THE BASICS OF COUPONING
INSTALLMENT 3
BUILDING YOUR GROCERY STOCKPILE
One of the key factors to being a successful couponer is to build a sufficient stockpile. This is done over time, and can take a few months. But once you have your stockpile built, you will seldom have to buy anything because you need it. You will already have what you need, except, of course, your perishables like milk, bread, fruit, and produce. However, the money that you save on other things will leave more money in your budget for those things.
I recommend one or two normal shopping trips, buying what you need, and at the same time, buying the sale items that you will need in the future, using as many coupons as possible. Most items go on sale every 6-8 weeks, but if you follow the sales at more than one store, you may see that each store has it on sale, but at different times. For instance, if you know that you cook spaghetti once a week, and the store has it on a BOGO sale, buy enough to last about 6 weeks. There are almost always printable coupons for pasta, which often makes it free. If it goes on sale again before you run out, and you have/can get more coupons, then replenish your stockpile. Do not wait until you run out, as it may not be on sale then.
Any non-perishable item can be stockpiled, though some may need to be rotated to keep the dates current. A good price is not a good price if you end up throwing it out because it went out of date. But most items have a pretty lengthy shelf-life. I find that salad dressing is probably the main thing that I have to keep a close watch on. Canned veggies seem to last forever, as do jellies and that kind of thing. I stockpile all sauces, condiments, pasta sauces, canned soups, side dishes, canned meats and veggies, and box dinner mixes. In my freezer, I have frozen dinners, veggies, meatballs, frozen breads, ice cream, breakfast items, and the list goes on.
I NEVER pay full price for any meat. Ground beef is on sale somewhere almost every week, as are chicken breasts. I prefer buying boneless meat, so when there is a good price, I buy enough for about a month, divide it into meal-sized packages and freeze it. Boneless chicken breasts and steaks are wrapped serarately, and then put into larger bags. This way, I only have to defrost what I need for whatever I am cooking. I buy roasts that are on sale and cut them my self for stew meat. I buy a whole pork loin when they are on sale and have the butcher at the store slice it into chops. I usually get about 18 boneless chops from one pork loin, and can usually buy them for less than $2 a pound. I have never seen them pre-sliced for this price, and the store does not charge you to slice it.
I take advantage of all "sale with coupons" on staples such as sugar, flour, cornbread mix, and canned milk. Once you learn how often each of your necessities goes on sale, you will be better able to determine how much you need to buy. For instance, I use a lot of canned, evaporated milk. It sells for 98¢-1.25, depending on the brand that you buy. Publix recently had it BOGO at 1.23 each, making them 62¢, which is a good price. However, I also had coupons, which brought the price down to 12¢ each, over 90% off of the original price. I bought as many as I had coupons, because I know that it does not go on sale that cheap very often.
It is always good to have a designated area in your home for your stockpile, and to keep it organized. When I first started couponing, I was "forced" to clean out and rearrange my kitchen cabinets, just to have space for the food. You may even have to make a small investment for shelves or boxes, but it will be well worth it. Your stockpile will grow a little with each shopping trip. You should never do without something that you need just because it's not on sale or you don't have a coupon. However, once your stockpile starts growing, you will soon have almost anything you need at any given time. When you start getting low on something, you will start looking for a good price.
NEXT INSTALLMENT
BUILDING YOUR STOCPILE
HEALTH & BEAUTY AND HOUSEHOLD ITEMS
Amazon.com is currently offering a 2-year subscription to Redbook Magazine for just $5.00. Just go HERE and add it to your cart. It is priced at $10, but you will get $5 off instantly. That averages to a little over 20¢ an issue. With a cover price of $3.50 per issue, this will save you $79.
I had another really great trip to Publix this week. I was especially glad to see that the Smuckers jams, jellies, and preserves were BOGO. I have been holding onto coupons that I printed in September for $1.50 off and they were going to expire at the end of the month. These coupons allowed me to buy them at 2/13¢! What a deal! This is what I bought.
Ziploc has just announced a new givveaway. The first 3000 people who go HERE and register will receive a package containing:
Whybuymilk.com is giving away free milk for a year to 120 families over the next 30 days. Go HERE and register to win now. Please be aware that the site is overloaded so you may have to try a few times. I was lucky enough to get through on the first try. The first 100,000 people to enter will be sent a coupon in their email. I did not win, but I did get a coupon for a free half-gallon of chocolate milk when I buy a gallon. Yay! I love chocolate milk. If you participated in this promotion last year, as I did, you only have to sign in. You can also register to win by texting "WIN" to 38488 and responding to their follow-up texts. Only normal texting fees apply.
My trip to Bi-Lo this week was pretty good. I spent a little more than usual, but only because I bought 2 beef roasts (BOGO). This is what I bought.
My Publix trip this week was short, but successful. They had a great price on boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, so I decided to grab a pack. I also found 2 varieties of Lean Pockets clearanced to $1 a box. I had some coupons that I planned to use at Bi-Lo, but used them here instead. This is what I bought.
2 Great new coupons popped up on coupons.com today. They are both "Buy One, Get One Free Stayfree Pads". Although they say "available at Dollar General" & "available at Family Dollar", the fine print states that they can be used anywhere coupons are accepted. The drugstores often have Stayfree BOGO, which means that you could get 2 free with each coupon. So go HERE to print yours now before they are all gone. And remember that you can print each coupon 2 times.
Most of my grocery dollars were spent at Ingles this week, which is very unusual. I accidentally picked up a can of store brand pinto beans instead of Luck's or I would have saved just a little more. This is what I bought.
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