Well…I hadn't planned on cashing in on the free turkey for shopping deals too much this year.  But we lived off our our stockpile of nearly free groceries for most of the summer.  There was no time to shop, prices were high, coupons low.  Then my sister arrived with the flu, and the amount of disinfecting wipes, kleenex, cleaners, laundry detergent, broth and soup, well…one day we had a stockpile of accumulated savings on groceries, and then it was almost gone.  Luckily, it was November, and the stores are loaded with coupons and promotional pricing.  We needed it!

There were the Lysol/Clorox/Natural disinfecting wipes…regularly $3.50 – $4.50 per cannister here, they went on sale for $1.99, and we had loads of $1 off coupons. Add in a $10 OYNO when you buy 10 items, a $4 OYNO when you spend $12, etc., and we were able to refill the empty space on our storage shelf with 20 cannisters for less than $1 total. Similar with Laundry Detergent, broth and soups, baking goods like flour and sugar, hand soap, well, you name it, there has been a deal and a coupon just in time. Whew!

Over the last four weeks, we've spent a total of $126 on grocery and drug store items, using coupons, sales, and special promotions…and received $627 in groceries. Granted, I would not have purchased the items at the “retail” price the store claims, but still, a fairly reasonable price to refill my empty shelves. In return for shopping, we've received FIVE free turkey offers. Yikes! My freezer is big, but not THAT big. I ended up with three free 20 pound turkeys, and two nice hams. At a standard retail of $1/lb, that's another $100 in savings (although the Thanksgiving sale price is 49c/lb).

One turkey was cooked, carved and the meat frozen for later, one is thawing in the refrigerator, and the remaining turkey will wait in the freezer for New Years. One ham for Christmas, and one for, well, maybe Easter?

Five years ago, I never would have “stockpiled the savings” by buying a years supply of something just because it was free after coupon or sale. Five years ago, my DH thought anyone who did was a bit, well, “obsessive hoarder” probably would have been his description. But times change, prices change, resources change, and needs change. Saving money, well, that's a nice change.

Author: Flash