Realistic Stockpile!

This year I'm working on being Realistic in my Stockpiling.

I want to share with you all my Stockpile! I've NEVER totally opened up my entire stockpile for all to see. So this is a huge step for me. We Moved from Nevada to Texas this past August and with that move I had to get rid of a lot of my stockpile before I left town. So I'm working on building a "Realistic" stockpile! Here are the starting pictures.

Note: We live in an old home on base so my storage is literally EVERYWHERE! I stash it where I can find a place for it. I wasn't able to get the other pantry with the Cereal and snacks (I need to organize it first) or the Medicine Cabinet so I'll try to post those later.

What is a Realistic Stockpile? Well for me it's what I would need for 3-6 months on most items. Some items I am a little more picky about than others....for example...Toilet paper! Notice the rolls and rolls and rolls of toilet paper. I realized a few years ago that it was very traumatizing for me when we would get down to the last package of toilet paper. It would seriously stress me out and then it would kill me to have to pay full price for Toilet Paper....because you know it's NEVER on sale when you run out of it! So my Toilet Paper stockpile is usually more excess than most people would need.

Watch out for Toiletries when building your realistic stockpile. They can take over and become addicting! There are always great deals at Walgreens and CVS for Shampoo, Conditioner, body soap, deodorants, and shaving supplies so know what you need for a realistic stockpile and STOP when you've reached your limit! Trust me it will save you even More money!

One last disclaimer: The Mac & Cheese stockpile is TOTALLY my Husband! He LOVES Spartan Spiral Mac & Cheese and guess what....they don't sell it here. So every time we go back to Michigan or When my Mom sends a package we always stock up! You should have seen the shelf right after we got home in September it was crazy full! I figure if anything happens and we are really broke we will always have Mac & Cheese!

Anyway I hope you like the pictures and realize your stockpile DOES NOT have to look like the ones you see on TV! Make your stockpile work for you and your family in whatever way it can! This is just what works for us!

Thanks Friends!

~ Melinda ~

Commissary Shopping

Today was an Odd's and End's shopping trip for me so I went to the Commissary to see what I could get for under $30. Here is what I was able to get. (keep in mind I had a dollar budget so even though these are all great deals and I had enough coupons to get more of most of these items I had to only buy realistically.)

Total cost: $38.79
Coupons: ($14.60) 37% savings
Surcharge: $1.94
Paid: $26.13

Here are a few of the specific prices: (Sorry I didn't keep track of what inserts the coupons came out of.

Snack packs ~ $.79 used $.60/3 coupon = $.59 each
Honey Mustard ~ $1.59 used $1/1 coupon = $.59
Yakisoba pasta ~ $.67 used $.50/1 coupon = $.17 each
Chef Boyardee ~ $.85 used $.35/3 coupon = $.73 each
Healthy Choice Soup ~ $1 used $.50/1 coupon = $.50 each
Rice ~ $1.26 used $1/1 coupon = $.26
Oatmeal ~ $.95 used $1/1 coupon = $.05 MONEYMAKER
Cinnamon Toast Crunch ~ $1.99 used $1/2 coupon = $1.49 each
Soft Soap ~ $.90 used $.35/1 coupon = $.55 each
Paper Towel ~ $1.49 used $1/1 coupon = $.49 each
(not my best deal but I needed paper towel!)
Clorox Wipes ~ $1.49 used $.50/1 coupon from store = $.99 each
(again not my best deal but I needed this item)
Cheese - was on special for $3.35 for the double pack
Frosted Flakes & Fruit Loops ~ $2.25 used $1.50/2 = $1.50 each
Splitz ~ $1.49 used $.50/1 coupon = $.99 each


I'm not sure how many of you are Commissary Shoppers but I wanted to share a few things about Coupon shopping at the Commissary.

#1 ~ Don't go on the 1st or the 15th of the month! I know that's a given but when your a coupon freak like me I tend to make mistakes when there are too many people in the store and those are the two busiest days for the Commissary.

#2 ~ Know your prices! After couponing for over a year and a half I know what kind of deals I can get off base at the local stores. I know what my Cereal Price range is. This will help you when it comes to using your coupons on base. If with a coupon the cereal is still over $2 IT'S NOT A GOOD DEAL! and I won't buy it.

#3 ~ Not all the prices at the Commissary are good prices even with a coupon! Even though most of the toiletries items at the Commissary are cheaper than off base on a regular basis they are not cheaper than the sales you can get at CVS and Walgreens. So again refer back to #2 and know your prices!

#4 ~ When looking at your total savings on your receipt Don't get discouraged! The Commissary doesn't list your savings if items are on sale or cheaper than say Walmart. So even though you may only save 30% on your over all bill if you had received those prices off base you probably would have saved around 50% on your bill. (This part always frustrated me. I knew I got Awesome deals but the numbers on the receipt didn't show that.)

#5 ~ Don't spend more than you have! Remember it's only a great deal if your family will use the item! If your family doesn't use the item your wasting your money buying it. As I clip my coupons I know what items we don't use and I automatically give those away to others that will. No use in keeping them or even using them on a great deal if my family doesn't like that product.

#6 ~ Don't Overstock! I know that seems crazy but I go by a 3 month rule. If I have enough of an item to last us about 3 months then I don't stock up on that item until I'm down to about a 1 month supply. It is hard sometimes to walk away from a Great Deal but when you Overstock your over Spending! Another sale will come along I Promise!

~ Melinda ~

Saved $80 Today!

Total Shopping trip today - Save a total of $80.68! Here is what I got!














CVS Trip

Got lots of stockpile goodies from CVS! Here are the totals for the above picture.

Cost : 90.55
Store Savings : $31.30
Coupon Savings : $20.88
ECB used : $20.00
Paid out of pocket : $18.37

This was done in three transactions. I did the Excedrin first and used two free coupons I got in the mail for those and then got a $10ECB. Then I paid for the Wisk, used 5 $2/1 coupons from today's paper and the $10ECB from the first order. Typically I would save my ECB for next week's deals but we needed drinks so I decided to use my second $10 voucher for those.



















Walgreen's Trip

Finish Gelpacs! Love these!
I was only able to get two of these but as soon as I can order some more coupons I'll have a full stockpile of them to share! (long story I had issues with the coupons in the papers I purchased)

I paid $2.68 for two boxes of Finish Gelpacs and I have $3 in RR to use on my next purchase! Awesome Money Maker!


What great deals do you plan to get this week?

Coffee Deal - Keep a look out!

Keep a look out for Dunkin Donuts Holiday Coffee's to be on mark down at your local stores.

I found these at our Commissary and they rang up as $2.68 and I had some coupons from last month that were good until January 7th I believe for $2 off 2 so I paid $1.68 for them! I stocked up! I had enough coupons to get 6 of them!

My husband drinks coffee every morning so this will come in handy!

Electrasol Tabs Money Maker!

There are two times a year where Electrasol prints out a big coupon and guess what? That coupon is this Sunday!! $2.25 off!

There are two times a year I get overly excited about coupons and it's when this coupon comes out and when there is a good deal I pounce and don't look back!

Just our luck Walgreens is having an Amazing Register Rewards deal this coming week. Check it out! Making money on buying dishwasher tablets! How could you not love it!

Finish Electrasol Tabs or Jet Dry $3.49
Get $1.50 RR
Use $2.25 Electrasol from 1/2 SS
Final Price: $.25 Moneymaker!
*Note – This is similar to the popular deal we saw last year, so make sure that you get a raincheck if your store runs out. Try to get there Sunday!

Check out some more Walgreens match ups over at Couponing for 4! Here

You better believe I'll have more pictures to post on Sunday!

New Year = Back to Coupons!

I'm sad to say that my stockpile is embarrassing! It is so incredibly empty I can hardly take it anymore!

So with the New Year comes More Coupons and back to getting my stockpile in order!

Hope you have a great New Year and I'll be posting again soon!

My Stockpile at Work

Most of you may not know this but I started a Facebook page for my business a few months back called Serenity Hill. When I did that I got connected with Jessica over at Penny Pinching Polly! She is doing an Adopt a Family for Christmas and has been getting other boutiques to come together to make Christmas wonderful for one family this year.

I love how even when times are tight we are still able to find ways to bless others!!

Sometimes we don't think we can afford to help others but if we come together and each pitch in where we can then we can make a difference in the life of One Family at a time!!

We aren't in a position this year to donate financially or to buy gifts for others. However, I have been able to build a great stockpile of items and help in a different way this season.

All the items above I will be mailing off to a family that is struggling this year. While others were able to buy the toys and gifts that this family needs I'm able to fill the gap of other necessities that this family needs.

So whats in your Stockpile that you can bless others with?