Everything you need to know about stockpiling

Stockpiling is a great way to save money. Simply put, stockpiling allows you to purchase items you normally use when they are are very cheap or sometimes free, so that you don't have to purchase them later on and pay full price. Stores generally run the same or similar sales every 4 to 6 weeks. After you've been at it for a while, you will learn your local stores' sales patterns. During a good sale, if you buy enough of a certain product to get you through til the next sale, you won't have to worry about running out and paying regular price. For instance, if your local grocery store is running a sale on soup priced at 4 for $1 and you have a store coupon for .50 off 4 and a manufacturer coupon for .25 off 4, which doubles, you'll essentially be getting 4 soups for free and should stock up enough to get you through until the next sale or what you have room to store. Which brings up another great point to take into consideration - only stockpile what you have room for. Obviously you wouldn't buy 100 cans of soup if you have nowhere to put them, right? However, even if you don't have a huge house or basement to store things, you probably have more room than you think. Clean out a spare closet and dedicate it to "stockpile items" Storage totes are also a stockpilers best friend. These allow you to store your items without them always being in the way. 

The whole purpose of stockpiling is to get multiple items for a lot less than you would normally pay. That's why it's so important to not confuse stockpiling with shopping at discount retail stores and/or warehouses that sell products in bulk at "lower" prices. These types of stores are very misleading. People think they are getting a great deal because they are getting 8 rolls of paper towels for the price of 6 at the local grocery store. An important thing to remember, it's usually always best to buy the smallest size possible. For example, say your local grocery store is running a sale on single roll paper towels for $1 each and you have a coupon for .50 per roll that doubles. Now you're getting your paper towels for free. Much cheaper than paying the "discount" price at the warehouse, right? Always compare the different sizes while shopping. Even local grocery stores can confuse consumers in thinking "bigger is better." For example, if there is a 6 oz tub of butter for $1 and 12 oz size for $1.50, you would most likely assume the larger size is the better buy, right? Well not necessarily. Say you also have a coupon for .50 off any size of that particular brand of butter and your store doubles coupons up to .50? Now which is the better buy? The smaller size because it's FREE and the larger size will still cost you .50!!!