"Most of coupon shopping seems to do with stockpiling items on sale. But the items don't always seem to go together in such a way to make a meal. I guess after several weeks of stockpiling, your pantry will lead to meals. I guess that because of that I don't see what makes couponing better than just careful meal planning around the weekly sales ads and only buying the things you really need. Can you help me understand? Thanks!" -Naomi of Knoxville
Stockpiling often brings hoarders to mind. And maybe this is so but its hoarding for a real purpose. Stockpiling is buying and stocking a great deal of food for the purpose of a rainy day, to save money or to just not have to run to the grocery store every five minutes! We pretty much always make budget conscious meals but to buy materials even for the cheapest meals sometimes is more expensive than it needs to be. For example, Spaghetti is $1+ a box, but in most cases on a good sale you can get it for free or under 10 cents. Spaghetti sauce is normally $2 a jar but on a good sale,its 50 cents. Most meals are made with "staples", meaning can soup, pasta, rice, etc. These staple items are used in the majority or our meals. Also, we use sales to plan our meals. We use staples mixed with perishable goods that are on sale to create our meal ideas. By stockpiling, you are allowing yourself to pay the best price for a items you are probably going to use instead of paying full price in a rush because you need it now. Grocery stores go on 6 week cycles with their sales, so I stock up on 6 weeks of a great sale each time they have it. That way during the 5 odd weeks, I don't have to pay full price, which I HATE DOING! Haha.
Hope this makes sense to you. Couponing should be used in conjunction with budget conscious meal planning. Another thing, I think couponing helps is allowing you to cook different meals because you are getting to try some stuff for free and it changes things up a bit. :)
Here are some quick shots of my stockpile items (not to include whats already in my pantry..haha):
Here are some additional resources to help you start stockpiling today:
http://www.suite101.com/content/save-money-on-food-and-toiletries-a213504
http://www.ehow.com/how_6601484_create-stockpile-food-using-coupons.html
www.southernsavers.com
Whoa... another Naomi! haha
ReplyDeleteI like the part where you said it's "hoarding for a real purpose." I think the new Extreme Couponing show on TLC, while I haven't seen it yet, has given some people a bad taste in their mouth because some of those people have taken it too far. They buy way more than they ever could possibly use. But we're not talking about buying 50 boxes of oat bran cereal just because it was 10 cents a box. You have to be smart and only buy things you know your family would use... or else it's not saving you any money! :)
Another great post, Candice!