, I RARELY go there. (I do like their photo finishing tho!) They don’t take manufacturer coupons and they rarely have extreme bonus buys! Sometimes I think you can get a good deal there but you have to be VERY careful. They lure you into thinking buying big is cheap and that’s not always the case. I am planning on going there sometime to do a price analysis. I have this discussion often with my neighbor who is a die-hard Costco fan. She argues with me that Costco’s toilet paper is the cheapest in town. And I always say, “That’s impossible because MY toilet paper is free!” You can’t beat that!
Sounds like you are going down the right path! Keep asking the questions! Trial and error is really the best learning tool! Hope I helped clear things up a little bit…or made it murkier!
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for me the warehouse is 45min away but something my mom wants to do & of course she’s alone & really d/n need the multi pack of anything….but I can also drive the same 45min & hit different stores if their couponing is better. so far I haven’t found that to be the case. I’m not a fan but thought I’d ask.
Our local store is prety competitive. we have an ALDI’s which has some controversy in it’s ownership but I try to buy my fruit & veggies there (40% cheaper than local store or walmart). I just signed up to be part of our community garden. we have been unsucessful in teh growing of items at our home due to oak trees. we have a community plot in town but it’s in complete opposite side of town so we are trying to get one in each quadrant of town. the organizer wants to give surplus to the local food bank or have a separate place for families to pick up free food if they can’t afford to eat healthy. we’ll see how far we get this year – could be another year of planning & scopingout land. I will still go to the amish auction once a year for my flowers – it’s fun to go & I find great deals on hanging plants for my teachers at the end of the year (usually less $10 per pot when you buy 6 at a time of the same exactly thing). The teachers love them & I get the satisfaction of going to an auction where they aren’t trying to get me to buy someone’s junk drawer of items
I stock pile 2-3mo currently so I guess I’m not that far off from teh norm. I do find myself getting nervous when I use the last of something….and hope that there’s a sale soon. I work near the grocery store so it’s not out of the norm for me to hit their 2day sale during their normal week’s ad on my way home & get just the items on sale. in & out in 10min. walmart is near by but I rarely go…trying to shop locally as well as economically is tough on my balancing act. I wish I had Albertson’s back – or even Safeways. NO CVS in our area either – just walgreens.
I will sign up for sneak peek’s of ad & see if that eases my mind on e-bay coupons. I don’t buy anything off the computer so I’ll have to had Ted help me thru this again. he has paypal all set up & ready to use but it makes me nervous that I’ll buy the wrong thing or have buyer’s remorse…..
thanks for the great words of encouragement. I think I am doing better than I allow myself to believe. I’m getting my mom excited about coupons tho & that is a GREAT thing.
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[...] Enjoy this blog? You might also like Erin’s previous posts on Organizing Your Coupons, Couponing Basics, Coupon Myth Busting, and Stockpiling. [...]
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[...] Enjoy this blog? You might also like Erin’s previous posts on Saving with menu planning, Frugality as a lifestyle, and Stockpiling. [...]
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