Savings & Stockpiling

Recently, I have learned to love coupons. I blame this on my dear friend Amy. Actually, she has opened my eyes to some great ideas, and now I am motivated to save!

I am taking the 09/10 school year off to be with my two boys and through Amy, I have learned how to stockpile. Basically, I have learned to buy items that I don't need. But I buy them when they are on sale, then use a coupon to save additional money. Now, this concept may be old news for many, but for me it's new. Let me give you some examples of some of my most recent purchases:

1. Walgreens: I purchased 8 large tubes of toothpaste, and payed only $6 (75 cents per tube)

2. Walmart: I purchased 8 Secret brand deodorants and paid only $4 (50 cents each)

3. Walmart: I purchased 4 bottles of Kraft dressing (different flavors) and paid only 32 cents for all. That's only 8 cents per bottle.

There are more, and I could on and on. It's actually very exciting and addicting. So for the one year I am off, I won't have to buy toothpaste or deodorant. Actually, I have also stockpiled on body wash, dish soap, toothbrushes, and many food items. But I am no where near my goal. I hope to stockpile on detergent, bleach, fabric softener, shampoo & conditioner, medicine, toilet paper, paper towels, trash bags, etc. You can stockpile just about everything really. But the key is to pay the very least amount you possibly can.

Amy uses a website called "The Grocery Game" but I have found a free site called "Coupon Mom". Both sites are wonderful resources! They list the following stores in which you can use coupons and save money: Wal-Mart, Publix, CVS, Walgreens, Winn-Dixie, & Target. You can use coupons most anywhere...but the site sticks to those particular stores. When you are on the site, you can click on the link for Wal-mart(or any other listed store). Once you do that, it tells you the items that are on sale in that store that correlate with coupons that come out in your Sunday paper (past or present paper). The site will direct you to which paper had the coupon (example 4/5 SS...meaning the April 5th Sunday paper in the Smart Source flyer). There are 3 flyer's you need to look for, they are: Smart Source, Red Plum and P&G. Amy taught me how to set up a filing system which keeps up with the flyer's and their dates. It's super easy, and you only cut the coupons once you need them.

Recently, Joey and I went to publix. I purchased approx 10 items and paid just over $9. I left with 2 packages of english muffins, 2 jars of spaghetti sauce, 2 jars of mayo, 2 bottles of Kraft dressing, and 2 packages of halls cough drops. Most of the items were buy one get one free, and I also used coupons. You can double up your coupons at Publix (use 2 coupons even though one item is free).

The goal is to make a list of items that you always purchase, and learn to shop for them...and learn to stockpile them. Amy use to allot herself $200 per week for groceries. Now that she is using this system, she actually spends less than $100 per week. Sometimes as little as $60. In this economy, she is saving her family a lot of money. And if you think about it, if there is an economic crisis...she is stocked!

If you need help/guidance on how to get this system started, I would absolutely love to help. I am still learning, and I ask Amy questions all the time! But eventually, you will grasp the concept and believe in it!