I admit it — I’m a coupon-aholic.  I know the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem.  But using coupons is an addiction that I’m not sure I want to overcome.
This past weekend we bought 3 copies of the Sunday paper so that I would have 3 sets of the coupons which proved to be a good move.  Our local grocery store was offering double coupons plus sale items that I had coupons for already.  Then more local stores, like CVS, Rite-Aid and Walgreens also had some great deals for things I had coupons for making it easy to stock up and keep a full inventory of things that I buy and use almost every day.
One tip about stockpiling:  Be sure if you are buying things like medicines or beauty products that you’ll use them before they expire.  Yes, they have expiration dates.  Same for food products.  Boxed items and even canned items have expiration dates.  But more than likely you will use them before they expire since most expiration dates are a year away from purchase.  Still its a good idea to check even when you buy something to replace something you’ve used.
Another tip about stockpiling:  Don’t over buy.  If you have plenty of storage room and you get a sale item with a coupon that makes it worthwhile (check the price tag for the price per pound, the price per item or the price per ounce to make sure its worth it) then go ahead and stockpile especially for things like paper products — T.P. and paper towels. But if you are planning on stockpiling flour or sugar be sure that you have safe storage like food grade storage containers to keep the bugs and rodents out.
If there is a deal that you just can’t pass up and believe me they will come along occasionally, you can always start a separate box or bag for your local food pantry.  Yes, your pantry will take toothpaste, mouthwash, toothbrushes, soap etc.  As a matter of fact those are the things they need more than anything since people think they aren’t needed.
So here’s the conclusion:

           Grocery Store

• Bought $300.30 worth of food, health beauty products and paper products
• Paid $186.82
• Saved $113.48