This series is meant for beginners, but it's a great refresher course if you need to get reenergized about maintaining or organizing a stockpile as well!
Don't forget to check our first two steps in stockpiling:
For most of us, stockpiling is counterproductive unless we're getting things we use frequently at the best possible price. So it goes without saying you need to know when items typically go on sale in order to know when to stock up -- and whether the item goes on sale once a month, once a year, or somewhere in between.
A lot of brands plan their promotions annually around the same sets of seasonal or holiday activities, which is why you so often can find a coupon that matches back to a sale and vice versa. Here's a month-by-month breakdown so you know when you can expect to see great prices:
- January -- Weight-loss products (think Special K, Lean Cuisine, nutrition bars, and all sorts of lower-calorie foods), oatmeal, cold & flu OTC meds, and New Year's clearance items. I got huge cans of black-eyed peas this year a few days after New Year's for a quarter each, and they'll last for at least a year.
- February -- Chocolate, obviously, but also snack-type foods you could serve at a Super Bowl party, so keep an eye out for great deals on soup, chili, chips, and salsa. We also saw great deals this year on guacamole and hummus around the Super Bowl, so don't think you're limited to just junk food this month. Also, we'll see great deals and coupons for oral care products directly after Valentine's Day -- usually including some freebies!
- March -- March is National Frozen Food Month, so expect to see big sales on frozen pizzas, frozen veggies, boxed entrees, etc. You'll also start seeing sales on seafood once Lent gets underway.
- April -- April sales are driven by Easter and Earth Day events, so watch for good prices on ham, eggs, frozen bread, cake mixes, boxed stuffings, candy, and the like, plus price cuts on organic and eco-friendly brands like Kashi. April is also a great opportunity to stock up on free reusable totes, since many stores give them away for Earth Day.
- May -- The grilling season officially opens, so you'll find great deals on condiments of all types, including mustard, BBQ sauce, hot sauce, and salad dressing. Basically, if you can slap it on a burger, you ought to find it on sale this month. You may also see some great prices on Tex-Mex food staples for Cinco de Mayo, and sales on razors and shaving cream for the start of warmer weather.
- June -- This is the month you should stockpile any sort of toiletries for men (shaving cream, body wash, deodorant, etc.) because of how common these gift ideas are for Father's Day. Ice cream sales and coupons start popping up quite regularly too.
- July -- July sales are driven by 4th of July picnics and early back to school shopping. You should be able to stockpile soda, paper plates and disposable serveware, plus all sorts of snack options. The drugstores and office stores will start offering free or incredibly cheap deals on school supplies as well.
- August -- Back to school shopping continues, with a focus on lunch and kid-friendly items like peanut butter, jelly, lunch meat, fruit snacks, and lots and lots of school supplies.
- September -- This is kind of a dead month for holidays, which is why you see Halloween candy crowding grocery shelves in the end of August. Look for warmer food staples to go back on sale like soup, chili, plus some baking products as people start nesting for the fall and winter.
- October -- Candy, especially fun-size candy, plus watch for good deals on apples, canned pumpkin, condensed milk, and pancake mixes or other sorts of 'hot breakfast' staples.
- November -- If it goes on your Thanksgiving table, it will likely be on sale this month, so why not stockpile it? Look for more canned pumpkin, soups and broths, cake mixes, muffin mixes, jarred gravy, stuffing mixes, as well as good prices on hams and turkeys.
- December -- If you stockpile nothing else this month, watch for great deals on batteries as stores push them for all the battery-operated toys and games being given for Christmas.
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