Stockpiling 101

One of the key ways I am able to save so much money every week is by stockpiling. Since many of you are new to couponing or may not use this tactic, my Tuesday Tip is Stockpiling 101. Read On:

What is a stockpile?
A stockpile means you have a backup for every item that you use on a regular basis. And not just one backup, multiple backups. Sure you could go to the store today and buy a few extra of everything you use but that would defeat the purpose of stockpiling for bargain budgeting purposes. The idea is that when you can get an item at a rock bottom price, you buy multiples of that item and store them away. 

Example: We love Electrasol tabs. We have a fancy dishwasher that recommends using Electrasol tabs over other types of detergent. At one point the tabs were $2.99 at Target. I had a $1/1 coupon. I don’t consider $1.99 a rock bottom price so I only these one box at a time to tide me over until a better coupon or better sale.

A few months down the road there was a $2.50/1 coupon in the newspaper.  I realized that coupon would produce a great bargain so I bought 20 of them off eBay for $1.99. Then I waited. I waited to see if there would be a sale before the coupon expired. Sure enough, Target marked them down to $2.75. Using my $2.50 coupons they were $.25 each. I bought 21 for $7.24 (21 @ $.25 + 1.99). A few months later the same coupon/sale happened and I bought 10 that time. We are now fully stocked on dish soap for quite some time.

How do I start stockpiling?
This can be a difficult for people without an existing stockpile on a budget. I recommend setting aside $10/week of your budget for stockpiling. This way you will have money set aside without impacting your regular budget. If there isn’t a rock bottom sale that particular week, save that $10 for the following week. Sales are very cyclical. One week may be slim pickings and the next week might be a jackpot.

 You don’t need to start stockpiling flat-out, no holds barred right this second. Many of the hard core couponers will tell you that it takes between 6 and 9 months to get a stockpile established. I’ve been at it for 10 months now and I still am lacking in some areas. I also, on occasion, miscalculate and run out of things. Like at a store, you need to take inventory every now and then to see what you are running low on. Also, don’t get a stockpile so large that items go bad before you can use them all. Even toothpaste and can goods have expiration dates.

How do I know how much of something to stockpile?
First, figure out how large a stock you want to have on hand: 3 months? 6 months? A year? Then, determine how much your family uses each week or month. It also can vary by item. Boxes of cereal take up quite a bit of space. You might not want to have a year’s supply on hand. You may want to only accumulate enough to tide you over to the next super sale. Then replenish what you’ve lost. Once you have a lot on hand, it’s easy to skip shopping one week. You’ll have enough on hand to tide you over.

Where do I put it all?
Now here is where you will need to get creative. You can find space in surprising places: Under the bed, in cabinets, in closets, in the garage. My first suggestion is to organize your pantry. When I’m in a hurry I often just throw things on the shelves. You can save a lot of space by periodically pulling out things you don’t need and putting like things together. You may create a lot more room than you thought you had.

Another suggestion is to split you pile up. We don’t have tons of storage options in our current house so I have a little bit in one cabinet and a little bit in another cabinet and a little bit in the garage. I put it all over the house. Mom Advice has some great suggestions for storage solutions. Check them out HERE.

Do you have any stockpiling advice or storage tips? Please share!