Frugal Friday: Important Stockpile Items

Some people seem to think that couponers have these huge stockpiles of things they will never use.(Thank you Extreme Couponers TV). Well, maybe that’s why I don’t consider myself an extreme couponer. I have some basic items I will stock up on when they have their extreme discounts. Usually these are based on the time of year. It’s important to know what is the normal price, so you know when it’s an extreme discount.

Yes, I've been known to buy 24 jars of spaghetti sauce when I was getting them for .30 cents each or less.

This is my list of my stock pile must haves. Some items, like condiments, we just have to have. The others have become my “go to” meals. Not long ago, we had an unexpected vet bill of $600. Well, that killed my grocery budget. But I was able to make meals for a few weeks just from my stock pile of frozen meats, veggies and items from my go to list.

My go to list includes:

• Pasta 
• Pasta sauce 
• Rice 
• Chili 
• Salad dressing 
• Condiments 
• Barbeque sauce 
• Soups (basically “cream of” soups) 

Here are my suggestions of how I use these items repeatedly and keep it meals interesting:

• Chili – I can make enchiladas, chili dogs, frito pie, or just serve chili 
• Pasta sauce - spaghetti, chicken parm, use as pizza sauce, even serve with rice. 
• Rice – I love rice because I use it plain, in casseroles, with meat or without, and even as breakfast or dessert. 
• Pasta – where to start?? I love pasta with butter, garlic and spinach. But you can make spaghetti, all kinds of pasta salads (remember that Italian dressing you bought??) Make a sauce from the cream soups and pour over the pasta. 
• Barbeque sauce – I use this over chicken, with hamburger meat, my kids love it over hot dog weinies, add it to beans. 
• Salad dressing - my kids eat ranch dressing on everything. I love Italian for marinades, pasta salads, etc. I usually keep an Asian or something with ginger to use in stir fry. I’m now hooked on Strawberry vinaigrette for spinach. 

I try to look outside the box for ways to use these items. Most of these items I will find on sale for less than a dollar and stock up. I can use combinations of these to create meals that cost me less than a dollar per person.

These are my basics. I keep a supply of frozen veggies. And stock up on all types of meats, poultry, and fish as they go on sale. Having those basics really saves me time and money. Start thinking about your own “go to” meal items. Pay attention to the regular price, and then you’ll know when the time is right to buy them in mass quantities. You won’t regret it!