Stockpiling means getting your groceries at the very lowest prices, and then purchasing enough to last you until you can get to the next great sale. This way, you never pay full price for any groceries at all.
Whether you are new to stockpiling or have been doing it for years, you might find the following stockpiling tips helpful.
1. Pay attention to sales. Grocery store sales are cyclical. This means that they usually occur every so many weeks, or they may be seasonal in nature. Start making a list of when things go on sale. For example, maybe roaster chickens go on a buy one get one sale every three months, or pasta sauce goes on sale every four weeks.
2. Keep track of your inventory. There is nothing worse than having to throw away a quarter of a pantry full of food because it has expired. Make sure that you know what you have so you can use it. You can do this my exploring your pantry once a week, or by keeping an inventory list. This will also help prevent you from overbuying or from being under stocked for certain items.
3. Rotate your stock. Take your cue from the grocery stores and place your newest items in back of the oldest items. This will ensure that your stock doesn’t expire before you can use it.
4. Budget for stockpiling. Sometimes unexpected deals come up. Make sure that your budget or a special grocery savings allows you to take advantage of good deals when they happen unexpectedly.
5. Ration your stockpile. Having a good use system in place will really help you when you stockpile. You don’t want to use up all of certain items and ignore the rest. You also want to avoid the tendency to overeat or over consume products simply because you have extra. Make sure that bottle of shampoo lasts the month, for example.
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, creating a home in the Home Blog, caring for little ones in the Baby Blog and now relationships in the Marriage Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here or subscribe to the blog using the subscription box on the right.
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