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Saving Money

Spring Is the Time To Stock Up On Charcoal

May 4, 2016
By Brock Kernin
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CleverDude_CharcoalPic

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 4th 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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About 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.

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Comments

  1. tom says

    May 4, 2016 at 11:25 am

    I picked up a bunch of bags at Home Depot’s spring black Friday sale. Can’t beat the double pack for under $10! I might have to follow in your lead and start stocking up.

    Reply
  2. Philip says

    May 8, 2016 at 9:40 pm

    I almost picked some up in that same sale as Tom, but got lazy and didn’t go to Home Depot in time. Now I wish I’d grabbed a few to get ready for the summer. Thanks for the reminder to take advantage of the next good sale I see.

    Reply
  3. Robert says

    September 1, 2016 at 10:48 am

    Great Post! Since charcoal will last forever, all you need is storage and stocking up makes good sense. Get enough to last until the next sale! I’m off to Home Depot to get 3 double-bags (18.4 lb each) of Kingsford for less than $30 total! That’s about 26¢/lb. Keep up the interesting posts…:)

    Reply

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