Stockpiling Groceries Tips

Coupon clipper helping shoppers save thousands

Coupons have been around for years, but most people don't think it's worth the time, or are too embarrassed to use them. But coupons can cut your grocery bill in half. Or you can get items like toothpaste and shampoo absolutely free.

Many people are scoring some great deals and discounts just by clipping coupons. Reagan Collum of Ocean Springs has developed a system that saves her family thousands of dollars a year. And more people are clamoring to learn her money-saving secrets .

"This is my stockpile," Collum said as she showed us her utility room.

One shelf is dedicated to all sorts of household items.

"This is all of my cleaning products and shampoo and deodorant and shaving cream," she pointed out.

And in her pantry, there's enough food to last her family of four through hurricane season.

"I try to stockpile for about three to six months. That to me is the best way to do it. Then you're not overrun with products and things that are going to expire," said Collum.

Believe it or not, many of those products were absolutely free, or cost her just pennies.

"Only twice it has happened that the stores actually owed me money," said Collum. "I usually get pretty close. One trip that I did here at a Target just a few weeks ago, I paid like $2.00 and something for about $30.00 worth of groceries and health and beauty stuff."

And all that's required is a pair of scissors, a few hours a week, and a lot of organization.

"I have everything kind of alphabetized in some little category to help make it easier to find," said Collum as she pulled out her coupon binders.

The Ocean Springs mom started taking couponing seriously two years ago.

"After my youngest daughter was born, I had to quit work and started coupons to save money," said Collum.

Her budget started off at $150 every two weeks. That included groceries, diapers, dog food and other necessities. Now, she has managed to cut her budget in half.

"I love it!" she said. "It's becoming a game now. It really has, just to see how much I really can save and how small I can get that budget."

Collum starts the process by creating a menu for the entire week.

"I buy two to four newspapers each week and take out the coupons," said Collum. "I have a list of what I need. I look at the sale ads, the coupons I have that match-up with those sale ads, and those are products that I buy. If I don't have my list down of exactly what I want, how many I want, and what I'm doing, it would be a catastrophe.

Tips For Using Coupons To Build Your Food Stockpile

If you’re like most people, you’ve either heard or watched that cable show about extreme couponing. I for one groaned when I first saw it. I knew what was coming. The same thing that happened after those cable shows about buying storage units. People got caught up in the shows and forgot that they were on TV for entertainment purposes and not a “How to” show. Hopefully, you’ll be able to use these tips for using coupons to build your food stockpile .

I”m going to start off by saying that neither my Wife nor I are experts at couponing and I don’t consider ourselves even old Salts at it even though we’ve been doing it since we were married. We’ve used coupons to save money on our normal grocery shopping trips so it was only natural when we decided to start putting food back , we’d use coupons for the food and supplies we were putting back for a rainy day.

But as I see it, there was a silver lining to the extreme couponing show even if it meant that now many stores are cutting back on how many coupons they allow and ending their double and triple coupon programs. The one good thing I’ve seen is how many otherwise sane people look at those of us who stockpile for a rainy day. We’re considered “hoarders” or “kooks” because we believe in being prepared. I’ve been skimming some of my Wife’s coupon forums and I can’t believe how many people are complaining about those who are stockpiling all that product. Instead of “Hey, they’re smart, they’re stocking up”, you’re hearing “Why do they need 15 bottles of detergent” or “No one needs 50 boxes of toothpaste”. It’s these types of people who will be moaning the most if a day ever comes when they have none of that!

Anyway, on to the tips. I’ve ranted long enough. My Wife and I just got back from a somewhat normal shopping trip. We visited a Homeland that doubles coupons everyday. It’s about 15 miles away and we pass by several of our favorite stores because this one will double coupons and has some pretty good sales. Sadly, it’s a little store in a little town and it doesn’t have near the selection that some of the larger stores near us have. But we can’t hit homeruns all the time!

Anyway, our total before anything was $204. After our loyalty card, it was $165. After our coupons had been rung up, we owed $90.36. About 2/3rds of that product went to our food stockpile . Some of the things we bought were laundry detergent, condiments (many of which were free when the coupon was doubled), canned food and cleaning supplies. The price would have been lower, but I was weak and bought some stuff that we did not have a coupon for such as some Tony Chachere’s Fish Batter (never tried it and it was on sale for 4 boxes for $5, call me weak!) We do this once a month or so as well as pick up canned goods during our regular trips to the grocery store.

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