Save Money By... Stockpiling!
As promised, this week I’m posting about how to save money by stockpiling. Stockpiling for the purposes of this post is not hoarding enough food to survive Armageddon, but instead it is buying a little bit extra non-perishable food and toiletries when they are on sale and saving it until you need it all. Please see the last paragraph for my thoughts on extreme couponing and extreme stockpiling (hint…I am totally against it). Amassing a small stockpile, though, can be a great way to save money on the things your family needs.
I used to buy things when I needed them. I would notice us getting low on an item, and add it to my shopping list. This resulted in me having to pay whatever the item cost when I went to the store because we needed it right then and couldn’t wait for it to go on sale. We don't have a pantry and our linen closet is teeny tiny, so I didn't really have room to be fully stocked up on anything. But so many hot deals would pass me by if I only bought something at the moment that we need it. To really save money on things like toiletries and non-perishable foods, you have to develop a way to stockpile. When toothpaste is essentially free at CVS, you pick it up and store it for when you will need it in the future. If you can get $.09 applesauce at Target, you buy enough to last a few months and make an applesauce pyramid on your pantry shelf.
One key to stockpiling is knowing when to stock up on something. When is that price good enough to buy extras? That is a personal decision that is based on your budget and how much time you have to devote to coupons/bargain shopping. If you are an avid couponer then you may have a different “stock up price” than someone who only clips a few coupons per week or doesn’t coupon at all. It’s a good idea to pay close attention to the price of the things your family uses the most. For example, my kids love black beans and they prefer a specific brand. That brand usually costs $.98/can, so if I see it go on sale for $.80/can or less I know that I want to buy a few extras. If it were to somehow go on sale for $.50/can, then I would fully stock up for the next few months.
The thing is, while you are stockpiling, you may not notice that your grocery bills are dropping. But as time goes on and your stockpile grows, you won't need to buy all of those things that you have stored away, so you'll start seeing those savings. It took me a few months to get to that point. I used to spend plenty of $$ on toiletries each week at Target and now my Target bills are less than half of what they used to be. Oh, and I solved my space problem by using a large plastic bin in my basement as my toiletry stockpile and a shelving unit that used to hold a mish mash of things for my "pantry." It's not perfect, but you work with the space you have.
And finally, a note on the new trend of “extreme couponing” and buying up tons of extras of things on sale….I find this behavior to be greedy and excessive. No family can ever consume 400 jars of pasta sauce in a year, so why would you ever buy that many, even if they are free after a coupon? A smart stockpile is one that has no more than 3 month’s worth of food for your family. Sales and coupons are cyclical so before you run out, most things will be on sale again and you can re-stock your pantry. Buying much more than that is not only greedy (you are preventing other deal-seekers from getting the same deals if you buy every item on the shelf) but also, frankly, stupid. Even “non-perishable” foods eventually expire…or what if you have a flood in your basement and lose your whole stockpile? Having too much of something will eventually lead to waste. So stick with 3 month’s worth (maybe 6 month’s worth for some household items and toiletries) and rest assured that you will have another chance to save money.