Let the stockpiling begin

I know I said that I would start stockpiling after the lockdown ends, but any couponer/stockpiler will tell you that it's best to grab a good deal when you see one.

On Sunday I went to Walmart, because we were low on dairy and produce. I haven't shopped in 2 weeks, so it was time to replenish some things again. The store was well stocked, so I decided to grab 2 cans of baked beans and 2 artichokes, instead of just 1. We love both items and I like to have it on hand. Bush's is our favorite and it's rare to find deals on it anymore. Many of my friends thought I was crazy when I found Bush's baked beans on sale for 99c at Meijer 2-3 years ago. Crazy, because I bought 30 cans (not all in one trip). I know that Checkout51 had a rebate on it and so did Savingstar (1% cash back). Boy do I miss sales like that. Those beans lasted us a little over a year.

Then on the way home, I decided to swing by Ollie's to see if they have any Fiber One Protein bars in stock. No Fiber One, but I did find the Heinz gravy for 99c. This is my preferred brand and flavor and this price is rare too. They had lots of it, but I only grabbed 4 jars. I don't like to clear shelves (even more so during this pandemic. I only get enough for our needs, because everyone's in the same boat right now). I'm hoping they'll still have lots by the end of the month, because I'd like to stock up once the stay at home order is lifted.

The crazy thing is that I found a book of one of my favorite authors (I currently don't have anything new to read). I mainly buy books at Ollie's, because a hardcover only costs $3.99. Well, no thanks to MI state law, we cannot buy any non-essentials, including books, seeds, etc. I was P.i.s.....d. I understand not wanting people to run out for non-essential items, but how does it makes sense when you're already at the store for groceries? Besides, people can run to the store for liquor and cigarettes (how are those essentials?). grrrr!

So here's my stockpiling breakdown.

4 x Heinz gravy $3.98 (regular price $1.69 or 1.79 each)
2 x Bush's beans 3.98
2 x Artichokes 3.84 (this is 67c less per can, than the Reese's brand at Meijer)
OOP $11.80

So you see, you don't have to buy a ton of items or spend large amounts of cash in one trip, to stockpile. Just try to do little bits at a time.  Make a list of things you use regularly and try to buy one or 2 extra every week. This is part of my plan. Of course the items will vary from week to week, but I'll be adding to our stockpile whenever I find good deals.

I also ordered 2 x 45 oz cans of Dunkin Donuts decaf at Sams. This is only available online and there was a 3c difference (I kid you not) in shipping price, so I decided to just get 2 instead. I had to pay $8 for a 12 oz bag at the grocery store recently. Yikes! This is the regular price. I have lots of regular DD coffee bags, that I picked up for free or near free at RA last year. Thanks for those $4 DD mailer qs RA! However, I prefer decaf and the drugstores only sell the regular. I like to mix the 2 (more decaf than regular). This is enough coffee to last me a little more than a year. DS doesn't drink coffee & DH drinks an Aldi brand.

I ended up paying $40.58 for 2 coffee canisters. The cost is 45c/oz compared to 67c/oz at Meijer.  I redeemed $10 Walmart gcs, but for some reason I couldn't check out when applying the gcs. I been struggling since yesterday. So I decided to remove the gcs and voila, checkout completed. This was very strange, but I can still use the gcs in store. I wanted to place the order before our membership ends. We usually do a big shop before our membership ends, then wait a month or 2 before renewing again. I don't know how we're gonna work that this year, because I like to buy my meat at Sams. Thankfully, we have enough meat to get us through another 2-3 weeks.

The best part is that I spent a little less than our regular weekly grocery budget ($120 this includes HBA & cleaning) on all groceries this week (including the coffee). I bought lots of other essentials too .....BUT....I won't be shopping for at least another 2 weeks. While I miss couponing and stocking up, I do enjoy the fact that we're spending far less on our groceries.