Am I too busy to coupon?

Hi again, remember me? Sorry about the hiatus, school work hit me like a truck, and while I am still crazy busy, maybe even more so right now, I thought I'd take a break to come back and visit you. Hopefully with some more consistancy. :)

The other day at Pick N Save (double double daze!), a customer and I struck up a short conversation while we were searching for items on our list. I was discouraged that I could not find the yogurt smoothies I had on my list - they would have ended up being only $.16 after double coupon! I had never bought one before, and I was looking forward to trying them. The lady sounded surprised when I told her how much they would have cost me, and she responded "oh, I don't normally coupon, I just want to use these up." I laughed as I showed her my coupon binder, to which she responded "Oh, I don't have that kind of time."

Do I have that kind of time? How much time does she think this takes me each week? Do I come off like one of the crazy people on TV who spend 40 hours a week? I was surprised by her comment - sort of. Yes, I am a crazy lady with a coupon binder, and other couponers recognize me in the store because of it. I had one lady that same day, ask me if I was on my first, or second around... well in general, I only have enough time and money to shop once, but oh boy wouldn't it be nice to have the time to make two lists?! :) But even if I AM one of those crazy binder ladies, I don't buy ten papers, I don't jump in recycling bins, and I don't spend 40 hours cutting coupons. So how much time DO I spend?

Well, since school is in full swing, not as much as I used to but my stockpile is still growing, and we are eating delicious dinners for little money. In general, it all starts with Sunday morning and the paper. I used to have it delivered, but since I never had time to actually read the paper, getting everyday was a waste of paper, and money. Now I drive into Cascade in the morning, and pick one up.
 It usually takes me an hour or two to clean out expired coupons, cut the new ones, sort, and file. Now mind you, I usually do this in the livingroom, on the floor, with a DVR'd tv show playing on the tv... relaxation time!!
As for making the lists, I will pull up the ad matching blogs I have saved, and take a half an hour sometime during the week. Another night, I may pull out the ads from Sunday's papers and make a list of things I am interested in. That is maybe another half an hour. Then another night I will look at my list, pull out all the coupons I can use, and print others. Since I already sorted my coupons, it is easy to see what I have, and what I need. Then on shopping day, I grab my binder which has all my coupons and my list, and I shop. Shopping for me, used to take forever - because I would wander the store aimlessly trying to decide what I wanted, or what I could afford. Then came coupons! Now I know what I want, and how much it will cost, so grocery shopping takes half the time!

So if we estimate 4 hours of couponing a week (a little less if you count the time I save in the store now), and 40% savings on groceries, then I would say couponing is well worth it for me. Also, since we live off a construction workers pay, that stockpile of extra products under the stairs leaves me with a nice feeling of security knowing I won't have to worry when the weather turns nasty and Cecil is home for an entire week. We just skip the grocery shopping that week, and snuggle in with a bowl of 'mater soup and grilled cheese and enjoy our extra time together. :)

Yes, I think I have enough time for coupons. :)

rebuilding - slowly...

Okay folks, I have begun the slow trek back to my former stockpiling glory... This week I added 4 cans of butterball chicken broth, two cans of Campbell's Chunky Soup, 12 rolls of Cottonelle toilet paper, and a tube of Crest toothpaste to my stockpile. Of course I also raided my stockpile to make a donation to the Christine Ann Domestic Abuse Center in Oshkosh for Kappa Delta Pi, but those ladies need it more than my stockpile does anyway...

I am also pretty proud of the storage area I put together to store my stockpiled items. The space underneath the stairway has always been a catch all for wrapping paper, extra chairs, the table leaf, etc. Well I think it's been a good year since we took out the table leaf, or put away the extra chairs, so the space could be put to better use. I took a bunch of the wire grids I bought this summer at a rummage sale, and started assembling cubes. I figure I will use the cubes for things like laundry detergent, maybe some extra soda (like there is ever extra soda here! LOL), and then use the floor to pile the larger items like paper towels and toilet paper.


You'll notice the room is fairly empty... The food product stockpile is currently still housed in the pantry, as it isn't that big yet, the personal care items like soap and toothpaste are in the guest bathroom (with the HUGE drawers and cupboards...), and I just opened my last extra bottle of laundry detergent.... I told you I fell off the horse...

So, what are YOU stockpiling? I would love to hear how you are storing all your extra loot! :)

Recreating a stockpile...

okay folks, I'll admit it, I've fallen off the horse. My stockpile is dwindling... So while I was browsing the web for ideas to start over, I found this wonderful post on another blog about starting stockpiling from scratch. I am including the link to the original post, then I'll copy and paste her words of wisdom. Ready to learn with me? Here we go!

http://thecouponproject.com/2010/01/how-do-you-start-building-a-stockpile-when-theres-nothing-in-the-pantry.html

How do you start building a stockpile when there’s NOTHING in the pantry?

 

Reader Jennifer left a very good question at the bottom of one of my posts this week. I felt it deserved answering in a separate post and not in a quick comment. Here's what she writes:

I need help! I'm new to this & I'm not sure what to do in the meantime while trying to grow my stockpile. I currently have 0 groceries & I mean that literally. The fridge is empty for some condiments, eggs, and a few bagels. The cupboards are bare except for cans of soup….This is mostly because I'm so busy at home with my baby and hubby is so busy at work we just haven't had time to shop.
I just started collecting coupons… I'm going shopping tonight and I know that a lot of the coupons expire the end of this month. Should I go ahead and use all of the coupons (that expire soon) to stockpile items that I need anyway even if they're not on sale? I hate for the coupons to go to waste & then end up paying full price anyway…  
Jennifer, I'm going to do my very best to take you from square one to stockpiled!
Let's start with your last question – and it's a great one. Should you use coupons just because they're about to expire? In short, NO!! It sounds like you're in a place where you simply NEED some food. Here's what I propose you do. Head to the store with your coupons, but pay attention. Often you'll find the generic counterparts are cheaper than the name brand at full price with a coupon. Your goal is to simply find the lowest price on the items you need – coupons or not.
So let's talk about two kinds of shopping that we do as couponers and I think this will clear some things up. First, there's NEED-BASED SHOPPING. These are the items you need for the week ahead to complete your meals. For instance, produce, dairy, bread, meat, and/or anything you don't have in your stockpile. When you are starting out, most of your shopping will likely fall into this category. But as your stockpile grows over the months, you'll notice the items on your NEEDS list declines. You'll also learn how to become a more savvy shopper and you'll discover how to find deals on these items.
The second type of shopping is STOCKPILING. The idea here is that you buy items your family needs and uses when they are at their low prices. By using coupons on low prices, you sweeten the deal. But let me get something straight – not every stockpile deal uses coupons! I've stockpiled cans of broth when my store had them for $0.33 each. Don't think you MUST use coupons to stockpile! If you find a good deal, go for it!
Knowing this, how do you start? I recommend that you start each week with a meal plan – do not go to the store willy-nilly to buy things you "need." Make sure every item has a purpose. The items on this list become your NEEDS-BASED items. Do your best to find deals on these items, but do not stress! I like to shop at Fred Meyer or Winco for items I need but aren't on sale. I know that because these stores generally offer lower prices than their competitors, I'll be saving money. For more ideas, read this post I wrote about how to save money without using coupons.
With your need-based shopping out of the way, start to slowly add in a few stockpile deals each week. For instance, you might find a deal on soup you like. Try to get as much as you can reasonably use and store before it goes bad. I also recommend you start slow so you don't overwhelm yourself. Ease in! I also recommend you start looking to acquire household and personal care items such as toilet paper, shampoo, soap, and toothpaste as soon as you can. Why? Because you can often find these items very cheap if not free and these items can easily eat into your grocery budget otherwise. I think they'll make the biggest difference in your budget the fastest.
So how can you find these great stockpile deals? Well, are you not reading this blog?! Each Saturday night (hey – that's today!) I feature Walgreens and Rite Aid matchups. I also do Fred Meyer deals. All of these come late in the evening. On Wednesdays, I tackle Albertsons. Simply scan through my list and pick and choose a few deals out that make sense for you. I'll tell you the sale prices, which coupons to use, and what you can expect to pay. After awhile, you'll get the hang of it and you'll be able to find similar deals in nearly every ad you pick up.
I decided this morning to give this post a great visual, so I turned once again to my friend Mr. Excel:        

 

I created this chart to illustrate how your shopping might look now and how it might evolve over time. Suppose you ordinarily spend $100 a week at the store. For the first couple months, you may continue to spend this amount. However, the composition of your trips will be different. Now you'll start looking for better prices on the items you need and you'll begin to carve out a small portion of your budget to stockpile. 
As the months progress, you should notice a couple things. First, the amount of the items you need each week should slowly go down. Why? This is simple. As your stockpile grows, you'll be able to draw on those items to complete your meals. The second thing you should notice is that you'll be spending less overall. You'll also begin to notice that different items go on sale at different times of the year. This means it's going to be important to cycle through one calendar year to fully develop your stockpile. 
At 12 months, I would say I've seen the biggest savings in my budget. As of late, I've devoted more of my budget to stockpiling – particularly meat and other "more expensive" stockpiling deals. I couldn't have afforded to do this at the beginning. Three months from now, the chart may change again. But the conclusion is I've ended up with a nicely rounded stockpile and am spending less overall. Of course, your personal shopping and stockpiling needs may yield a different chart…but this illustrates how it *might* look for some.
Jennifer, I hope this serves to help answer your question. I also encourage you to read the series of coupon lessons I wrote – you can find them in Getting Started. I know I have a lot of knowledgeable and talented readers and would love their input too!   

The importance of building a stockpile...

So, all those crazy ladies on TLC's Extreme Couponing have one up on me... Last night while making Cecil's lunch, I ran out of mustard. Now, for most people, you run out of things all the time right? No big deal, but in the money saving scheme of things, this is a travesty! Do you know what this means now? I may have to pay FULL PRICE for mustard! *gasp*!

Okay, so paying full price for one bottle of mustard isn't going to send us to the poor house, but it is going to drop my percent saved down a tad. The best way to make use of our coupons, is to get a whole bunch, use them to buy items that are already on a killer good sale, so we spend as little out of pocket as possible. So while I should have found a deal on mustard and bought enough to last me to the next sale, I bought one bottle, and now it's gone. tsk tsk tsk on me, LOL. (please don't turn into some of the ladies on TLC, 6 bottles is a stockpile, 60 is crazy, LOL)

I'm new at all of this, so my stockpile is small, but building! I currently have enough bars of soap and body wash to last 6 months to a year, and enough suntan lotion to last, well, we may never run out of that, LOL. Next on the list is items like toilet paper, paper towels, and gee, lets see, mustard? LOL

Things happen in cycles, or to put it musically, "To everything, Turn, Turn, Turn, There is a season, Turn, Turn, Turn." The best bet, is to figure out this pattern, then buy enough of that item to last your family until it come back around. We're learning this together, but a little research shows us that some things have a normal yearly cycle:

November – Cough Medicine, Cold Medicine, Soup (Campbell’s), Jello, Oats (Quaker), Tissues

December – Carnation Milk, Baking ingredients, Wet Wipes

Summer – BBQ Sauce, Marinades, Condiments, Country Time Lemonade, Charcoal

July & August – Back to School Supplies

Other items cycle about every 6 weeks, so buy enough to last 6 weeks, and you'll pay the lowest price available. These are usually things like toilet paper, paper towels, cereal, etc.

So, what type of things do you stock up on? Does anyone know a good sale on mustard? LOL