We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post.
How To Start A Stockpile Even If You Suck At Couponing
Having a stockpile is a great way to save money in addition to the convenience and peace of mind it brings in always having what you need on hand. How cool is it to know that no matter what may or may not happen to you financially in any given month you have what you need to take care of your family.
Many people believe in order to have a successful stockpile you need to eat, sleep and breathe couponing or at the very least be super savvy at saving those hard earned dollars. The truth is with some planning (and a little patience) anyone can build a stockpile that serves their family’s needs month after month.
Even if you feel like you absolutely suck at couponing or saving money, in general, there is no need to overwhelm yourself. Sure you could buy a bunch of things to fill a shelf but building the right stockpile takes time. These tips will ensure that you will build a money-saving stockpile instead of a money-wasting one.
Make A List
In order to start your stockpile, you will need to know exactly what you are going to stockpile in the first place. It’s important to have your focus be on the right products. What are the right products you ask? These are the household and food items that you use on a regular basis. We only want the things that matter, the things that are crucial in keeping our households running, the stuff that would cause you to go to the store immediately and replace if you were out of it.
Set A Product Limit
Years ago when I went totally stockpile crazy, I wasted a lot of time, money and energy on stockpiling all the things. I was continuously in the building phase and never in the “let’s use what I have” phase. In order to reel myself back in a little, I created a new rule for myself. I would only keep 2-3 extras per item in my stockpile. Store promotions repeat approximately every 8 (ish) weeks so by the time the promotion repeated again you could easily replenish your stockpile. More than likely though those 2-3 extras could carry you beyond than the 8 weeks especially on household items. If you feel that you would like more than just 2-3 extras that is totally fine just make sure that you set limitations for yourself. These limitations will help you keep an organized stockpile as well as prevent things in your stockpile going bad or forgotten about because you had too much to get through.
Related: 5 Stockpiling Mistakes That Will Cost You
Set A Weekly “Stock Up” Budget
Having a weekly budget dedicated to building your stockpile is a great strategy to keep you from either overbuying or feeling discouraged that you can’t do enough. It’s tempting to want to build your stockpile as quickly as possible but it can also feel defeating if you feel like you don’t have enough to build one at all. No matter what your financial situation is having a budget in place for your stockpile will ensure that you are building one that is benefiting you and your family.
Stick To A Store (or two) For Deals
You don’t need to be a couponing queen in order to build yourself a nice stockpile on a budget. Nowadays there are so many ways to coupon on your phone that make saving money way more effortless then it has ever been before. Target is one of my favorites for stockpile building because I can get the most bang for my buck without having to clip coupons. The Cartwheel app in addition to taking advantage of their gift card promotions gives me the ability to stack my savings. Limiting yourself to a few stores helps with the stress of feeling like you need to keep up with every store and their sales. There is also another advantage to sticking to 1 or 2 stores because it gives you the ability to learn the ins and outs of saving money at that store.
Don’t Forget!
- Make a list of what you want to stockpile.
- Set limitations for how many extras per item you will allow.
- Have a weekly budget for your stockpile to keep you in check.
- Stick to 1 or 2 stores to prevent overwhelm and to give you the advantage of learning how to save money there.
Want to remember this? Pin it now to your favorite Pinterest board!
