How to evaluate a Buy x get Y free deal

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One of the most important concepts in stockpiling is to stockpile the savings, rather than just buying something to have it. But sometimes the savings aren’t obvious. Stores often offer “deals” that emotionally feel like good deals, but really aren’t.

A deal term that stores often use to attract customers is the BUY X GET Y. One example is Buy One, Get One 50%. While this can easily “seem” like a great deal, look at the actual spending, versus savings. Buying one item at full price, and the second at half price simply means you are buying two items at only 25% savings each. Unless you have great coupons, or there is an additional deal to add on, this probably isn’t the deal to stockpile.

Here are some charts to quickly evaluate the savings for Buy X Get Y deals:

B1G1F = buy 2 items, save 50%

B2G1F = buy 3 items, save 33%

B1G2F = buy 3 items, save 67%

B2G2F = buy 4 items, save 50%

B3G2F = buy 5 items, save 40%