Stockpiling Tips & Tricks
Cereal was getting low in my stockpile (read: my children were tired of eating plain Cheerios and Raisin Bran) and when I saw Fred Meyer had Honey Bunches of Oats on sale for $1 each after Catalina, I stocked up. I went to three stores and did three transactions at each store. No shelves were cleared and for the most part we survived the outing! Here are a few tips for stockpiling.
Set a budget
Just as you set a budget for your groceries each week or each month, set a budget for what you will spend on your stockpile. I currently allocate 10-20% of my monthly budget for stockpiling. When you first start to stockpile, this percentage might be higher, but will decrease over time.
Multiple stores and transactions
Clearing the shelves is not nice and quite frustrating for those who just want to purchase a few of the items on sale. By shopping at a number of stores, others still have the opportunity to purchase the items on sale. Most stores will also allow you to do multiple transactions in one trip. Two exceptions are Safeway and Rite Aid. Safeway is an exception when using the double coupon as it clearly states one transaction per household per week. Rite Aid’s +UP Rewards are not valid the same day printed. In those cases, shop multiple stores and/or multiple days. For other stores, I am most comfortable with two to three transactions back to back.
Shop sales early
A store’s stock will be high at the beginning of the sale cycle, giving you the highest probability that the product will be available and in larger quantity. Shopping mid-morning is also great as lines are low and most cashiers don’t mind doing multiple transactions.
Keep an inventory
Keep track of your stockpile and know when something is getting low. Once you get down to less than a month’s worth of product, begin looking for those items on sale to replenish your stockpile.
Mind expiration dates
When buying multiples of one item, make sure the expiration date is far enough in advance that you have time to consume the product before it goes bad. Throwing away expired food does not save you money in the long run.
Know your numbers
Know how many boxes of cereal your family will consume in three months or how many razors your husband needs to last until the next big sale. Ten boxes of cereal may be the stockpile for you and your husband, while a family of five with three growing boys may consume that amount in less than a month! Focus on your numbers when looking at the sales and purchase only what your family will consume.
Pay attention to sale cycles
Sales occur in cycles. Some items are at their lowest price only once a year (school and office supplies in the summer, baking items in November), while others occur every three to four months (cereal, cheese, crackers, salad dressing, meat). We make it easy here at Frugal Living NW and only post the best deals. If the item is a “buy now or wait until next year,” we let you know!
Make sure you have enough coupons
In order to do multiple deals, you need multiple coupons. One of the BEST ways to do this is to get your hands on more than one set of Sunday newspaper insert coupons. We have an exclusive deal with the Oregonian for folks in the Portland Metro area (Multnomah, Clackamas, Washington, Yamhill, and Columbia counties). If you’d like to get up to 5 Sunday papers delivered for less than 1 in the store, check out one of our upcoming couponing web classes. They are FREE, take about 30 minutes, and it’s the only way to get in on this awesome deal! Go here for more info and to register for an upcoming class.
Make sure you also check out our post, 7 ways to build a stockpile on a budget!
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Did they roll?
I go to a rite aid I love, got the buy 1 get 2 purex pacs for laundry got 6 pkgs the limit..I was thrilled don’t have to buy anymore laundry detergent for a good long while..I looked for purex coupons could not find them but for 11.99 plus tax I got 96 pacs, cheaper than the 48 I paid for at safeway for $6.99 I got when I ran out of my 144 pacs of All clean and clear I got last year for only $5.00 with my all coupons, doubles and substitution on the larger sizes..It pays to stock up!
To get more coupons … talk to your neighbors. Many of our neighbors don’t use the coupons, so they are happy to give them to me and one’s I don’t use I send to the military (overseas they can use them for 6 months past the expiration date).
Also a great way to network with your neighbors .. if they do use coupons, set up an exchange. You give them your extras that you aren’t using & they want and they give you yours.
Another tip … if you have lots of coupons to get items for free (or very inexpensive), but you don’t need them (such as more cereal or something you don’t use), go ahead and use the coupon and donate it to your local food kitchen. It will make someone’s day (your’s too)!
Something to add …
Don’t throw away food just cuz you won’t use it or cuz it’s near or past the expiration date! I go thru our pantry every 2 to 3 months. I check expiration dates. It reminds me what menu items to use if “best by” dates are coming up. For those items that are expired, near expiriation date or we are not likely to use, I put them in grocery bags and take them to our local food kitchen. They LOVE these donations and then the food is never wasted.
Our city’s food kitchen also has a thrift store (similar to Goodwill) and the money made from the sale of donated items goes to help families in need … so they are also in need of grocery store bags. We keep a box of bags in our pantry and when it starts to get full (usually every time I go thru the pantry), I take 2/3rds of it and donate it to the thrift store.
Keeps my pantry in order and makes me feel good knowing I’m helping to feed others.
If you’re buying a large quantity of cereal, granola bars, etc.. I’ve heard that you can call the store and ask them to order 15 boxes per se and ask them to set this aside for you. I haven’t tried this myself but thought this was a good strategy. This way you are not affecting the stores normal inventory for a sale item.
Such a great point. I didn’t even realize I could do that until a Walgreens cashier recommended it. It ensures that I get enough product and so does everyone else.
Yes, Kay Lyn, that is a great plan. I know that Safeway will do it. Ordered 20 boxes of applesauce pouches when they were $.50/box. Didn’t clear any shelves and I could pick them up at my leisure.