YOUR FRIENDS' ACTIVITY

    Grocery Stockpiling 101: 10 Tips to Help You Get Started

    By | Shine Food – Wed, Apr 18, 2012 10:53 AM EDT

    Grocery Stockpiling 101: 10 Tips to Help You Get StartedGrocery Stockpiling 101: 10 Tips to Help You Get StartedLearn how to save money on groceries and keep your pantry fully stocked with tips from Kelly Hancock, author of Saving Savvy: Smart and Easy Ways to Cut Your Spending in Half and Raise Your Standard of Living...and Giving! and money-saving website Faithful Provisions.

    By Kelly Hancock

    1. What is Stockpiling?
    Maybe you've seen those couponers on TV with their carts piled high with more mustard or toothpaste than any family could go through over the next 20 years. That is not what I'm talking about when I use the term "stockpiling." Stockpiling means learning how to take advantage of store sales to only purchase the items you use and enjoy when they are at their lowest price. (If you're unsure what those rock-bottom prices are, use the Provisions Price List on my website, available as a free download and as a free iPhone App. Or you can create your own personal price list with this free download.)

    2. Never Run Out
    Stockpiling means you won't run out of those everyday items your family needs. You'll purchase items like deodorant and shampoo at a fraction of the retail price, stashing them away so that they are available when you need them. You won't have to make a middle-of-the-night run for milk or bread.

    3. Know What to Buy When
    You can be most effective in stockpiling when you learn the seasonal sales cycles. Discounted prices go hand in hand with what retailers consider to be people's greatest needs during different times of the year. When you know what to buy when, you have a definite advantage in your purchasing power.

    Click here for 7 more tips on how to start grocery stockpiling

    More from iVillage.com:
    12 Foods You Didn't Know You Could Make From Scratch

    20 Ways to Eat Rotisserie Chicken

    15 Cheap Pasta Recipes

    SUPPER CLUB PICK

    • Childhood Favorites from the Shine Supper Club
      View Photos
      Childhood Favorites from the Shine Supper Club
      Childhood Favorites from the Shine Supper Club

      My after-school snack was a sacred ritual. I sat on the carpet in my parents' bedroom at a low table, the television turned to "I Dream of Jeannie," and ate a peanut butter and honey sandwich cut into neat squares. I wasn't fussy about crusts. I just loved the sticky pairing of creamy peanut butter with syrupy golden sweetness drizzled from a honey bear in diagonals across the soft white bread. Nothing else--save for maybe apples and peanut butter in a pinch--could have made for as sweet an