COUPONS STOCKPILES
December 31st, 2009
admin
COUPONS STOCKPILES
Couponing and stockpiling................. How to?
Ok, so I'm new to couponing and I've seen lots of different things online where people use their coupons and get great deals (free or very close to it) and they stockpile for emergencies, charities, churches, families, gifts, etc. I was wondering if any of you do couponing and stockpiling? I am very interested in stocking up my house with much needed items as well as helping others when I get plenty, I just need to know where to start and how in the world do I get these wonderful deals like some of these other people that I see online, $1880 worth of groceries for $419, $200 worth of groceries for $2 or $3. In my area of VA (Blacksburg area) I don't know of any stores that double coupons, we have Kroger, Walmart, Foodlion, CVS, Walgreens, Super Dollar, Dollar General and Dollar General Market. Any ideas or advise would be very much appreciated!!
I do both. I started stockpiling after the first fires roared through San Diego county where I live because stores close, there are power failures so cash gets hard to come by and we all realized that sheltering in place rather than evacuating could be to our benefit. You really have to know and watch your prices because sometimes just having a coupon, even doubled, you will pay more than you would for a store brand that is equal in quality. That being said, if you can get a double or triple whammy on a product, you can often beat the store price and get the item much cheaper. A double whammy is when the store has the item on sale and then you have a coupon that they double. A triple whammy is when you take advantage of both of those savings vehicles and then get a rebate on that item, too. But, fewer and fewer grocery stores, drug stores and discounters are offering double coupons and when they do in our area it is a limited time offer. There are online coupon sites that you can check every time you shop and then compare those prices with the store brand to see which is more economical. Also, it used to be that the larger the size the lower the per unit cost, but that is no longer the case, so you have to check that as well. A final hint, if you have Big Lots in your area they are definitely a place to visit regularly. They often have products far below retail because not only do they buy overstock and over production, but they also buy out stock when manufacturer's change a label and drastically discount it. And, at the end of every season they discount seasonal merchandise anywhere from 60-90%. I buy all my Christmas cards after the holidays when I get a box of 25 for $1-2 for the next year. I never shop the Thanksgiving Day sales because the price will be better the day after Christmas through the week after New Years. Stores take the returns from Christmas and mark them down almost at cost.
