Tuesday 1 November 2011

Stockpiling


Stockpiling 101

Stockpiling is the number one way to save money on your monthly grocery bills.  You stock up on items that are on sale (and preferably use coupons as well) so that you will have item readily available when you need them.  Not only is this convenient but it will help you to avoid ever paying full price again!

What are the benefits of Stockpiling items?
 
1. Saving Money- The number one reason to build a stockpile in your home is to save money. Stock up on an item when it is on sale instead of purchasing it when you need it for full price. It may not seen like a lot at the time but it all adds up especially if you were pairing your sale items with coupons.

2. Saving Time- I use to hate it when I was baking or cooking a recipe and realized I was missing  one or two ingredients! You either have to stop what you are doing and run to the store or you can't make the recipe.  Nowadays it takes me no time to run downstairs to our "store" in the basement and grab the item from our stockpile.  I really appreciate my stockpile on cold winter days when I look in the fridge and realize we are low on groceries.  I either check out the stockpile in the basement or my deep freezer. It's also great on cleaning days if I run out of cleaning products I can grab some from my stockpile.

3. Save others Money- When I pair my coupons with sale prices in flyers I often get items for next to nothing or FREE.  When this happens I set aside products to give away to family and friends.  I am also building a donation stockpile of items that I know different shelters and soup kitchens would be able to use.  This is a great way to give back to your community.

4. Save your Budget- There are certain months of the year that are harder on your wallet than others. December is particularly hard on the wallet because of gifts, parties, treats, and decorations.  Months like this are reasons I like being able to only buy the basics and rely on my stockpile for the rest.  I will often do weekly menu plans according to what we have in our stockpile to save money on our groceries.
How should my family stockpile?
There are a couple of questions you need to ask yourself before you start a stockpile in you home.
Do I have the space? - To build a stockpile you need to have an area to do it in.  Maybe it's in a spare room in the basement like us or maybe you have room under the stairs. Depending on where you live and the climate, the garage isn't always the best place to store items because of the cold winters and hot summers in Canada.
How much should I stockpile?- Depending on the size of your family and it's needs the answer could be different for everyone.  With my family of 4, we have 6-12 months worth of stockpile at any given time depending on the products.  Don't go overboard and stock up up too much because you don't want item to expire.  Only stock up on what you will use for that given amount of time.  Figure out how long it takes you to go through products and stock accordingly.

How much should I spend on Stockpiling?- Stockpiling can be expensive if you want to stockpile absolutely every sale.  I would suggest starting off slow and adding around $10-$20 onto your budget for stockpiling each week. It takes time to build a stockpile and waiting for the right sales is the key.  Don't blow you monthly budget just because something is a good deal because that would defeat the purpose of saving money.

How should I store my stockpile?- My personal favorite is shelving units and stackable Rubbermaid containers. As you know I like to have everything organized and having anything stackable is organized.  As you can see from my picture above, I have items stacked to the roof!  That picture is just one area of my stockpile.  I try to keep items stock all over the house in the proper rooms for convenience and the basement is the overflow.  

My family has already witnessed the benefits and savings from stockpile while I have been on maternity leave.  It has cut our budget by about 30% already!  I would suggest stockpiling to anyone that would like to save money!




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