Couponing 101 - Part II

Last Friday, I gave instructions on how to get started with coupons and saving lots of money! If you missed that post, you can click here to read it.

Today, I want to give you tips on how to stock up your pantry, bathroom cabinets, and laundry room (I think that covers all areas of the house that need specific things). I want to teach you how to stock up on things that you find yourself buying all of the time. Things that can take up a big chunk of your grocery bill, if you need them when they're not on sale or you don't have a coupon for. I can honestly tell you that I haven't bought toothpaste or deodorant in almost a year, and no...my teeth haven't grow fur, my breath doesn't stink & neither do my pits. I just got stocked up, and just for a few dollars!

I'm not going to tell you specific items that you should stock up on, but I am going to tell you that they need to be things that your family uses a lot. Things that you find yourself buying constantly. For my family it was things like deodorant, toothpaste, shampoo, toilet paper, laundry detergent, cereal, butter, tea, etc. You know how expensive all of those items can be when you have to buy them when they're not on sale. Things like laundry detergent and toilet paper can take up a large chunk of your grocery bill. That's why stocking up is so important. By stocking up, you save even more money!

How do I get stocked up?
When checking out your grocery store's sales ad, look for sales on the things that you need to stock up on. For me, it would be sales on items like toothpaste, deodorant, cereal and butter. If the items you need to stock up on are for sale, make sure you have coupons for those items and then calculate the total of how much you would be paying on them. If it sounds like a good deal, go for it! Each of the tubes of toothpaste and deodorant in my cabinet, were less than a dollar a piece. That's a great deal considering how expensive those two items generally are.

How much is too much?
If you are going to stock up big, I recommend doing it on different days. For instance, don't walk into a grocery store and walk out with 50 gallons of bleach if they were having an awesome sale on it. I know someone who got 12 gallons of bleach that they paid hardly nothing for. What's the point? Do you seriously need that much bleach? Going over board on stocking up, does make it unfair on the rest of us. We can't get the good deals, if you're buying the store out. Be reasonable. While I was stocking up on toothpaste, I would only buy a couple of tubes a week, and two tubes a week added up quickly. I actually stopped buying the stuff, because I was running out of room. There is absolutely no need to wipe out the grocery store in one setting.

Buy toilet paper when it's on sale and you have a coupon. Buy butter when it's on sale and you have a coupon. Buy laundry detergent when it's on sale and you have a coupon. Even if you don't need it at the moment, you will need it soon and by then it may not be on sale. Instead of paying 2 dollars for laundry detergent, you end up paying the full price of 6 or 7 dollars for it. Instead of paying 50 cent on a tube of toothpaste when it's on sale, you'll have to pay 3 dollars for it when it's not on sale.

Why should I buy something when I don't need it?
Don't worry, Hubby had this same question to, and the answer is simple. Have you ever turned on the washing machine to make way for a giant load of laundry that you had been ignoring for a couple of days, only to find that you were out of laundry detergent? Now you have to load the kids up in the car, and head to the grocery story to fork out 12 bucks on bottle (or box) of detergent. Had you bought the detergent when it was on sale, you would not only be stocked up on it, but you also would not have paid so much for it. Now, I don't have a laundry room full of laundry detergent, but I do generally try to stay a bottle ahead...that way I never run out.

Bottom line, stocking up is good if you do it smart. Make sure you are not stocking up on things that are full price. They need to be on sale, and you must have coupons for them. Wouldn't you like to never have to worry about buying toothpaste again, or maybe toilet paper, or laundry detergent, or cereal! How nice would it be to be able to just open up another bottle of detergent when the other runs out, or pull out another deodorant when the other runs dry? You don't have to worry about remembering to put certain items on the grocery list, because you already have them! There's no more worry, and no more stress!

If you have any questions on how to get stocked up, or how to use coupons, please feel free to drop me an email. I want to help anyone I can save money.