We had such a good discussion going yesterday with the cooking from scratch thing I thought I'd ask another question today since it seems like it's going to be a little slow.
Why do you stockpile?
I have several reasons. First, I stockpile because I don't like to pay full price. Wait, let me rephrase that, I can't afford to pay full price. When I actually find a great deal or sale on something that I know we will use all the time, I will stock up. That way I don't have to pay full price when I need some again. For example, I really live my moisturizer. I use Aveeno and with my sensitive skin issues it's hard for me to find something that works. The Aveeno Moisturizer that I use costs $15 at Target and Walmart. Occasionally I can find a $1 off coupon but that doesn't help too much, although at least it's something. A few weeks ago I was shopping at Robbs(our local discount/surplus store) and I found 4 of my Aveeno Moisturizers. They were marked 3.75 each and were buy one get one free! You better believe I bought all 4! That will last me well over a year since you only have to use a little.
I stockpile food because it's hard to find what I can eat on sale, so when it is, I stock up. Because of my allergies and diet I have to eat things that are natural and without preservatives, dyes, and additives. It's often hard to find a good deal on things like that, but when I do, I stock up. I also consider my home canned goods part of my grocery stockpile. I "pay" for them with my time.
I stockpile tp, tissue, and paper towel because of the same reason as above. They don't go on sale that often for cheap, so when they do, I stock up.
I stockpile for the poor economy. No matter what you believe about the economy's condition I look at food prices every single day and I can see that the price of everything is going up and up and the minimum wage is not matching the price of inflation. Right now it's costing me at least $200 a month in gas for me to get to town once a week and for the hubby to drive to work everyday. If the price of gas went up even further I would not be able to afford to get to town even once a week so I need to stockpile to get by. Besides, if the price of gas is going to go up, so is the price of food, making it harder for me to be able to afford much.
I stockpile for "just in case". I know we don't even want to think about it happening but with the rate of unemployment you almost have to. What if for some reason me and the hubby were out of work? At least we would have food to eat, shampoo to wash, and a lil bit of chocolate for comfort:)
Ok so what about you? Why do you stockpile? Is it for one of the reasons I mentioned above? Or for another reason altogether?
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{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
I stockpile for all of the above reasons that you stated & I just LOVE going down into my little basement “store” & bringing up the things I need for the house!…especially when the weather is bad!…I don’t know about you, but I have always thought that I should buy something that I will need when I find it & not when I NEED it!..Unlike you, my Mother didn’t teach me a lot about frugality, so I have had to learn by myself!..But, when I was younger I can recall not being able to find something to wear to more than one important event & having to buy just anything, finally & not really being happy with the fit, color, etc., but needing to buy something to wear!…It is cheaper to buy the things that you KNOW you will be needing at your leisure, & it is also a lot better to shop at your leisure!…This has made my life a whole lot easier & a lot better!
I stockpile for all the same reasons as you. My husband’s job went to India 6/1/10 and he is still not working. He did get a decent severance package and we are not in want but I believe part of that is because of our stockpile which we are still eating from. I have only been buying what is at rock bottom price to restock it and we have not had to do without anything at all.
I was raised to have a food supply on hand for the “unknowns” in life. Living in the country there is no such thing as a quick trip to the store. Our nearest town is 30 minutes away. Plus with winter roads getting out is not always a option. Having active kids in sports even the summer months leave me searching for time. I often need to have items on hand for quick meals or unexpected snacks for teams.
I also try to stockpile for financial situations. I am confident if my husband or I lost our job – our family would be able to eat. We keep a 6-9 month supply on hand at all times. That includes both store bought items as well as home canned from our garden. We store everything from dishwasher tabs to powder milk, butter, and eggs.
It is smart to price shop these items. With the raising cost of groceries a sale price may not come around again. Plus the time saved on short weekly trips allows more family time.
I started stockpiling a few years ago when I was pregnant with my first. She was due in November and living in North Dakota where winters average 0 degrees, I did not want to take my newborn out to go food shopping. So I would have a month or 2 supply of food and usually 1 extra bottle of shampoo or other cleaning, hygiene product.
I only started couponing this past year. I actually started doing it as a dare from a friend, because I honestly couldn’t believe how much money she ‘claimed’ she was saving.. lol.. It’s really pretty funny now.
But over the course of the couponing, my stockpile has grown to about 3-6 months supply of most things, depending on their sales cycles. My husband is in the military so we are fortunate to not have to worry about a layoff at this time in our life. But, my stockpile makes me feel comfortable knowing its there in case we ever needed to live off it.
And boy do I love shopping in my basement =) It’s really nice to avoid a toddler tantrum because I ran out of her favorite food or snack!
All of the reasons you mentioned–mostly for cost, but also some for survival aspect. It is also a nice back up in bad weather, etc.
I try to be very careful of what we stockpile due to being military, (lack of space in on base housing) and just never knowing when it is going to be time to move. But the stuff we do stockpile is the same reasons as above, plus honestly I just really don’t like to shop especially if the weather is bad, so I just like not having to go to the store!!!
Marissa, where is Robbs (in Rapid City)? I have never heard of it.
Robbs is in Belle Fourche:)
Fear! Back in the early 80″s my husband was laid off for 2 1/2 years from his job. I just had my second child. We both were working 2 part time jobs making $7.50. To this day I don’t know how we made it. Plus we had to pay for our health insurance. My husband went to the welfare office but they told him we made $50 a month too much. That’s why today I try to buy american made products. And your absolutly correct groceries prices are skyrocketing. About 1 year ago I could buy ground sirloin for $1.99 today it’s $3.99. If you want ground beef parts it’s around $1.79. yuk Great topics the last couple of days thanks.
I do stockpile, but don’t have a fully-supplied room or anything like that. I believe in moderation with stockpiling. There’s no use or reason to buy things if they will spoil or will end up not being used. Like yourself I must cook from scratch and have some allergies. So I don’t stock up on food with additives and I’m trying to buy more natural cleaning and HBA products as I can. We can’t afford much organic, but I look for the most healthy items at the best price. I really enjoy your articles, they are helpful. There’s no extreme couponing here
as I focus on buying basics and what we need and will use. I used to chase a lot of deals, but prefer to have my time now instead. Stockpiling is also done for similar reasons – to shop less, get the best prices, and have a reserve on hand for emergencies.
I mostly stockpile for the cost savings . My husband is in school right now and we don’t have a whole lot of extra money, but honestly I think I’d do it even if we had the money to spare since there’s always something more fun to spend money on than necessities! Now that I’ve experienced how great it is to stockpile, I’d say I also do it for convenience. I absolutely love not having to keep a grocery list on the fridge of all the things I ran out of and need to restock — because I already have stock on hand!
With food price projected to rise, now is a very good time to have the basics stockpiled. Its also a good time to stock up on items that we can freeze that prices might sky-rocket like orange juice. We stockpile because its comman sense. Items that last for years that we have saved up just may be what keeps us fed in years to come, because now, food is more affordable then it will be in the future.
I stockpile for the same reasons you listed. With the uncertain economy, you just never know. Right now we spend over $400 a month in gas to get to and from work. If gas and food prices continue to rise, one of us will not be able to afford to travel to work. Let’s just pray that never happens.
Being 20 miles from town we worry about that same thing.