Saving Money

Spring Is the Time To Stock Up On Charcoal

Firing up the grill and cooking something over an open flame is one of my favorite things to do. While it’s always grill season to me, I get a special kind of excited this time of year. When retailers open their garden center and lawn mowers get started for the first time, it’s time to keep my eyes open for sales on charcoal.

Grillmasters can find great deals on charcoal in the spring.

I was walking through Walmart about a week ago and noticed they had 15 pound bags of Kingsford charcoal for $5 (normally priced at just under $9). It was the sale I had been waiting for, so I put as many bags as I could fit in my cart along with my other groceries. I’ve been back to Walmart several times since then, each time picking up a few more bags. Over the last week and a half, I’ve accumulated a nice stash of 16 bags of charcoal.

I’ve got 16 bags of charcoal in my garage, and I’m just getting started.

As long as the sale continues, and the charcoal is in stock, I’ll continue to increase my stockpile. My ultimate goal is to stockpile enough charcoal to last me until next spring’s sale. Certainly it’s not necessary to buy an entire year’s worth of charcoal at a time, so why would I do such a thing?

• It WILL Get Used : Only under rare conditions do I go more than a few days without lighting my grill. I’ll use the charcoal, it’s only a matter of time.
• It’s A GREAT Sale: The charcoal is almost half off (44% off, to be accurate). When you find a sale that good, you take advantage of it.
• I Have Storage : I’ve got room in my third garage stall to store the charcoal. In the whole grand scheme of things, a pile of charcoal doesn’t take up that much room.

So far I’ve dropped $80 on charcoal, and I’d like to at least double the size of my stash. I’m not sure why thus far I’ve just purchased a bag or two when I’m at Walmart for some other reason. I should just put the seats down in the van, and make a special trip to load up on charcoal.

But if for some reason I don’t get as much charcoal as I had hoped, Home Depot always has a great sale 4^th of July weekend.  🙂

How about you, Clever Friends, how far do you go when taking advantage of a great deal?

Brought to you courtesy of Brock

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Brock Kernin

Brock is a software engineer by day and personal finance blogger at night. He is a fitness junkie and enjoys grilling and smoking meat. Married with two children,  Brock strives to improve his skills as a husband and father, and is always on the lookout to stretch his family’s budget as far as he can.