Stockpiling

[JBinKC]

Re: Stockpiling

Of course I stockpile especially when it is free or if it is way under its normal price. First of all those dates are a ploy for you to throw something away. I have used/eaten many things way past the date (except milk of course) without any problems.

[marglo]

Re: Stockpiling

I think for families and if you use common sense and get free items or very cheap items you will use, it is probably a good thing. But for just the 2 of us, it doesn't seem to work. When I tried it I had a lot of food in the house (and other things), but it wasn't the food I really wanted ...I prefer to buy natural & organic products mostly, and I felt we were eating a lot of food that wasn't really good for us. Also I bought too much because I was getting it so cheap...I just couldn't not get it, you know? LOL And so I was actually spending more than I am spending now. I now have gone back to just buying what we need each week...the only time I stockpile (a little) is when I see something that I know we will use
and that is really a good buy and I also will buy meat on sale even though I don't need it right at the time, then the next week maybe I don't have to buy so much meat. That kind of thing, but we careful you don't go over your budget just because you are getting such good deals. :-)

[PRICEPLUS]

Re: Stockpiling

We stockpile paper goods and canned goods. The wife and I are always on the lookout for sales. Some items don't go on sale around here on a regular basis. We always look to stock up. We also found that milk in our local drug store is cheaper than our supermarket. Go figure. We freeze the milk. We also freeze bread when we find a good sale.

[akaivyleaf]

Re: Stockpiling

I do stockpile, non perishable items, and/or items that I use a lot of when its on sale. I'll never run out of TP, Paper Towels (probably because I use dish towels and real napkins) Laundry detergent, deodarant, soap, coca cola. I haven't purchased a deep freezer, but when I do, I will stock up on meats, by going to the meat market and buying in larger quantity.

[dewdrop]

Re: Stockpiling

I firmly believe in stockpiling even for just the 2 of us. Each week I try to add a couple of items to my stockpile. Seeing all of those coffee beans spoiling in the ports of Louisiana/Mississippi, I bought 2 extra 1 lb. packages of coffee this week. It will keep fresh in my freezer for a long time and since I bought the vacumn packaged coffee, it won't take up much room. I am however bad about stocking toilet paper. It just cost so darn much but I need to start doing it just to be sensible. I stock canned food and rice. I try to keep atleast 3 bottles of shampoo/conditioner on hand. I have about 50 bars of soap and they store easily. Stockpiling is something I just grew up doing because we lived out in the country and weekly grocery shopping wasn't done. It was more like monthly.

[shengmei]

Re: Stockpiling

Since I have five cats, I DEFINITELY stockpile cat food.

[joeswife]

Re: Stockpiling

my exh wouldnt work when we were married. so i didnt always have enough food for the kids to have good meals thru the month. so now i dont feel happy and secure without haveing a good stock of food for us. i have 3 kids, my self and dh. i also have 2 full deep freezers, a full pantry and a full set of shelves in my laundry room. we live in the country and even tho i have a 4x4, sometimes im worried in the winter that we wont be able to get out and get food. plus i live only 100 feet from my parents. my father cant get out well in the winter,and my mom is a long haul truck driver. so in the winter, i usually make sure to feed my dad. either way..i try to keep about a 6 month supply of food in my kitchen, just in case.

[Gailete]

Re: Stockpiling

There is just two of us also, but I stockpile what I can. I ignore expiration dates on some products and have never had a problem. I love knowing I have food in the house at all times. I'm disabled with arthritis and never know when I will flare-up and as flare-ups can last several days at a time, I can't ever let the groceries go down to nothing for fear I will get sick and not be able to get out for while. We also only have one vehicle, so I can't just jump in the car to go get something if we run out. We live in an area with blizzards and lots of snow so even more days in the winter that I can't get out.

Because of our frugal lifestyle anyhow there are only specific things I stockpile, and that's the stuff we use. I buy shampoo every 3-4 years when it goes down to my price (this year I finally broke down and bought it at 69 cents a bottle--usually almost $2). I stockpile only the brands of soap that we use, detergent, canned gods, generic tylenol, toothpaste, etc. I used to (years ago) stockpile any kind of brand or anything I could find cheap, but that ends up being a waste in the end. Toilet paper I buy by the case--don't ever want to run out of that!

I am looking forward to a 4'x8' pantry that I will have in our new home when it is finished.

[esmeralda]

Re: Stockpiling

Yes, we stockpile. I come from a long line of stockpilers. I track prices in the pricebook and when something is on sale for the lowest price I've seen in a while, we load up. But only on things that are non-perishable and that we use. Last weekend I found cat littler for $.21 per lb. We bought four 30 lb pails. And the pails can be used for lots of things like cleaning and storing after we use the litter.

we are now at the point where most of our extra storage space is full and we dont really need a lot more. Now the fun is in finding the things we use at the absolutely lowest price possible. It becomes a game after a while.

[meaghanchan]

Re: Stockpiling

I don't drive, so stockpiling's difficult. It's hard to carry 30 cans of something 10 minutes to the subway, 40 minutes on the subway (if you can't get a seat) and then 10 minutes home. If something's at a good price (and isn't too heavy) I'll buy a couple extras. But if it's too much for me to carry home... it's not going to happen, no matter how good the price is.

[mom-from-missouri]

Re: Stockpiling

When you stockpile, don't forget to use "wasted spaces" such as under your bed. (a friend of mine keeps soup in her suitcase under the bed, and paper towels in her clothes dryer, since she has not used the dryer in over a year), an unused camper,... Above a garage door might be a good place to keep lighter items, such as TP, depending on how your garage door is mounted.
Also, remember to cycle thru it, watching dates. Medications and such, also have exp dates and need to be kept out of the moisture/heat. Also make sure items in cardboard boxes or thin plastic are kept in a bug free/mouse free area. Remember that mothballs repel buts, but also melt plastic and will ruin food.
Be careful in stockpiling flamable items--such as TP and papergoods. Don't store them next to the furnace or hot water heater.

[pschale]

Re: Stockpiling

I grew up stockpiling everything - my mom was the biggest pennypincher I have ever seen. She got us thru some bad times when Daddy wasn't getting to work because of all the stuff she had stockpiled.

[ScottO]

Re: Stockpiling

Sometimes it's hard to stockpile if you have kids.

I used to stockpile things that were on sale but lately my 15 year old soon see's his a stockpile of his favorite food item and will go through it in days.

In his mind he sees an unlimited supply and thinks nothing of eating two or three times the amount he would normally eat.

We then also lose money because he will be full at dinner time and we will generally throw out his untouched dinner.

[Tree0164]

Re: Stockpiling

Make sure you are also using a pricebook and getting the lowest price.

Yesterday my local market had a good deal. Canned veggies 3/$1.00 and Spaghetti sauce 89cents for 26oz. Those were good deals and the lowest I know I can get for the price.I bought 15 canned of veggies. and 6 of the spaghetti sauce.

[Snoopy2645]

Re: Stockpiling

I stockpile all HBA products I can usually get them free with coupons such as soap, toothpaste, & shampoos & diapers if I can find them super cheap & dishwasher soap too always get that for free & have it stockpiled.

As for food we do have a small stockpile but I usually dont get good deals on any foods except meat we get that from dh's work really really cheap but we buy it in bulk so we always have that in case anything happens we can live on that for a little while.