The last two weeks have been huge stockpiling weeks for me. The sales at Meijer have been awesome. So I wanted to share with you some of my stock up guile lines I use and teach in my classes.
The key is to never pay full price for anything unless you have to. This is why coupon queens are so into stocking up. They do not wait until they need the item to buy it. If you wait until you need it most of the time you will have to pay full price for that item. For example If you would have bought that item when it was on sale last week even though you had some already. You could have saved a few dollars this week on that item you just paid full price for. This is really hard for most people to do. But I can tell you from my experience you can save hundreds or in my case thousands of dollars a year if you do this correctly.
Stock UP
- Set a stockpile budget. I have a set amount of money each week I use for stock up items.
- Follow the sale cycles. Most of the time cycles come around about every 12 weeks. It is a really good idea to make a price book to help you keep track of the lowest price.
- Buy items you use when it is at it's lowest price and match it with a coupon if you have one. "When things that my family uses all the time goes on sale I don't just buy one item. I will buy as much as I can with out going over budget. This has been the key to my success in lowering my grocery budget. "
- Don't buy more than you will use before it will expire. Waste does not save money. It can be really tempting to keep buying great deals but if you throw away those good deals it is the same as throwing money away.
- If your family will not use it or eat it. Do not buy it just because it is a good deal. (Unless you plan to donate the item.)
- Do not hoard use your stock pile. Your stockpile is not just to look at. It is for you to use.
- First in first out (FIFO). Rotate your stockpile just like a store does. This will help you to use the items that will expire the soonest first.
Know when to stock up
- 25% off -Buy if you need the item.
- 50% off- Buy enough for 3-6 months
- 75% off or higher - buy enough for 6 months or more as long as you will use it before it will expire.
*Give to those in need. If you have more than you can use give to your local church or Food Bank. This is a good way to give to others without costing you much money.
1 comment:
I stockpile too. However, I have to admit that I've come across a few things that did not save me money in the long run.
I cannot get my kids, 5 & 2, to eat the frozen variety steamfresh vegetables or green giant anymore. These veggies are usually with some seasonings and or sauces. Plus, with them being frozen, sometimes the texture - think of rubbery broccoli - isn't quite the same. I am having a hard time selling these veggies to my kids who would eat many more veggies if they were just the plain old produce variety.
So, live and learn I guess. My advice here is that if you're not sure you're going to like a product try it out on you and your family before buying 10 of the same thing no matter how good a deal it is.
Good Luck! And here's to good old cauliflower! haha!
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