Do You Stock Up On Things, When You See a Deal?
By Nykkee
@Nykkee (2522)
Canada
July 16, 2007 3:34pm CST
If you see something that you know you will use eventually, On Sale, do you buy many of them and store them away so you have them Or do you just buy things as you need them? I stock up, myself, and I find that I save alot of money in the long run by doing that. For example, as I mentioned in a prvious discussion about Dollar Stores, I recently bought 7 tubs of face wash and 2 tubes of face masque all at once, because it was at Dollarama for $1 a bottle. The brand is Biore and based on the price of the same product at Walmart (where I usually shop for most things) I just saved myself $99 in comparison to what I would pay over the course of time if I bought that same product each time I needed it at regular price. I want to start stocking up on everything, and hope to get a deep freeze soon to allow me to stock up on food items when they are on sale cheap. So do you do this? What items do you like to keep a stock pile of? Do you save alot of money this way, like I do?
5 people like this
25 responses
@lingli_78 (12822)
• Australia
17 Jul 07
yes, i definitely do stock up when there are things that i really need and going for sale... it has to be a non-perishable things though like soap, shampoo, softener, laundry powder, tissue paper, etc... i don't really dare to stock up on food as i'm afraid they will turn bad and i will waste money because i have to throw them away... and yes, i save a lot by doing this...
3 people like this
@brendakaya (2332)
• United States
17 Jul 07
Yes, I do. I bought enough clearance soap awhile back to last an entire year. It was clearanced at 4 bars for 50 cents. Any time I find a good deal like that, and if I have enough money, I buy it.
2 people like this
@Nykkee (2522)
• Canada
17 Jul 07
A whole year worth of soap? That's great. I am actually jealous of that. I always feel like I should have bought more when I see something really really good on a really good sale because I worry about what I will ahve to spend if I want to continue to use that same product once I run out. Especially if the regular price of hte product if more than I like to spend.
@Nykkee (2522)
• Canada
17 Jul 07
My husband gets like that too so now whenever I get a really good deal that I want to buy alot of I make him come with me to look at the regular price of the product and then I get my cellphone out and calculate how much I will be saveing him over the course of however long if I buy alot.....then he shuts up.
@brendakaya (2332)
• United States
17 Jul 07
Can you believe, my husband said I was stupid for buying that much, and that I was wasting money, because we didn't need it right then? He only looks at the present, not the future.
1 person likes this
@megs85 (3142)
• Australia
20 Jul 07
As a mum of a toddler with another baby on the way, I tend to stock up on nappies and wipes when they are on sale. When boxes of Huggies nappies come on sale for $30 a box (in comparison to the usual 42 bucks they are) I buy a box or two and store them. Same with Johnson and Johnson baby wipes- a box of 6 packets is usually about 25 dollars, so when they come on sale down to 20 bucks I grab a box or two.
Other things I purchase in bulk when on sale include dishwashing liquid, and washing detergent. Oh, and napisan... because these are things I seem to go through alot. And pine-o-clean, and fabric softener, and toilet paper.
Ok, lots of things...lol
I do find that it saves me lots of money, as I buy in bulk (ie; boxes) and when those bulk items are on sale and I get a stockpile of them, I am increasing what I am already saving by purchasing them in bulk.
@karlag (61)
• United States
17 Jul 07
I stock up on things I see on sale. Mostly paper products and shampoos, body wash and soap. The only drawback to this is that everyone knows I stock up so when they need something they always "borrow" it from me. I usually never get it back so I have to stock up again.
@sunshinelady (7609)
• United States
17 Jul 07
I don't because it is just my husband and myself at home now. But my mom will not buy anything unless it is on special. Ontop of that she uses coupons. But she only uses ones for the products she would normally buy. You should see her cupboard. It is like walking into a grocery store. I don't think she will ever run out of anything.
2 people like this
@wackeytiger (424)
• United States
20 Jul 07
Yeah, I hate when they do that because I spend all this money at once, but at the same time it makes me happy because I save money in the long run. I am in college so I'm not able to stock up on things because of money issues, but when I do have extra money I definitely do do that. I love dollar stores. They have a lot of the same products for so much cheaper than bigger stores and that's where I love to stock up. Toilet paper is a biggie that I like to get a ton of when there's a sale and lots of other little knic knacs that I think I might use for the long run.
@buenavida (9984)
• Sweden
17 Jul 07
If I have enough money, I like to stock up things that I use in the future anyway. Sometimes you can get really good deals. But if I buy things like cheese or some other food, I look at the date so that the food is still fresh when I open the package after some weeks.
A freeze is a good thing as long as you remember to use what you have put in there within a reasonable time.
@Nykkee (2522)
• Canada
17 Jul 07
I can't keepheese in the hosue for very long. One \time cheese was one sale at Walmart for $2 for a large square, I bought like 14 packages of cheese expecting it to last for the 3 months that the expiry date said that it was good for but my husband ate it all in 2 weeks.
@jfeets726 (775)
• United States
17 Jul 07
I stock up on stuff all of the time. I do it on food occassionally, but not as much, as we are limited on cupboard space.
Liek you mentioned, I always stockup when I see something great at the dollar store. My favorite dollar store is the Dollar Tree. One time, I saw really nice preschool workbooks there, but I only bought one. When I went back, they were all gone. I learned my lesson. We now have like 30 preschool workbooks, as I stocked up.
I am also doing the same right now with back to school stuff at Wal-Mart. I bought like 15 packs of Crayola crayons for .20 each. I have a three year old and a puppy who likes to chew stuff, so we will use them, without a doubt, it may take a year, but we will use them!
@kareng (59633)
• United States
17 Jul 07
I always do this too. If you have a Dollar Tree in your area you can find some name brand hair care stuff too. I've found Got2b brand there more than once. It retails for 6.95 a bottle and up! Spending $1 each warrants stocking up! I've also noticed White Rain body wash there for $1 which is $2.99 at Wally World. You just have to be aware of prices and brands. Some of the stuff there is very generic and worth $1. They seem to buy a lot of close-out deals which is fine with me as long as it is still good!
I also try and stock up on food when on sale, especially items that will not spoil. I don't usually buy a lot of meat at once since my kids are all out of the house now.
@Nykkee (2522)
• Canada
17 Jul 07
Dollar Tree sounds alot like our Dollarama store. i have gotten or seen the following product brands at Dollarama: Got2B, Biore, Atmosphere bath products, John Frieda hair care, Beach Blonde hair care, Jergens and Thermasilk. I know there are many mor but that's all I can recall right now.
@lazywalt99 (177)
• United States
16 Jul 07
Whenever there's an incredibly good bargain on daily/routinely used items, I stock up so that it saves us money in the long run. Plus, I'm a member of Sam's Club, so I always buy all of my items in bulk.
However, one thing to remember about sales, is not to be enticed into buying things you don't need, as in reality, these "sales" end up costing you more money.
1 person likes this
@Nykkee (2522)
• Canada
17 Jul 07
Yeah I don't get drawn into sales on things I don't need very often. I think it is so amazing though, when I can get a great deal on a product that is ususally above what I am willing to pay for whatever it is, like with the Biore Face Wash, they are $10 at Walmart, and I would usually spend only $4-$5 on a face wash, so getting the $10 stuff for $1 was like saving the money and getting the splurge item at the same time for me.
@lexus54 (3572)
• Singapore
17 Jul 07
I don't believe in stocking up things just because they are cheaper or there is a sale. I occasionally do but only for things that I use very often, like dishwashing liquids, toilet paper and drinks, but even then, I don't stock up too much. Soon, I will also have to buy a new cabinet to keep these things if I overstock...LOL. Here, there are sales quite often so I can always buy provisions at reasonable prices most times of the year.
1 person likes this
@Nykkee (2522)
• Canada
17 Jul 07
We have sales often here as well but some salesa are better than others and it feels like double savings when you both save by buying alot on a good sale and when you don;t have to buy any of something for a while that frees up the money that would nomally be spent on it.
@jeanne94668 (478)
• Philippines
17 Jul 07
I certainly stock up when I see a deal. Knowing how much I would save on them in time. And especially, since I don't have a stable income. It's best to stock up when I've got the money. So that when I need it and don't have the cash, at least, I've got something to use since I stocked up on it. Computing on how much you've saved on the deal is a big thing.
@sid556 (30960)
• United States
17 Jul 07
I do use coupons and stock up on items that will not go bad anytime soon. I save alot that way. Anytime there is a buy one get one item and I combine it with a coupon...I save tremendously. If you do this ...remember to rotate food products! even the canned goods have an expiration date. All girls here...you bet i take advantage of hair product coupons and sales often getting them for next to nothing. the dollar stores are great for cleaning products, soaps,and paper products...can't beat it. also when using coupons..go to where they double them!! CVS offers great dollars off coupons. My daughter loves pantene. I had a coupon for 4.00 off any purchase. I waited until they had a great sale on other stuff I needed and got her pantene for free and then some.
1 person likes this
@thrwbckjay67 (2870)
• United States
16 Jul 07
Absolutely, as long as we know we can use it later on or that it has a long shelf life. A lot of times, the grocery stores around us do 10 for $10, which would work out to $1 per item. This usually gets us to purchase quite a few of these items, just to keep storage in our home. Same goes for other products; shoot, we'll even go to bulk warehouses like Costco or Sam's Club just to get those wholesale sizes because we know it's cheaper and helps us out with our food stocking later on. We definitely save money in this method, it gets us a little more of the product we want/need so that we don't have to replenish too often, and it drives the cost per unit lower.
1 person likes this
@freak369 (5113)
• United States
16 Jul 07
If it's something that won't spoil like shampoo, canned food or school supplies then I stock up when ever it is on sale or they have those lovely clearance carts. At one point I had my pantry so full that I had bags of stuff on the floor because the shelves were all full. A local grocery store was going out of business and slashed the prices on everything to get rid of the stock. If I had another freezer, chances are I'd still be having frozen pizza every other day lol.
1 person likes this
@mrsbrian (1949)
• United States
16 Jul 07
Yes we stock up on things we use a lot of it is cheaper in the long run, alot of time my kids open our closets and say why you got all that stuff/ but guess where they come running when they need something in a hurry lol. we have a linen closet full of toiletrees that we got at dollar/sams/walmart type stores. and we expecially love it in the winter when the weather is bad we dont have to out in the freezing cold to go to the store.
1 person likes this
@tdbrower1969 (1242)
• United States
16 Jul 07
I do this, too. It does save alot in the long run, and especially if I have coupons for the same items. I also have a closet that I keep extra toiletries on hand when they go on sale. We have the grocery store 10 for $10 dollar sales every couple of months and I hit those,too. Usually pizzas, and sausages and things that I am sure that we will use and they will stay good until I use them. I stock up on canned goods and things like that at a local Aldis' store because you can get so many things cheaper there. It does help out in the winter, too, in bad weather, because I almost always have extras on hand.
1 person likes this
@mrrtomatoe (800)
• Canada
16 Jul 07
I'm lucky to have enough room in my house that I am able to stockpile whenever there is a sale. There is always something on sale at Costco so if it is something i use, i'll buy 2 or 3 (or more depending on what it is) and save it for when I do need it. I usually stockpile detergents and laundry things, paper towels, and other non-perishable items. It is all stuff I use so why not?? I probably saved close to 50$ by doing this...
1 person likes this
