As for couponing, every once in a while I’ll try to find coupons to match things I’m already planning to buy… and what I’ve realized is rarely are their coupons for things I actually really want/need… coupons are a way for companies to introduce their product and get people hooked.

The only particularly hyperactive thing I do is shop for groceries at a couple locations, I pick up my bulk beans and grains every couple months at a co-op near work, pick up my vegetables when I bike home through chinatown and I have two grocery stores equidistant from my house (dependant on the train stop) so I’ll go to their websites to see if there are any particular deals on things I want from either of them and hit whichever is overall cheaper that day on my way home.

Patience, excellent point about coupons making the company money. Usually we just look at it as saving us money.

But as Angie pointed out, she buys things for less than 10 cents. Wow! Impressive. I haven’t really been able to do that.

Kristy, thanks for the compliment. I like to stockpile some stuff, mostly non-perishables. And stuff like TP? I need at least 2 packages or I will die! It’s imperative I have some.

I’m definitely not a stockpiler, though. I go to the store once a week for essentials, so I never run out of what I need to have in the house. But, as one individual living alone, I haven’t found much need to stockpile anything, and I frankly find it a waste of assets – in my situation – to do so.

Interesting post, LAL! I have never really heard of these terms before and it was thought provoking to consider which category I fell into!

I wonder if some of the posters I’ve read don’t have a bit of a stockpile/coupon disorder for lack of a better term. One lady post what she does daily to save money. In a recent post she had a photo of the 83 bars of soap (this didn’t include the body wash and liquid soap) she had on hand for her and her husband. I believe in stockpiling but I think she’s good to the end times.

I can be a bit…well more than a bit….compulsive so I can see how couponing could become addictive. I don’t eat peanut butter so why did I just buy six jars? Because they were 49 cents a jar after coupons and sales. But I spent $2.94 on something I won’t use. That is $2.94 I don’t have to spend on something I do need and will use. So my local food pantry gets six jars of peanut butter and I try to control my compulsive behavior.

I’m not a big couponer. I’m not into meal planning. I have some routines, but on the whole I can be very flexible because I keep things simple. I eat one-course meals with few ingredients (often “monomeals”). I don’t stockpile much stuff at all: very basic dry food ingredients (beans, sugar, flour, rice, etc.), toilet paper that we buy at Sam’s, and an extra bottle of shampoo in case the brand I like isn’t in stock when I need it.

Overall, I prefer to have plenty of room than full closets because I have a strong minimalist streak that keeps me from being too much of a stockpiler. At least it keeps me from buying lots of junk I don’t need!

There is a whole theory of business related to inventory. In a nutshell, you don’t want to sit on too much inventory because it ties up cash and you incur inventory-related costs. While a household is not quite a business in the literal sense, I think most people would regret having $800 worth of inventory that would normally cost $1200…and then lose their job or require cash for an unexpected reason.

Having said all that, most things house-related I’ll do myself to save money. For food, we get good food as we need it, and get bonus (expensiver) food for a treat now and then. It doesn’t bother me to spend a lot once in a while.