The Danger of Stockpiling
I learned this week the hidden danger in stockpiling. We were on our last box of cereal (Kashi-which I love my kids weren’t going to touch it) so I added cereal to my weekly shopping list. Headed to the store and found the breakfast foods aisle. There wasn’t much on sale, except for Special K or something like that, so I just grabbed a large box of Honey Nut Cheerios. How much did I pay for that large box of Cheerios? $4.99! For a box of cereal! That will probably only last my family of five a week at the most.
By not keeping up with my stockpile I had to pay full price for cereal. How much do I normally pay for a box of cereal when I buy it on sale and with coupons? $1 or less.
Lesson #1- Not stockpiling will cost you money.
Luckily I was able to grab some other things that were on sale. I bought 2 large jars of peanut butter (28 oz each) for a total of $.40. What if I would have waited and bought them when we were completely out of peanut butter? I would paid 6.78!!! By buying them on sale and using coupons I saved $6.38 on 2 jars of peanut butter.
Are you scared of stockpiling? Don’t be. You don’t need to hoard 500 cans of tomato sauce, or 200 toothbrushes. A simple rule of thumb is when an item is on sale (at the “rock-bottom” price) stock up on enough of it to last you and your family 12 weeks. Why 12 weeks? That is the normal sales cycle that most stores use. So if peanut butter is on sale now at a rock-bottom price now, it will probably hit the rock-bottom price again in about 3 months.
Don’t have a lot of room?
Get creative and use other space around the house. Don’t be afraid to store cans of veggies in a container under beds or in extra closets.
I don’t have a lot of money to start buying tons of extra food, how can I stockpile?
Start small. Just add one or two extra things to your list each week and you’ll see your stockpile grow. Identify the most expensive items your family uses and see if you can stockpile those when they are on sale to save you the most money.
While you can’t stockpile everything (for example, fresh produce, although you can freeze and can some items) think of the items in your pantry and freezer your household uses a lot of. Do you find yourself running to the store at the last minute to get more? Or paying full price for an item because it’s not on sale? Then maybe it’s time to give stockpiling a try.
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5 Responses to “The Danger of Stockpiling”
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This is definitely an area I need to work on. But, it is very hard on a very tight budget.
Blessings,
Andrea
I had no idea that there were 12 week sale cycles. I am going to start watching for them now.
The only thing I stockpile right now is bottled water and socks for my kids. 24 bottles for $2 you can’t beat that and Old Navy’s fall sale. Due to a pricing error they were .37 cents each. They now have socks for the next 3 years.
Good to know about 12-week sale cycles–what a great tip! I do try to stockpile some items when they’re on sale. However I do have a particular dietary lifestyle–for example I don’t buy regular peanut butter, which is often on sale with coupons in the paper. I purchase natural, sugar-free pb, which I rarely see on sale. Similarly, I buy things like no-sugar soy milk, organic items, etc… I find it extra-difficult to find those rock-bottom prices for the items I purchase most often.
Any suggestions?
Help! The peanut butter was on sale, you had a coupon or coupons. So, how much were the coupons worth and what was the sale price. I need a little more info, ’cause I’d like to do the same thing for items I use regularly. I’m not quite sure how you are doing this. Maybe you could give us a tutorial using the peanut butter as an example. Thanks Dearie!
Good idea mom! Look for a tutorial in the next couple of days