Whats so great about coupons 101- Part 2 Stockpiling

What is stockpiling and how does it work???

The concept is pretty hard for most to take in at first, because we are programmed to write a grocery list and go shopping for the items on that list, but it is much more beneficial to write your list around the sales and the coupons available to you.

Purchase at least two to four copies of the newspaper every week to maximize savings. If there are several coupon inserts in the newspaper, I would purchase extra copies. I know for many people it is hard to justify the cost of newspapers because you are spending money up front to save money, but just buy 2 papers at first and watch your savings add up. You will likely want to buy more copies to get the additional savings.

Look through weekly ads for good deals on items your family uses on a regular basis such as pasta sauce, veggies and cereal. There are many online resources which make this much easier such as hotcouponworld.com, couponmom.com, afullcup.com, and slickdeals.net. Make your grocery list around the sales. To demonstrate, if Manwich is on sale for $1 and there are .50/2 (.50 off 2 items) coupons the final cost would be .50 each. This is a pretty good stock up price if your family eats a lot of Manwich. It is an even better deal when you go online and read there is a catalina deal when you buy $10 worth you receive $3 OYNO (On your next order). Total cost for 10 items would be $2 if you have 5 coupons. This is why it's important to get multiple copies of newspapers or to get involved in a trading group – a group who trades coupons online or in person. When you can get items free or almost free this would be a stockpile price and you do exactly that; stockpile.

The stockpile is essential to build when couponing because once you establish it, you are able to pick and choose what you want to buy and when you want to buy it. It basically allows you to pay bottom dollar for items or nothing at all because you can use what you have instead of running to the store and paying full price for the items you need.

The key to making your budget go even further is to create your recipes from your stockpiled ingredients. For example, if you have a lot of frozen corn, make corn chowder or creamed corn. Once your stockpile is established you just replenish as you find great deals and purchase the items you do not have in stock such as milk and produce.

Until next time….