Another stock pile purchase
This time, I caught the tail end of a deal. Sadly, I couldn't get as much as I wanted to, but we should be able to make it to the next sale.
Toothpaste
There was a sale of 50 ml tubes for 10 DKK, they are normally 16 DKK. I managed to get 4 tubes. This means I spent 40 DKK and saved 24 DKK. I had a gift card for these stores from my birthday, so I used that, making these 4 tubes essentially free. I went to three stores, two of them had nothing left - it was that good of a deal.
I'm finding that I'm fairly ignorant of how much we use of things in a period of time. I guess that these four tubes will last us between 3-6 months.
Decisions to be made
Between our savings yesterday and today, I'm beginning to see how this could be a big money saver over the long haul. I've started a spreadsheet for my purchases. That will, hopefully, allow me to keep track of how long things last and what constitutes a good price as we get further on this journey.
As I've mentioned, from January 2018 I'll be thinking of my grocery budget in terms of a yearly amount. So far I've made significant savings and it reminded me of a debt-payoff tactic I heard about recently. Every time you forgo a purchase that you wanted to make and probably would have made was it not for your debt, you instantly transfer that precise amount to a debt-payoff account. It's a brilliant idea in my mind. Now, we don't have any debt, but we are saving for a downpayment, which is a way to avoid as much debt as possible. So I'm debating whether to keep the saved money in our grocery budget or instantly transferring it to the downpayment account next year.
I want to transfer it, my husband wants to keep it in the budget and use it to stock up on more items. Neither way is stupid as I see it. Our ultimate goal is to save on groceries to free up more money for our downpayment, so in a way, it evens out. I want to transfer it instantly because we have a decent interest rate on that savings account and can get a bonus too, that is a percentage of the money calculated on how long they've been in there.
My husband wants to keep our current budget for the next year and see how much less we end up spending and then transfer the money. My fear is that having the money in hand will lead us to spend it on more frivolous food items.
I see stockpiling as a way of saving in itself. Almost an investment.
The price of food etc inevitably keeps going up. So if I buy more now at a lower price, I won't have to buy more later at a higher price.
For ongoing restocking then a key part of the process is to become very good at looking for bargains, bulk buys and special offers.
Keep at it.
I hadn' thought about it in that way. That is, that even at the full, regular price, it's cheaper today than it will be at that regular price in the future.
Great points all around regarding stockpiling!
Melis
I was going to reply with my own opinion to frugal, but your answer is basically what I would have said. Buying things in bulk or at a deeply discounted price is the same as putting money in a savings account, only better. If a savings account only pays 2% , that is only 2 cents on a dollar. The item you may have just found on sale could be a savings of 50 cents. If you bought four of them, that adds up to $2.00. The difference in the spread between 2 cents and $2.00 is tremendous. So, in terms of actual saving for your deposit, the next time you open a new tube of that bargain toothpaste, go put the actual cash value of that tube in a jar and just see how quickly it adds up. I can guarantee your jar will be more valuable than any piddly interest your bank will pay you.
I have to say... reading all yours posts lately has motivated me to go back to my frugal ways even more. I think I'll be restructuring our budget and doing some changes to start a new savings account. THANK YOU!
Aww, that makes me so happy to hear. I was actually debating if I was sharing too much on these frugal topics but a) I'm @frugallady, so hopefully, people would expect it and b) It's a big part of our lives. It's actually when people have shared rather mundane things they do, that they've impacted my life the most. A well-written essay is great but often a quick post on something that's taking up space in a person's mind will make me implement changes.
I commend your savings...good job! It isi fun seeing photos of products from other countries!
Melis
Are they different from yours?
Well, I do not use toothpaste due to the data on Flouride...i just use baking soda and peppermint or clove oil....But many of the packages are different...When I have traveled it is fun to go to grocery stores and look at the goods and the packaging. ;)
I agree with you on the toothpaste. We use baking soda, too. Baking soda is also used in place of scouring powder at a tremendous savings between the two items, People should just google all the ways baking soda can be used to replace a store bought item at a staggering price in comparison.
I'd be tempted to split the money between the two schemes, even if it's not much each time it'll build up into more substantial $. :)