If there’s a 90% chance I’ll use it within a year and it’s at least 10% cheaper, I pull the trigger. You’ll miss sometimes for sure! But sometimes you hit big
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If there’s a 90% chance I’ll use it within a year and it’s at least 10% cheaper, I pull the trigger. You’ll miss sometimes for sure! But sometimes you hit big
I'd only stock up in a sale if I know that this is saving me money in the long run. I'd also only stock up on things that can last years no issue, e.g. toilet paper or like salt where just having multiple boxes isn't really a concern
If I'm not already using it I'm probably not going to buy it.
For groceries I've greatly condensed the pantry. I have rows of spaghetti sauce, tomato sauce, pizza sauce. Stuff I use constantly. I don't tend to stock up on other stuff
Really only non-perishables: coffee, TP, some canned goods.
I stock up on products I am familiar with... generally through previous purchases, so there is no guessing about whether I'll like it. The amount I buy varies depending on how large a discount beyond next best option, how long is a typical interval between comparable discount, how much product quality declines over storage time, and how much storage/freezer space is required.
I'm old and have consumption habits so maybe I'm not the right one to answer. I know what I use. If something I use is on sale I'll buy multiple.
It depends on your storage. There are some things a with dependable annual sale where I buy a year’s supply. Then there is the stuff that is bought in bulk because it stores well and cheaper that way. Then there is the point where you trip over crap and wonder why in the hell you have this junk.
Storage is key. I will buy my bar soap whenever it's on sale. But I won't stock up on TP or paper towels. My husband bought us a 24 pack of paper towels once and I was pissed. It's been four months and we still have 12 of the pack taking up part of dining room looking very tasteful
Yep. I have a 1 br apartment, so I can’t stock up on, say, 100 rolls of TP or otherwise they will sit out in the open which will look cluttered and awful.
Non perishables like soap, toothpaste, deodorant, I'll buy a few year supply if I can store it and it's a very good deal.
Especially if it’s a brand that has a particular item I tolerate well and/or rarely goes on sale, e.g. sensitive products, certain scents, etc. If the dates are good, then stockpile for a decent while since I know it’ll be used up.
Stockpiling is almost never worth it. I understand the math, but hear me out. 1) If something is on deep discount there's often a good reason. There may be quality problems in a batch, or the product may be being discontinued, or someone else may be preparing to release a cheaper competing product. 2) Most of the stuff that is discounted, it's stuff you don't need in the first place. Toilet paper? Sure. Soda? Hardly. 3) There are very few products to which I am brand loyal. For everything else the cheapest not-terrible version is fine. Toothpaste is a good example. If I just absolutely need Tom's, I'll buy it on sale. But if Colgate, Crest, etc. are fine I'm not going to safe money in the long term by stocking up. 4) Storing things isn't free. You need to weigh the amount of money you save against the amount of space you use by storing it, especially if that space is e.g. freezer space. 5) Unless you spreadsheet it is likely you will not know how much of something you actually use over a period of time. You might think you know, but you'll be pretty wrong.
Stockpile when you know you will use all the product with no waste, and when the price is a bargain. I bought 10 lbs of dried chickpeas at $1/lb. I know I will use them up eventually. They are usually closer to $3/lb. If I didn’t use them, I would not have bought 10 lbs to see if I liked them. I would have passed them by
I have been creating quite a stockpile of dried beans for the past few months. I have the best luck finding them on sale at a local discount grocer (Food Basics) and an international grocery, which has a few kinds on sale every week. As a great side effect, I have been incorporating beans into our meals pretty much daily, using my Instant Pot. Homemade hummus, refried beans, lentil salads and soups, etc. Every time I read about beans, it’s always shown to be incredibly good for health. Fiber, resistant starch, and helps you excrete toxins in bile rather than reabsorbing them via enterohepatic recycling.
I bought mustard at an amazing price at a wholesale club. After 4 years and a household move, I gave the rest of it away. I made sure they knew it was past the “best by” date. I realized that my house just doesn’t use very much mustard. Lesson learned!
In my youth, I lived paycheck to paycheck which meant I could only afford to pay for my immediate needs - if I was careful. If I had a second bar of soap in the bathroom cabinet before the first one was down to a sliver, that was living large. Now that I can afford to purchase ahead of my needs, I get great emotional satisfaction from having close to a year's worth of non-perishables. Plus, it's one fewer thing to have to remember on shopping trips. "What am I running out of this time?" doesn't figure in my thinking anymore. It's not always about the money. Peace of mind is worth something too.
You stock pile of you're a hoarder and pass on a sale if you're frugal. But you can't be both. Make your decision.
I bought my favorite brand of toilett paper when it was on sale. it's never on sale.... aldi... 2 euros cheaper. I have now more toilett paper than during all rhe lockdowns combined
Organizing your pantry and storage is key. You can sit and write down the top 10 dinners/lunches that your family rotates through on a weekly basis and break down the ingredient list. THIS is what you stockpile when it goes on sale. Non perishables are at the top of the list: (For example) Canned vegetables beans -green, pinto, black, baked, and refried. olives Pasta Tomato sauces, rotel, paste Soups, broths, and ramens Tuna fish Mayo, mustard, ketchup, favorite salad dressing Cereal Coffee Paper towels TP Ziplocks Foil Plastic wrap You do freezer clean out the month before a national holiday to make room for possible meat sales. St Patrick’s Day: corned beef Easter: Hams and turkeys Summer : hot dogs and hamburgers Thanksgiving: Ham and turkeys Christmas: Prime rib, ham, turkey Also: Fall: baking supplies like flour, sugars, pie crusts, canned pumpkin , and molasses, decorator sugar. Canned veggies , broth, cream of mushroom and chicken soup, stuffing mix and frozen pies are good to stock up during Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. These are the only times I really buy these goods during the year, because they are such a good price. Go through your pantry and clean out anything that has been sitting there unused for a while and donate it to a food pantry. You need that space for things you DO use. Try to have a no buy month where you cook everything in your freezer first. Things should be rotated out every 6 months, not using dead space for years in there. That’s money saved, baby! You should get to the point where you only need to buy fresh veggies and fruits, milk and bread every week, because you are supplementing what you already have stored at your house. If more than one key ingredient is on sale, then all plans change to that meal for dinner. For example, if chicken and green onions are on sale, it’s chicken cashew night tonight! If hamburger and corn tortillas are on sale, it’s taco night! Have fun with it, and feel good that you don’t have to go to the store every day to buy dinner ingredients that aren’t on sale because you haven’t planned your pantry ahead of time!
Our decision comes down to five questions.
Let's say hypothetically there's a deep freezer and there's enough space to purchase either a bulk savings deal on hamburger buns or a chub of hamburger meat. In terms of volume both purchases would be about the same.
The hamburger buns are $2 off and the hamburger meat saves $1.50/lb versus the regular price. Which would you get?
A chub weighs 10 lbs. So the choice is between a $15 savings or a $2 savings. In those terms it makes sense to buy the chub, store that, and then buy buns at full price.
This illustrates how different savings options compete with each other. If you don't have unlimited space--and most of us don't--then part of frugal kitchen management means identifying which types of stockpile are the most cost efficient uses of the available space.
It's rare to find a deal extreme enough to be worth it imo. It's one of those penny wise pound foolish things. Cause there's more than just the financial cost. You have to fret over it in the moment, store it properly, hope you don't end up getting sick of that product a year later, etc.
Definitely! But don’t go overboard bc there is a sale cycle and the sale will come around again, unless it’s just a very unusual/clearance-type sale. Don’t stock up unless you know for sure you actually use the product. In my opinion, it would be crazy to buy things at full price when I know they go on sale regularly.
The time value of money and weighted average cost of capital are ideas from business spending that works here. basically a dollar today is worth not than a dollar tomorrow, because a dollar today can make money just be being saved in an interest being account. Are the savings now actually worth more than the the 5% you can get in a high yield savings account. Then you also have the expense of the space your keeping it in and the risk that something happens to the stockpile while you have it (like bugs in your beans). What else could you spend the money on that you are trying up in your stockpile? On the flip side you have some piece of mind that you have it even if you can't find it again or you are priced out of something you like. Also, you don't have to pay to go out to get it.
There are thing that if you watch regularly they’re on sale at least once a month or more, no need to stockpile more than enough to get you through to the next time. If it’s harder to catch the sale, then stockpile a bit more. I never want more than 3 months worth. Things usually last longer than expected.
Some things reddit can't answer. You have to learn the hard lesson for yourself
One thing I haven’t seen mentioned yet: you need to have spent some time monitoring the price of an item to know if it’s actually a good deal. Just because it’s on sale doesn’t mean it’s a good value. You may be able to find it for less elsewhere or by waiting for a different sale. By monitoring the price of an item you can also get a better sense of when it goes on sale. If I have the space to store it then I will generally stock up on enough to last until the next time I expect the item to go on sale. Stocking up means spending more time storing and keeping track of what you have but less time shopping. It would save even more time to just order what you need and have it delivered when you need it but that means spending quite a bit more money.
I bought 6 boxes of Kerry gold butter when it was on sale. No regrets.
If it will not go out of date it is stockpileable. However if the amount you have is more than you will use in your lifetime or it takes up to much storage space you can quit stockpiling. Remember if you have a lifetime supply of toilet paper and you move you asked have to move it with you reducing your stockpiles savings. My mom has so much stockpiled toilet paper and laundry detergent we will inherit it when she passes, but it will be used not tossed. Does it expire? Shoes expire. Vehicle tires expire. Canned goods expire. Tomatoes expire. Things that expire should only be purchased in limited quantities no matter how low cost they are at the moment. I found a great deal [brand name cheese dip in the big jar for 75¢] but only bought 4 because that was the estimate of how many could be eaten before the expiration date. Of course if money is tight stockpiling may foolishly tie up your money that could be better used in other ways [emergency fund, continuing education, etcetera]
Stockpiling only if I've got place to put everything and if I'll use it within 18 months. Wouldnt want to stockpile things that i barely go thru. And also don't buy things that I was not going to buy anyway. People like to grab things just because they are on sale.
Kroger runs a 5x digital coupon sale every week and I’ve learned it goes in cycles. When the Tide laundry detergent goes on sale, I buy 5. I usually have 2-3 left when it comes around again, so I buy two. Rinse and repeat.
I sort of stockpile toilet paper and paper towels, but that's becuase I get them at Costco where there's no choice in smaller quantities. FWIW, I had to move and a lost of it got wasted, but at least I was able to give them away to friends. I hear Listerine isn't good to use if it's expired? I've gotten used to getting single bottles anyways.
Yes, I’ve done this with a t-shirt I liked. Got multiples…wait. I wear them. I’m sure I’ve done it though.
I learned how to can — water bath and pressure cook— so I get things on sale and make them shelf stable. I’ve saved a good deal of money this way and I’m always prepared for emergencies.
If I have space, my history indicates I will use it within 12-18 months and it’s a really really good deal then I’ll stock up.
Bought a Costco sized tomato paste 6 years ago. Still have two cans to go. We do cook a lot but widely overestimated how much we would go through