Building the stockpile

So, one of the side benefits (and one reason my husband is so on board) with couponing is building a stockpile. My husband and I are getting into emergency preparedness and couponing is a lot more affordable than buying thousands of dollars worth of MREs (Meals-Ready-to-Eat created for the military.)

One of the key parts of couponing is buying enough of an item at the rock bottom price to keep it in supply until the next time it gets to that price again. Forget the silly antics you see on TV - buying 80 mustards you'll never eat or a teen boy buying hundreds of feminine hygiene products makes no sense. But buying a few months worth of canned corn, that you know will get eaten and lasts a long time, during the once-a-year holiday sales for 10¢ a can (instead of $1.24 regular price or even 59¢ generic), is just plain practical.

I've been waiting for a chance to get some of those things that I rarely see on sale - canned veggies, beans, baking supplies and tomato sauce - that are also great emergency supplies. This was my first holiday season couponing, so I went a little crazy, but I saved so much!

Here were some of the great deals I got:
Green Giant beans and corn  (reg. $1.24 paid 10¢)
S&W beans (reg. $1.09 paid 39¢)
C&H Sugar (reg. $2.99 paid $1.59)
C&H Powdered Sugar (reg. $2.39 paid $1.25)
Crisco Vegetable Oil (reg. $3.62 paid $1.61)
Carnation Evaporated Milk (reg. $1.25 paid 50¢)
Ore-Ida frozen potatoes (reg. $3.19 paid $1.60)
Pillsbury Flour (reg. $3.15 paid $1.68)
Crisco shortening (reg. $4.79 paid $1.39)
Campbell's "Great for Cooking" soups (reg. $1.28 paid 60¢)
Campbell's Chunky soup (reg. $2.15 paid 83¢)
Large eggs (reg. $1.14 paid 71¢)
Red Gold tomatoes and tomato sauce (reg. $1.86 paid 50¢)
Ocean Spray cranberry sauce (reg. $1.75 paid 33¢)
Nature Valley Granola bars (reg. $3.12 paid $1.25)
International Delight Creamer (reg. $1.99 paid 50¢)

If I only bought one of everything, that would have cost $37, but I spent only $14.83, for an overall 60% savings! Of course, I didn't buy only one - that would be long gone. I bought between 5 and 20 of each!

Here is how my stockpile is looking today. Still need to get a few more things, but I'm feeling pretty good about it!

The basement fridge is looking a little bare - what is left of the 10 cartons of eggs, 10 pancake mixes and 10 creamers, but you can see the frozen veggies and potatoes. 

This is my health and beauty stockpile - won't need shampoo, pain medication, toothpaste or deodorant any time soon!

Here is my stockpile after the holiday sales - we're going to need more shelves!