After the TLC extreme couponing showed aired and after those ridiculous stockpiles were displayed for all of the world to see, everyone associates couponing with massive amounts of food. Sure you are going to have to have some sort of stockpile, but you don’t have to be crazy extreme. I promise. If you are new to couponing, make sure you read our Couponing 101 page. It will help you save even more money.

If you really want to save money you are going to have to stockpile food.

Why? Let’s say cereal is on sale and after your coupons you can get it for only $1 per box. After you do a happy dance for cheap cereal (you do that, right? 😉 ), you buy 3 boxes. Let’s say you go through one box per week. That means in 3 weeks you will be out of cereal. In 3 weeks from now are you going to want to pay over $4 per box? Probably not! A stockpile allows you to buy items at their lowest price, so you don’t have to pay full price later.

Stockpiling is the number one way to save money with coupons.

Sure, you will save a few dollars here and there by using coupons, but you are not going to see the long term savings if you don’t stockpile. Instead of heading to the store when you are out of something you will then head to your stockpile. When you run out of cereal, instead of buying it at $4 per box, you will go to your stockpile where you bought it for less. Am I making sense?

How much should I stockpile?

There is a rule… well at least it is my rule. You should stockpile enough food to last you 8 to 10 weeks. Yes, 8 to 10 weeks is the magic number. That means if you can get spaghetti sauce for cheap this week, you will want to strive for your stockpile to have enough in your pantry to last you 8 to 10 weeks. Now if you eat spaghetti every other week, you will only need 3 to 4 in your pantry. That doesn’t sound extreme now does it?

Remember, each family is different. A smaller family will need a smaller stockpile than a bigger family.

There are exceptions to the rule:

Published on January 15, 2016

, Updated on December 9, 2021

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by Carrie Barnard

Seasonal items – These are items that only go on sale during a season.

In the winter, it is let’s eat soup and eat lots of comfort food time – which means we will see awesome sales on canned soups (including the “cream of” soups), canned tomatoes, and even frozen vegetables.
In the summer, it is get fit and grilling time – which means we will find great deals on BBQ sauce, marinades, and salad dressings.

Occasionally, we will get some of those deals out of seasons, but in general we will see the best prices during their season. That means it is ok to go a bit crazy and stockpile like a madman on those items! 😉

Would you like to see a stockpile?

You can see a video of my stockpile here. Now – note, this stockpile is over a few years old. As soon as we move and get organized I will definitely post another video of my stockpile. Regardless of the date and my bad video, the information is still the same and should help you with your stockpile.