Many people say that couponing isn’t worth it because they end up (a) buying things they don’t need because they have a coupon or (b) are actually spending MORE money! And it’s true- with stockpiling many times you will see your out of pocket cost go up before your spending goes down.
The reason why it goes up first is that they have no stockpile- so they are buying the items to create a stockpile PLUS buying what they “need” to feed their family (and keep them clean) for the week.
There is a way to keep that from happening but it takes discipline and effort. This is my suggestion for not seeing your budget go up too much while starting out. And if it does go up anyway- analyze why and make adjustments.
If you don’t want to take these steps- that is fine- but remember that your spending will go up and don’t become frustrated. Give it a few months (to see part of the sales cycle) and you will be astonished at what you have been able to buy for just a little bit more & then you realize “Hey, I don’t need to buy cereal this month. I have 10 in the pantry!”
If you are spending $150 a week right now here is what I would do. Please remember that we are ALL different- our families are different sizes, we have different dietary requirements and favorite foods. But this is what I would do.
Week 1: Instead of having $150 a week to spend only spend $130. Take $100 of that for your “needs”- the items you are out of that you need to keep you going for the next week. The remaining $30- use to stock up on items you use that are at a great price. Look over the grocery store & drug store matchups (look at the top of the site for “grocery” and “drug” store tabs to find these lists) and look for the items at really good prices. Don’t just buy 1 of these times buy 5 or more or however many you have coupons for.
Week 2: $130 budget: $100 needed items, $30 stock up items
Week 3: Reduce your new $130 budget by 10%. Instead of a budget of $130 only have a budget of $115. Take that same $30 and stockup. Spend $85 on “needed” items and $30 on stock up items.
Week 4: $115 budget, $85 needed items, $30 stock up items
Week 5: Reduce budget by 10%. New budget: $100. $30 stock up items, $70 needed items
Week 6: $100 budget, $70 needed items, $30 stock up items
Week 7: Reduce budget by 10%. New budget: $90. $60 needed items, $30 stock up items.
Week 8: Budget: $90. $60 needed items, $30 stock up items.
Week 9: Reduce by 10%. Budget: $80. $50 needed items, $30 stock up items
Week 10: Budget: $80. $50 needed items, $30 stock up items.
Week 11: Reduce by 10% Budget: $70. $40 needed items, $30 stock up items.
Week 12: Budget: $70. $40 needed items.$30 stock up items.
Onward: Keep reducing until you are at a plateau. $55 was my original plateau. It’s a number I am comfortable spending each week and it sustainable. A weekly budget of $10 a week honestly is not possible for most families. Your plateau will not necessarily be $55. There is no right or wrong number. If it’s less than what you were spending before- that’s a good number!
As time went on and our family grew- I raised that $55 to $75 a week. It allows us to have more “fancy” cuts of meat (like my son’s new love : t-bone steaks) and more fresh produce (especially since my kids will each eat two peaches or apples a day). Your budget is not set in stone unless you want it to be. As life changes you can adjust your budget to accommodate the changes.
Hopefully by this time, you have seen your stockpile grow and you have a nice foundation. You may even have found that your “needed” items have been reduced to $10-$15 a week. Awesome! Then you can roll that excess into the stock up items or start a fund for that vacation you want to take, pay down your credit bills, etc.
A few tips:
- Be realistic. A $10 a week budget for a family of 5 is not realistic. We need to eat & we like to eat!
- Don’t fret if you go over budget. Just adjust. If you go over budget week after week – examine your budget maybe it’s NOT realistic for your family.
- Don’t compare. My weekly budget is based on the fact that my stockpile is 10+ years old. A new couponer won’t reach this level of stockpiling for at least 1 year. Sales cycle around. It takes time.
- Don’t sacrifice…too much. My family has learned we eat what we have. If we have a lot of canned veggies- that is what we eat. If we have rotini pasta and the wanted spaghetti- sorry we have this variety. Slight sacrifices is what allow us to spend on our money on FUN things (like ice cream sprinkles and a fancy cheesecake) instead of paying $2 for a boring box of pasta.
- Splurge a little. Just like a “cheat day” on a diet. A splurge here and there on something that you ENJOY will allow you to be motivated to stay on track the rest of the time. It”s like a reward.
- Stay accountable. Keep track. You never realize how much you spend until you keep track. Check out my FREE Budget Tracker to help you stick to your budget. That is why I write my Tuesday Totals. If I have it all there in black & white I can’t hide from the fact that I spent too much! Keeping a record also allows you to see that your $150 a week budget is too high or your $30 budget is too low. Analyze your spending and see where you can make cuts (are you spending $100 a week AND buying dinner out 3x a week and buying lunch out 5x? There might be an issue!) or adjustments.
- Run your budget Wed-Tuesday to coincide with the grocery store sales. I have found that is the best way to keep track of what I am spending and allows me to budget for the week easier. If I know that there are HOT deals at Lowe’s Foods than I have my entire budget to stretch out the week. If you run Sun-Sat you will cross 2 sales cycles and it can get messy.
What tips do you have for starting out a stockpile budget?
This is a great post on starting to stockpile! I love how you broke it down by percentages because it shows that anyone can stockpile. Your advice to not compare is very good, too. I’ve been stockpiling for a couple years now, so I know what staples I always want to have on hand. Still, even those of us who have been at it awhile have room to improve! I try to periodically go through my shelves to see what I am using and not, so I know what to donate and what to buy more of (or not). Thanks for a thought-provoking article!
I feel you should included at the conclusion, once you’ve attained 80%-90%+ stockpile of your major categories for the 2-3 months on hand, to begin to set aside the unspent funds to “stockpile” for the next sales cycle. Currently, I only need to buy eggs, milk and meats after I use what is in the freezer.
I won’t consider replenishing my stockpile until the next good sales cycle. In my area, items vary from 8-10 weeks between good sales of non-perishables or my best sales pricing with coupons comes up again I aim for a 3 month cycle window to be on the safe side..
I do things differently, I don’t set a limit by month but rather how much we’ll use before it expires. So if I have 20 boxes of taco shells and they don’t expire for a year but we’d use 40 boxes in that year I’ll continue buying them at my rock bottom price. Especially for non-perishable items – I have enough laundry detergent to last 2+ years but if it’s free or under a dollar- I still buy it. It allows me to donate a lot to local food pantries, charities and family and friends!