Stockpiling 101

Stockpiling 101
How to Build a Stockpile to Save Money
For many, the word "stockpiling" means buying lots of bottled water, batteries, and canned food in preparation for a snow storm or natural disaster. For couponers, it means never having to pay full price again.



Stockpile
A supply stored for future use, usually carefully accrued and maintained.


A stockpile is simply buying more than what you need for immediate use when prices are extremely low, so that you do not have to pay full price in the future. A stockpile can be a key part of saving money!


Here are my tips for stockpiling:



Buy Multiples
To start a stockpile you will need multiple coupons. In order to get multiple coupons, you will need to buy multiple Sunday newspapers, or collect coupons from your friends and family. Four of each coupon is a good place to start, but you can do more in the beginning when building your stockpile.



Wait for Sales
When items go on sale at a deep discount, that is when you want to use all your coupons. Say, for instance, that pasta has gone on sale for $1 and you have a $0.50 coupon and your store will double coupons. That makes the pasta just $0.00 FREE which is a great.. So, if you have four $0.25 coupons then you could buy four boxes and pay just $0.50 per box, which is great too! Of course, you may not need all four boxes this week or even next week, but if you eat pasta regularly then you will use them eventually. This way, you get to pay a rock bottom price for pasta and you won’t have to pay full price for it the next time you need it. You have enough to last you until the next time it goes on sale.



Sales Cycles
Stores run sales in cycles. Everything typically goes on sale about every 9 – 12 weeks. If you buy 9 – 12 weeks worth of everything when it goes on sale, then you will have enough to last you until the next time it goes on sale. If your family eats one box of cereal per week, then go ahead and buy several boxes. If your family only eats one box a month, then maybe just buy a couple boxes.



Buy Only What You Like
It is very important that you only stockpile foods and products that you know your family will actually use. Don’t buy 10 boxes of cereal that your family has never tried before or it may never get eaten. If your husband does not like a certain brand of deodorant, don’t stockpile that brand, get it free and take it to a food pantry or shelter near you. This is what I do....



Watch Expiration Dates
You have to keep an eye on expiration dates when you stockpile. It is very important to rotate your stockpile. That means you need to put the new items you purchase at the back and keep the oldest products at the front where you can get to them. Keep in mind that even toothpaste expires! It takes a long time, but if you look at the tube, there actually is an expiration date on there! I take a big black marker and write the experation date on the front of all my items so I know when they expire...



Don’t Go Overboard
It’s very tempting to buy tons and tons of products – especially when they’re free. Please remember the 9 – 12 week sales cycle. It WILL go on sale again! You don’t have to buy 100 tubes of toothpaste right now. Buy 10 -20 now or depending on the size of your family, then buy more again the next time it goes on sale. If you realize you’ve accumulated too many tubes, skip a few sales. Save your gas, energy, space, and time instead.


If you build a stockpile and carefully maintain it you can save a lot of money and always have your favorite products on hand! No more running to the store at 10 pm because you’ve run out of diapers or something else!