One of the most common things I hear lately is how people are worried about not having enough money for the basic necessities. It worries me how many people in our society with the economy being as it is, do not have enough money for food.
Families are trying to make every penny count and stretch it as far as they can. I am a supporter of people using coupons to make their grocery budgets stretch. By combining them with great sales sometimes you can get items for little or no money.
But it is important to make sure that these items are things that you really eat and not just get them because they are cheap or free.
Many people are saying how there just isn’t money in their budgets to stockpile. I simply ask, How can there not be?
With more and more families living paycheck to paycheck, mine included sometimes, we have to plan ahead.
STEPS TO STOCKPILING ON A BUDGET
- Determine you Grocery Budget
This is probably one of the most important steps. You need to know how much you can spend. Whether this is a Weekly, Bi-Weekly or Monthly amount.
From that amount you need to decide how much you can spare to stock up on items for future use. This could be as little as $10 a week. But multiply that by 52 weeks in a year and you are looking at $520.
- Decide what kinds of items you are looking to stock up on
For each person/family this will be different. Here is also where you can get creative. Each Month you will notice a common theme in the grocery stores as to what kinds of foods/items are on sale. So you can pick a different kind of item for every month to stock up on.
- Remember STORAGE
While it is great to think ahead and plan for the future. You have to remember something about the here and now. Once you score all these great deals, where are you going to put them? You don’t want to find yourself overrun with canned goods so that you can’t find your way to you bed at night
If you are looking for those Monthly Sales Themes you can find a complete listing over at GroceryCouponguide.com.
Blogs I might be linking to: Homestead Abundance Teach Me Tuesdays Titus 2 Tuesdays
Better Moms Link Up The Flourishing Life
Thanks for sharing the link to the monthly sales themes. It’s good to know when to expect the deals.
I never realized that there was a theme until very recently. LOL. It makes alot of sense if you think about it.
I have a lot of trouble in this area. With a ton of food allergies, there are only a number of safe foods for me, and most of them are located at Whole Foods which is 45 minutes from us. So once a month I make the trip out there to stock up. I’m always trying to save enough money so that I can buy several of each item. It’s tough, though!
Visiting from the Our Simple Farm link up. What helps me is to make a list of the top 20 items I like to stock up on. Next to each item, I write the brand and it’s price that I would have to pay if I went to my usual grocery store and had to buy at regular price.
I keep this list with me so when I’m out at other stores – such as the co-op, farmer’s markets, discount stores, or stores like Walgreens or Target or Costco….and I spot those items cheaper than what I’d pay regularly at the grocery, I stock up on them at the cheaper price.
The point is – know your bottom line price on stock up items so when you hit a deal, you’ll know it.
Hi Erika,
Food Allergies can really hurt you and your budget. Keep up the good work and you will make it good for your budget.
Hi Jill,
Sounds like you have already started a Price Book per-Se. Keeping track of your top items and their prices can really help you tell if a deal is a dud or not.
My mother taught me to set aside an amount each week to stock up. Depending on our budget some weeks I only had $2 or $3 extra but I still would put that towards sale items for our pantry. Now that we better off financially I look at stocking up as a form of savings. Great ideas. Thanks for sharing.