Sales come and sales go - but what should you do when you find food that you and your family eat regularly at a great price? Why, you should stock up and preserve it with the FoodSaver® Food Preservation System. When foods are vacuum sealed using the FoodSaver® System, you can save up to $2,700 per year (based on buying in bulk, buying on sale and preventing waste) and keep your food fresh up to 5X longer (compared to ordinary storage methods.) With shows like "Extreme Couponing," saving money is becoming a sporting event of sorts. If you get a rush when you find some good deals at the grocery store, there's a lot that you should take into account. Here's what you should think about when you're stocking up on food:

Shop smart and always buy on sale.

How much space do you have?
Sadly, not all homes are blessed with an abundance of cupboards and storage space. If you're truly lucky, you have the space in your garage or basement for an industrial-sized freezer that'll allow you to store multiple months worth of frozen food that you've stocked up on. However, if you don't have a plethora of options when it comes to storing your grocery store haul, vacuum sealed bags and containers are great, space-saving solutions that help keep fridge and pantry shelves neat and organized.

How often does your family consume it?
There's no doubt that it's fiscally responsible to buy ten bags of your favorite pasta if it's on sale and your family eats it all the time. What's not fiscally responsibly is buying ten jars of peanut butter that your family has never eaten before. Not only do you not know if everyone will like it or if it's a quality product, but that peanut butter will probably take up a ridiculous amount of space for months if it isn't something that you regularly eat. Use your best judgment while shopping to ensure that you're buying items that are useful, not just cheap.

Vacuum sealing allows your frozen food to stay fresher longer.

How will you store it?
Dry and nonperishable goods are best stored in your pantry or cupboards until you need them. However, produce and meats that need to be frozen can be a little trickier. It's important to keep anything perishable in air tight packaging to prevent freezer burn. If you'll be storing a lot, investing in a FoodSaver® Food Preservation System is probably in your best interest, as you can flatten your food so you can maximize storage, keep it fresh, and stack it in the freezer. Always be sure to let any cooked dishes completely cool off before sealing and freezing them, as any steam can cause the food to form ice crystals, hindering it from staying as fresh as possible.

Benefits of buying in bulk
We never know what's going to happen. If there's a natural disaster, your income takes a hit, or something else happens that makes it difficult to get food, you'll be happy to have a stockpile of essentials in your cupboard. Another reason that stocking up on food can be beneficial is that it extends the time frame in which you and your family can enjoy fresh produce. As summer begins to dwindle down, it's a good idea to begin stocking up on seasonal foods that'll likely be going on sale in the next couple of weeks. Keep an eye out for good deals on grilling meats, condiments, peppers, berries, peaches, tomatoes and summer squash.