I know there are many people out there who cannot stand the clutter of stockpiling (my sister included - it drives her nuts.) But, for me, this is one of the best ways of keeping our grocery budget low and keeping things on hand that I use nearly every day.I prefer to buy things as they go on sale, especially if they are on a good sale and I have a matching coupon (like here and here). The "clutter" doesn't bother me, as long as I have a place to put it. I will stockpile almost any grocery item - as long as it has a long shelf life. At the moment I have a whoooole bunch of peanut butter, granola bars, cereal, and many bottles of apple juice. I have enough toothpaste, toothbrushes for about a year, and the list goes on.
There are some rules I live by when it comes to stockpiling.
- Never stockpile an item your family does not use or does not eat.
- Only stockpile items when they are on a good sale. (Not all sales are good!)
- Only stockpile as much as you have space for. (I do not stockpile milk - too little freezer space.)
- Be extremely careful of stockpiling items with a short shelf life, i.e., produce, dairy products. (If the food goes bad before your family can eat it then it didn't save you money.)
- Sales go in seasons - watch for which items are on sale at what time of year.
- Lunchbox foods/meals
- Pudding cups
- Lunchables
- Juice boxes, Capri Sun
- Pop Tarts
- Lunch meat
- Bread
- Cold cereal
- Waffles
- Spaghetti Sauce
- Tomato soup
- Canned tomatoes
- Tomato sauce
I'll be keeping my eye out for good sales on these items as well as coupons that match up.
Does stockpiling work for you? Or are you a "clutter-phobe" like my sister? I'd love to hear your thoughts on stockpiling.
For more great frugal tips visit LifeAsMom.
And for more thoughts on stockpiling visit TheHappyHousewife.
3 comments:
Stockpiling sure does work for me--especially in this economy! I'm so glad I started doing this long before things got so tough. Anyone who's read my blog or my comments on various other blogs will be sick of my mayo example, but I'll say it again--better to reach for that jar of mayo you got for a dollar (because it was on sale two months ago, and you also had a coupon) than to have to run out and spend $3.99 on a new jar!
RE: Milk. I had a coupon for a free gallon, but we already had a gallon and a half at home. I wasn't going to lose my freebie, so I bought it and put it in the freezer. Do you know that a gallon of milk takes as long to defrost as a small turkey, LOL?
This time around, I had too much milk because we were expecting Hurricane Danny to cause trouble for us. Well, it never even skimmed us, so there I was with extra milk.
I got smart, though--I poured it into smaller containers to freeze! At least now I only have to thaw out a pint of the stuff, LOL!
I am definitely a fan of stockpiling. It saves us so much money.
It works for me! We've lived off our ours for 2 years, and I am working on building it back up now on a reduced income.
Dairy is importaat for the time you can't go to the store for months on end. I store powdered and evaporated milk for that purpose.
Right before Thanksgiving, a lot of great canned goods go on sale. If you can spend less on your food budget in October and use it towards Novemeber's purchases, it can help you get a lot of things for a lot less.
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