Are You Spending Too Much Money On Your Stockpile? The #1 Thing You SHOULD Be Doing Before Stocking Up..
When trying to figure out if something is a good price, ALWAYS go by single amounts for most things.. A rookie consumer mistake is buying items based on the overall price instead of price per unit. While some products may appear to be cheaper, upon closer inspection they can be less expensive in different sizes.
For example.. Price per load of laundry, price per roll of toilet paper (double or single etc), price per ounce, Price per sheet (Fabric sheets), Price per razor (Disposable). You’ll see these on match-ups sites all the time.. This isn’t just there to make it sound like a low price, it’s there because that’s how you SHOULD be viewing MOST things when couponing.. things come in all different sizes and prices.. The ONLY way to get a correct indication of what you’re buying it to do it by individual product!
If you’re having a hard time figuring out if deals are good enough to stock up on, make sure you join our Facebook Community! We’re always happy to help out!
Example:
Every once in a while, Purex will go on sale for Buy 1 get 2 free at CVS and Walgreens for this 24 load.. They are normally priced at around $6.49.. People go NUTS for this sale, even when most of the time there ARE no coupons.. They get caught up in the words “Get Two Free” without even factoring in how much they’re paying! 24 loads x 3 bottles = 72 loads total. So you are paying $6.49 for 72 loads, which comes out to $.09 a load!! Way high!!
Turn around and you have Xtra laundry detergent 175 oz (116 Loads) at Family Dollar priced normally around $5. Even WITHOUT a coupon.. $5 divided by 116 loads comes out to $.04 a load! Normally we always have a $1/1 coupon tho, so this makes each huge bottle only $4, or just $.03 a load!! This sale is not as popular, and I completely believe it’s because people are getting hung up on the wording!!
Another thing I see people paying WAY too much for is Diapers should always be how much your paying for EACH diaper. The chart above shows the stock up prices for different sizes!
Example:
Walmart Pampers Cruisers jumbo packs size 3 (28 Diapers) sells for $8.97. We normally have a $1.50/1 coupon out, making each pack only $7.47, or $.27 per diaper. If you compare with the chart above, that is WAY too high for this size of diaper (and almost too high for ANY size diaper). This is NOT a stock up price!
Target this week has their HUGE boxes of pampers as a part of the gift card deal for buy 2, get back $15 gift card. Each pack of Pampers size 3 Cruisers comes with 128 Diapers. After coupons and gift cards your deal would look like this:
Buy 2 Pampers Giant Pack Diapers $34.99 128 ct
Use two $3/1 Pampers Boxes 7/5 P&G
Pay $63.98 – Get Back: $15.00 Target Gift Card
Final Price: $24.49 each.. That makes it just $.19 per diaper! (If you compare to the chart above, this is within the stock up price, but it’s border line NOT a good price!)
Then sometimes you’ll have additional discounts that make for an even better deal! this week there are two HUGE Target coupons in the weekly flyer (7/5 – 7/11). You would get something like this:
Buy 4 Pampers Diapers Giant Box $34.99 each 128 ct
Use four two $3/1 Pampers Boxes 7/5 P&G
Use $20 Gift Card with $125 Baby Purchase (Target Coupon)
Pay: $127.96 | Get Back 2 $15 Gift Cards AND 1 $20 Gift Card
Final Price: $77.96 for four or just $19.49 per box which is only $.15 (If you notice the list above, this is LOWER than our stock up price)
Or for the best deal mix and match
Buy 4 Huggies Diapers Giant Box $34.99 each
Buy 2 Pampers Giant Boxe $34.99 each
Use four $3/1 Huggies Diapers 6/14 SS
Use two $3/1 Pampers Boxes 7/5 P&G
Use $1.50/1 Target Mobile Coupon (Text BABY4 to 827438)
Use $40 Gift Card with $200 Baby Purchase (Target Coupon)
Pay: $190.44 | Get Back (3) $15 Gift Cards AND (1) $40 Gift Card
Final Price: $105.44 for six or just $17.57 each!! This makes each diaper only $.14!! (If you look at the chart again, this is WAY lower than our stock up price for this size!)
I know a lot of you say, “But I don’t have $190 to spend on diapers at any one time!” and to this I say.. start setting aside little by little now, waiting for a good stock up price! Invest in your savings! If you bought yours from Walmart, You would need to buy 28 packs just to get the same amount of diapers (768 Diapers) you get in that last scenario. The Walmart price is $.27 per diaper, and in the last scenario you are getting each diaper for $.14.. This makes a difference of $.13 per diaper. so just by doing that last scenario VS getting them little by little at Walmart, you are saving $99.84! ($.13 Price Difference x 768 Diapers) That’s HUGE Savings! Now think of that savings in a larger scale
Estimate of how many Diapers a baby will use in the first year of life:
8 to 10 diapers a day × 365 days a year = 3650 to 4380 diapers
$.13 Price Difference x 4380 Diapers = That’s a savings of $569 a year!! That’s HUGE!!
So when you see something priced “By unit Cost” they are not trying to trick you!! This is how you SHOULD be looking at it! By making sure you ONLY stock up at the “Stock Up Price Per Unit” you are saving THOUSANDS a year on all your items! This is the reason we coupon! We don’t coupon to have a HUGE Stockpile to show off, we coupon to have a HUGE stockpile that was purchased at ROCK BOTTOM prices!! Don’t be in such a hurry to build your stockpile.. wait until you can get the best price!
You may want to bring a calculator to the store with you or use the calculator function on your cell phone. In addition, for commonly bought items, it is always a good idea to keep a little log of the price per ounce of the items at different stores. That way you know if you are getting the best deal.
Everyone’s Stock up price is going to be a little different. Some areas are generally more expensive than others, some areas double coupons and some don’t. Your own personal stock up price will come to you naturally after a while. If you need help figuring out a good place to start, you check out my Stock Up Price List! The 3 month stock up prices are really good deals that you can feel comfortable getting enough to last you 3 months. The 6 month price is my ROCK BOTTOM price.. This is when you want to REALLY stock up and get enough to last you at least 6 months or longer!!
Crystal over at Money Saving Mom has a great free download for a customizable Stock Up Price list, for those that like to have a template to work from!
