Stockpiling Basics

I'm glad I did my 10 miler yesterday. It would NOT have happened today. I clocked into work at 4:55 pm yesterday. I clocked out at 4:12 am this morning. It was a looooong shift. My legs still feel like wet cement.

So let me introduce you to one of my other interests today - couponing. I have been a couponer my entire adult life. I've done it so long I can't imagine paying full price for almost anything. One of the fundamentals of successful couponing is stockpiling. Real life couponers don't buy 100 tubes of toothpaste at a time like those people on that TLC show that has given couponers such a bad rap. They do, however, maintain reasonable stockpiles. This is how it works...

Every household has stuff they NEED all the time or use on a regular basis. Examples include things like toilet paper, paper towels, trash bags, shampoo, or pantry staples like canned foods or pasta. So, let's say trash bags are on sale this week for $2 (normally $3) and you have a $1 coupon. Instead of buying just one box, you buy a 6 month supply - so let's say 6 boxes. That way, when you finish your box of trash bags next month, you don't HAVE to buy another box at the regular price. As you stockpile more and more items, there will be less stuff you HAVE to buy at the regular price. Instead of spending money on stuff you have to buy, you can focus on buying just what's on sale with your coupons.

This is how it saves you money. Going back to the trash bag example, you just bought 6 boxes of trash bags for $6 - that's $2 sale price minus $1 coupon for each box. Regular price is $3. $3 X 6 = $18, but you only spent $6 so you saved $12. Repeat this process with lots of other items and the dollars add up.

Sometimes, you don't even need to have coupons. You just have to know what your regular prices are and what's a deal. I bought a year supply of trash bags on cvs.com on Thanksgiving Day. All CVS brands were 50% off, free shipping, and I had a code for another 25% off. I got 10 30-ct boxes (so 300 trash bags) for $20.02, delivered to my door. Mark that off my list of stuff I don't have to buy for awhile!

Get how this works?

So this is what I got today (neither deal required any paper coupons either so you can do them too):

20 32-oz bottles of Gatorade. 0.72 each at Kroger after sale price and Kroger digital coupon loaded on my Kroger Shopper card. I can usually find these for 0.49 on sale but I am completely OUT so I paid a bit more than I wanted. I am hoping I can get a better deal sometime soon.

Paper towel deal at Meijer.

1. Buy the Bounty 2-pack DuraTowels for $3.79 - 0.25 mPerks coupon + tax = $3.81, but you will get a Catalina coupon for $3 off your next purchase.

2. Buy 3 single rolls of Meijer brand paper towels for $1.29 each  x 3 = $3.87 + $0.27 tax = $4.14 - $3 coupon from #1 = $1.14, but you will get a Catalina coupon for $3 off your next paper goods purchase.

3. Buy Bounty 2-pack again, use $3 paper goods coupon from #2: $3.79 + $0.27 tax = $4.06 - $3 = $1.06, get another $3 coupon

4. Buy 3 single rolls of Meijer brand paper towels, use $3 off next purchase coupon; $3.87 + $0.27 tax = $4.14 - $3 = $1.14, get another $3 coupon

So, so far I have spent $7.15 for 10 rolls of paper towels and still have a $3 coupon. You can keep rolling this deal as long as you do not use the same $3 coupon on the same product i.e. you can't use the coupon you get from Bounty to buy more Bounty because you won't get another coupon to print if you do.

Depending on how you look at it, I am either spending 0.72/roll or 0.42/roll for the paper towels. It's an OK price for me. I've done better but my family goes through paper towels like water.

OK, is your head spinning now? I love this game.