Since we just started the new year and everyone is making changes I thought I would work on some posts explaining some basic principals about living great cheap! This will be especially helpful if you are new at this!
STOCKPILING
So, are you jealous that your friend has 2 years worth of laundry detergent stocked in their closet? Or that her aby has diapers for the next 6 months and you just realized that you used the last one you had? I know most of us say we don't have the room for that much stockpiling. But with a little organization, stockpiling pays off BIG in the long run! Stockpiles will vary from family to family, some will be small and others large. It is all based on the needs of your family.
What is a stockpile? Not a farm term here! Stockpiling is buying products in multiples and keeping them in your pantry/shelves for down the road. (Hoping to make it to the next sale). *Most rotations of sales are on a 12 week cycle. The reason this works so well in terms of savings is due to taking advantage of products that are at the lowest price that your family uses on a regular basis. Basically, other than dairy products and produce, I set myself up to have to rarely pay full price for anything. Now, I wasn't always like this, just last January, I was paying full price for everything!!! So, everyone has to start somewhere, so if you don't have a stockpile.... keep reading!!!
One of my biggest stockpiles is of cereal. Typically cereal is on sale, but when at rock bottom, I stock up. Cereal has a great shelf life and I have 4 kids, so it is neccessity in my house!!! If you do that with several other items than you get your variety in your meals at the cheapest price possible. But, it is not just for food, think of that with everything. For instance, a few months back Target had a deal on intuition razors where you actually profited $1.00/pkg in each transaction. I happened to be able to score 60 coupons. So, you guessed it, I have 60 intuition razors stockpiled, well after donating some to friends and family, the amount of men's ones I bought my hubby which he uses daily... I still have 30 left. Now, this will last me till..... I don't know a few years, well, I do have a teenage daughter. Needless to say, I have saved myself tons of $$$s from not have to buy razors and their "overpriced" replacement blades for a good while to come. FYI - the full price sub-total was $599.94!STOCKPILING
So, are you jealous that your friend has 2 years worth of laundry detergent stocked in their closet? Or that her aby has diapers for the next 6 months and you just realized that you used the last one you had? I know most of us say we don't have the room for that much stockpiling. But with a little organization, stockpiling pays off BIG in the long run! Stockpiles will vary from family to family, some will be small and others large. It is all based on the needs of your family.
What is a stockpile? Not a farm term here! Stockpiling is buying products in multiples and keeping them in your pantry/shelves for down the road. (Hoping to make it to the next sale). *Most rotations of sales are on a 12 week cycle. The reason this works so well in terms of savings is due to taking advantage of products that are at the lowest price that your family uses on a regular basis. Basically, other than dairy products and produce, I set myself up to have to rarely pay full price for anything. Now, I wasn't always like this, just last January, I was paying full price for everything!!! So, everyone has to start somewhere, so if you don't have a stockpile.... keep reading!!!
Location: I am still working on this in my home as it is ever evolving.... If you are going to start to stockpile, you should first pick an area in your home or multiple areas based on product. I didn't do this at first because it seems to be relatively small, but after 3 months, I have found my loft burried in bags and bags of stuff.
Consider closets, extra rooms, garage, and another freezer. Just have an area in mind and start putting in there when you come home with your goodies. Again, the area may be small if you are single or you may need several shelves in the garage for a larger family.
More on Products to Stockpile: Consider expiration dates on food products. I am going back to cereal because it is the easiest item to save $$$ on and stockpile, in my opinion. You can get 20 boxes, but look carefully at the expiration dates. When stockpiling food, take into consideration your family's eating habits. Do you eat cereal once a week or do all 4 kids eat it 3 times a week, it will make a difference. However, you can always monitor your inventory. What I like to call "rotate". When picking up the groceries, put the older items by expiration in the back of the shelf and the earlier ones in front. If you see that there are too many items expiring quicker than you will use, consider donating to a homeless shelter or to family and friends who can use the product before the expiration date.
When to Buy: When looking at the matchups I do for the grocery stores, look for Red Hot Deals. Those items are great for stockpiling and so are the 1st matchup list I provide. It is all marked on my matchups whether it is great or not for stockpiling. This should help you plan your shopping for stockpiling. For example, you will need to know not to waste time stockpiling cereal if you already have 20 boxes, skip over that. Unless it is FREE of course, get it! Again, you can always donate it somewhere!
I hope that this was helpful and please leave comments if you have ideas or pics, we'd love to see them!
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