Sales Cycles-About 12 Weeks!

We had a reader write in to ask: "How often do the sales come around?"

Generally speaking, sales for items happen in 12 week cycles.

The way to know that you are paying the rock bottom price for certain items is to watch these sales.

We did an experiment recently with one of our favorite products: GAIN Dryer Sheets.

A Gain Dryer Sheet coupon was available on 5/1/2011 from the P&G Insert. That coupon was $1 off 1: Gain Detergent or Fabric Enhancer (Which is defined as either fabric softener OR dryer sheets) and it expired 6/30/2011.

We grabbed 20 boxes at Wal Mart; We talked about the deal HERE!

That coupon made 40 count boxes just $0.87 each...that's OUR Rock Bottom/Stock Up price.
Why?
Because while there will be an occasional coupon for FREE items, a $1 off 1 coupon (in this example) is more often likely to be offered.
Free is awesome! No disputing that!
But super cheap is often available, more often.

In other words, don't pass up stocking up in the hopes that a FREE coupon will come along, because often they don't!

The trick is to stock up with the "more often likely to be offered coupon" when you can.

Back to our experiment:

So, a $1 off 1 coupon for Gain Dryer Sheets was made available on 5/1/2011.
We grabbed 20, in the hopes that would see our needs through until the next deal.
That "next deal" happened again!!
And it was 11 weeks later!

On 7/10/2011 the RP inserts (regional) offered a $1/1 Gain Fabric Softener or Sheets, and that coupon expires 8/31/2011.

In our experiment, 20 boxes seemed like a good stock up amount.
Since we established the number of boxes we need to stock up on, we will be grabbing 20 more before the expiration date of the coupon.

The entire reason to stock up is so that you have enough on hand and will not have to pay full price for an item before it is offered on sale again.

A Better deal yet: You will not have to pay full price for an item before it is offered on sale and there is a coupon you can match up with it for better savings!


In our experiment, an exact savings coupon surfaced, and for this we are so grateful! That means more great smelling laundry on the CHEAP!

This time we will purchase 20 more but we foresee that in the future we will have enough on hand that we will be able to decrease the number of boxes we will NEED to buy to replenish our stock. So much so that in time, we will be able to "pass" on this deal in the future because we will not NEED to make the purchase.

What? You didn't get that coupon?
We always advocate looking to an eBay Buy It Now auction, or a clipping service who can get coupons to you for their time and shipping. Ask a neighbor or friend if they have the coupons that you are looking for; you never know until you ask!

In order to find out what YOUR Rock Bottom/Stock Up pricing for items are:
We encourage you to keep track of the items that you and/or your family uses/needs and do your own experiments!


We have a little note book in which we we jot down items, sales prices, and sales dates.
We also jot down prices while we are at the store to compare to other stores.
For us, it has come in handy. It helps to point out any changes in pricing, and when we should be considering making a purchase to add to our stock.

I hope that this little tidbit of information proves to be helpful when you are working on your stockpiles and making your purchases. Remember, nothing is ever a given, a coupon may (as in our example) or may not be available again. Make your decisions based upon your needs and usage. Slowly, you will realize a significant savings and stock of items.

Until Next Time: