Stockpiling at Rock Bottom Prices

Here's another random for ya...stockpiling. When I first started couponing in August, it seemed toothpaste was my main stockpiling item. My family AND friends made fun of me, saying "Why do you need 10 tubes of toothpaste? Nobody needs that much toothpaste!" My response? "I will use it before it expires, and I didn't pay much of anything for it! And by the way, I have 14 tubes, not 10."

Stockpiling is great, and with a little effort, it won't take long before you see your stockpile grow. The first step is obtaining multiple sets of coupons. This may mean begging off family and friends, and enduring their relentless riddling, or it may mean spending a couple extra dollars on Sunday papers. Either way, you'll survive. Having multiples of a coupon will allow you to buy more than one of that item, obviously. But the trick is knowing when to use the coupons. Typically stores put items on sale about every six weeks. When the item that you have a coupon for is on sale, that's the time to buy!

For example, I had Old El Paso Coupons a while back. The local grocery store had taco shells on sale, and I used my coupons to buy about six boxes for next to nothing. Another stockpiling item from a few weeks ago was Betty Crocker Warm Delights. They were on sale for a great price, and I had tons of coupons for them. Over the course of a week, I bought about 20 or so, for only a couple dollars! The kids and the husband are still eating them!

Just because you have a coupon doesn't mean you should go out and use it. Hang onto it, and wait for the item to go on sale! Then, go hog crazy buying as many as you can, as long as you can use it before it goes bad. If you do overbuy on an item that you can't use, consider donating it to a local food pantry, or give the item to those friends and family members that poke fun at you. I'm voting for the food pantry.