[hopegirl19]

I think I am pretty much ok on my stockpiling of HBA products except toilet paper and paper towels, can always use them.
My question is for all the stockpiling pro's, how often do you shop to get your freezers like that?
Also, since my freezer is very small, I need to regular grocery shop and then how much extra do you do at a time? I guess it depends on the sale. Also do you stick to one store or shop all over? Thank You
Monica

[Sandeegirl]

There is a stockpile forum you might get a few ideas from, it also depends on the stores you shop. Look for bogo's you can match with Q's for freezer items. I work my grocery deals just like h&b it's just not quiite as cheap. Find your grocery store in the forums and see what is being matched up. The sales roll, if you miss one you will usually see it back in about a month. Watch for freezer events, a lot of these have been going on, it's usually a good time to stock up. The stores you shop usually make the big difference on the deals that may be available. Good luck...

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[Z and G's Mom]

Stockpiling food is more difficult than stockpiling HBA products. Do not get discouraged if you save 90% of HBA but only save 40-50% on groceries. If your freezer is small, then you won't be able to stockpile as much but you can still plan your meals around the sales and save that way. Also, the deals are not as good as they once used to be.

[hopegirl19]

Thanks Z & G's mom. It's a pretty good size freezer. It's a upright one that we bought through a food service. But I understand that its a process, and HBA stuff is easier to get, but slow and steady it will be.

[ArmadillaJen]

I tend to be the opposite ...I'm good with a lot of food staples, but not so great at HBA stuff because I'm brand specific.

I price match at Wal-Mart (I have a very understanding Wal-Mart). I check ads to match at all of my local grocery stores (7-8 every week), and then make a couple of trips per week to PM and pair with coupons. I have 2 deep freezes (one large and one small) in addition to the drawer freeze with my fridge. I also have a little extra freezer space in a second fridge/freezer that we keep in the garage. We butcher our own meat, so I have to have enough room for a year's supply of meat plus whatever I'm stockpiling.

There are times when it makes more sense for me to go to the store (for example, to get money off fuel, or if the store double coupons occassionally). Also, if the store offers store coupons, it's best to combine store and manufacturer coupons for even better savings.

There are a couple of great stock-up lists out there if you google, and that helps you get an idea of what you can get cheap fairly regularly. Over time, you'll also learn what comes up for free eventually on sale cycles or for deeply discounted prices. I keep a spreadsheet that has two columns - 1 for a max price (what I won't go over unless it's an absolute emergency purchase), and 1 for a best price that is the lowest I've ever gotten the item for, so I know when to stock up. This helps keep me realistic about when to stock up for my particular area (even if it is a little higher of a price than those stock up lists show).

Hope that helps!

[siriradha]

For me, all the great freezer stock-ups are a result of a perfect alignment of sale, coupons, and planets! When something wonderful happens that way, I take as much advantage of the fact as I can possibly cram into our freezer.

A good example was the promotion Safeway did a week or so ago. Buy $10 of frozen food and get a catalina for $5 OYNO of new frozen products. Combined that with coupons suggested on the Safeway forum and just kept rolling the deal till we are well stocked on icecream and frozen veggies...along with a few frozen meals.

For me, it's all about available freezer space at the moment! I keep empty spaces filled with plastic bottles filled with water. When I need more space, I pull out the bottles.

[medic2midwife]

I find that for me personally, if I look at too many stores I'm supremely overwhelmed. Also, I do not want to feel like I am a slave to my couponing and I do not want it to control my life, so I pick a few that I normally would shop at anyway and stick to those. Usually I find a groove in my stores and I know what is cheaper at one place and what rotates on sale more at another. I'm very secure in my ability to stockpile H&B but food is a little bit more difficult, we don't eat a lot of the stuff that most people are able to stock pile easily. My primary goal is to stockpile pantry staples, like pasta, sauce, beans- things like that, anything else from there is a happy bonus. We don't really get doubling out here (unless you are brave enough to go into albertsons during doublers which I did once for whonu cookies and vowed afterward that I would never do it again.. end result of .50 a box cookies was not worth the stress and years it took off my life) so we have to wait for the high value q's to get free/nearly free items. I concentrate my focus on what we use the most of and begin building from there. Sometimes the coupon gods smile in your favor, sometimes they don't, its all the luck of the draw for that weeks sale cycles and q values.

As for freezing, its really easy to get deals on frozen foods and build a stock pile that way, you can freeze just about anything. We're big fans of freezing yogurt and cheese... however I'm a little afraid of doing something too big because every winter since I've lived here, we have had power outages and I think about all the food I'd loose. *cringe* Though my homeowners insurance will give me the money back it wont give me the sales and coupons back.

[Dagar]

I have a great story on my first triple coupon trip from years ago and a freezer, basically when I was done putting away all the groceries I called my husband at work and told him I was going to Lowe's to buy a freezer. I have had it ever since. Purchase one from somewhere they last for years. Mine was worth every penny.