This is a guest post by Megan from Publix Coupon Queen
If you have seen any of the Extreme Couponing episodes as of late you have probably seen store houses filled with an overwhelming amount of stuff. Hundreds of mustards, deodorant for years, and miles of toilet paper. It can be a bit scary to look at these mounds of products. You start to think of storage space and the lack there of and you get overwhelmed.
I am going to share with you the not so extreme way to stockpile. If you have been reading this blog for any amount of time you know that I am not an extreme couponer. I am actually just a regular mom who needs to save money on things in order to stay home with my children.
What Is A Stock Pile?
Stockpiling for couponers means putting up a certain amount of an item while it is on sale.
Why Stock Pile?
If you are able to buy a lot of something at a discount you will not pay full price for it later.
How Much Of An Item Should I Buy?
Most sales run every 13 weeks. I buy enough of things that won’t go bad to last me for those 13 weeks until it will be on sale again.
How Do You Keep Things From Wasting?
Many people ask me this when I speak of stockpiling. The important thing is to observe the dates on your containers. Put the newer stuff toward the back so that you can use your oldest stuff first.
Don’t You Spend More Stockpiling?
You may spend more when you initially build your stockpile. However, once you have built your stockpile you will only be added things here and there. It actually comes out to less in the long run because you don’t buy things on a weekly basis.
Do You Stockpile?
I would love to hear tips from all of you on stockpiling. Share your tips with me.
Side note from Crazy Mom:
I also have a bunch of posts about how stockpile its fullest potential, be sure to check out my Sunday Coupon Class Section. To us a stockpile is the most valuable thing ever, saved us soo much money, time and energy.
Mary Beth Elderton says
I’d add that the very first step is to realistically assess your own needs for a stockpile. When I had a house full of teen age boys who ate massive amounts of food, had three bathrooms to keep stocked, faced mountains of laundry, and piles of dishes every day, the definition of “stockpile” was a very different thing to my situation now that the boys are grown and it’s just Hubz and me in a much smaller space. I am having to re-learn–I mean completely start over!–how to effectively use sales, coupons, and manage a stockpile. While I do take advantage of some deals in order to pass things on to my kids’ young families, I really don’t need to take advantage of everything out there.
CrazyMom says
Totally AGREE!!! We assess our situation all the time and even walk away from deals more often….good point Mary Beth