I came across this article the other day. I love to stockpile items for later. Particularly when times are hard like right now, and when Derrick says mom I need some paper, I pull out the notebook paper I bought on sale for 9 cents. When Ken and I got married I had at least a two year supply of soap. He thought it was weird until he saw me shop. Soap for free? Yes that is what I paid or at least close to it. I can remember buying dish soap for 19 cents a bottle. When Powerade came out they put out a free coupon. I went down to the Fresno Bee that day and dug as many coupons out of their trash I could find. We had Powerade for months and we didn't spend one penny on it. Sometimes buying only what you need can take on a different meaning. The lady at the store thought I was crazy when I bought 20 bottles of dishsoap, but I knew I needed it. Not like you aren't going to wash dishes for the rest of your life and 19 cents is far better than 1.99. Below is some great advice on Stockpiling.
Since the economy began heading south this year, the shopping advice from local and national media has been “try not to buy more than you need at one time” which makes me cringe every time I hear it.
While it may seem counter-intuitive to shop for something you don’t need and buy a boatload of it, if you’re buying an item at its rock bottom price and you can stock up on it, then you won’t have to buy it later at full price.
The key to this strategy? Add one or two sale items a week that weren’t on your list that you’ll likely use anyway. Use coupons to sweeten the deal and buy as many as you can at that price. Today at Target, 150-sheet lined notebook paper was on clearance for .12 cents each. Needless to say, at a savings of 88% off full retail, I bought enough paper for the kids that I won’t need to buy it again for several years. I’ll toss it in a Rubbermaid tub and pull it out when we need it.
As you begin to shop this way, keep a few things in mind:
How much can I budget on building my stockpile each week? Take a percentage of what you currently spend and reallocate it to shopping for long-term-use deals.
Will my family use up the product before it expires? My kids go through one jar of peanut butter a week, so when I can get it for less than .50 cents per jar, I buy at least 52 jars to get me through a whole year.
Do I have room to store these items in a way that makes sense? An investment in storage totes, shelving and a deep freezer can help you save in the long term.
If you can incorporate this tactic into your personal shopping routine, you might spend a little more at first, but ultimately, it will reduce your groceries costs more each month. A few years of shopping this way, I’ve cut our grocery bill down to about $200 a month. My family could live off the products stored in the garage for several months if we ever came on tough times. And best of all, I can take the money we save and use it somewhere else.
2 comments:
I am starting to do some of this. I have a hard time with organization, so I can't buy things that I will forget about. But, I am finding this to be a very beneficial approach to cutting costs.
One thing I wonder about, however, is if stockpiling encourages a belief that one is self-sufficient. It's not that I would challenge the prudence of doing so, its just a question that gets to motive and unexpected attitudinal consequences (the ethics of stockpiling so to speak).
Maybe a useful practice, for some people, would be to tithe on the freebies/mega cheap deals. That is, if we can afford to purchase 100 packs of binder paper at $0.12 a piece, maybe we could take 10 of those to Dakota House. This would be a reminder that God, not our cleverness, is our source.
Amy,
For me stockpiling is simply prudent. I buy things that I use at a price I can afford, within my monthly budget. I always donate what I will not use myself, and for me I feel incredibly blessed if I come across someone who needs something and I can pull it out of my stockpiles. We don't have the means to donate in a large way, so this is a great way for us to do it.
I think If I understand your question you worry about the ethics of stockpiling for personal gain? While I know there are people out there who do it, that has never been my motivation. In fact it is that kind of behavior that ruins it for the rest of us who are simply trying to be prudent and possibly help others.
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