stockpiling on a tight budget?

[sermon527]

I want to start a stockpile, but i have an extremely strict budget.. any suggestions??

[NikoSan999]

I want to start a stockpile, but i have an extremely strict budget.. any suggestions??

Hi there, this is totally amazing...Although we have have been in Florida ( unfortunately ) for 15 years we moved here from Pataskala Ohio. Beecher Road. We go back to visit once in awhile family and friends. Wonder if I know you??? This is so cool.
Back to question...start small with the extras..that's all you can do. Only buy things you know you will eat/use. I started buying the cheaper things first as it made me feel like I was accomplishing something. Make a list of things you use..especially if used often. Make these items your priority. Coupons...sale items..loss leaders etc. If you can only do $5 a week then that's what you spend for the stockpile. You are going to get a lot of answers on this one.
I never used my "start up" stuff for a long time but probably only because I needed to see accomplishment. Make your list first.

[many houseapes]

hope these suggestions help - what I have found that works for us is that sometimes our grocery store will have baskets of discouted canned goods -this is great if it is name brand items & you have coupons. I walked out of the store with boxes of hamburger helper for .25 each. Big Lots usually has an area in their stores w/ marked down food items....sometimes someone will offer non-perishable food items on our local FreeCycle....& watch for sales & whatever grocery money that you save from sales, roll that money over to your next grocery list & use it just for stockpiling - even if you saved .50 from the previous trip. Only buy what your family will eat. It takes awhile to buuild your stockpile,but you will get there There is a magazine called Refund Cents where a bunch of people share their stories about the deals they received by combining sales/coupons/refunds etc & their stockpile pictures are amazing (they're online too)

[Judi Dial]

There's a list from the Mormons, the link is below. This builds a stockpile over a year for only $5 a week.

http://users.htcomp.net/prep/default.htm

Judi

[amyd]

I would reccomend starting small. Maybe pick up one or two extra items a week that are on sale or just something you will use. If you're at Aldi's: Maybe a couple of cans of soup one week and a box of saltines and peanut butter the next. Next time, a pound of frozen ground turkey and their version of hamburger helper. Next week, a couple extra cans of vegetables. Before long, you will have several meals worth of food stashed away.

[Maine Girl]

I started doing stockpiling with $5.00 a month. I had a dollar coupon for the toothpaste i use. It was also on sale and i was able to get another coupon. Then i started looking at the flyers and cutting coupons for products that i use. I now spend about $10.00 a month on stockpiling.

[CouponShelle]

Do you live in a town with a CVS? I routinely get stuff there for free or VERY cheap after Extra care bucks. I have built up my stockpile of health and beauty products using very little out of pocket money (less than $5 a week).

[Incognito]

If possible for you, buy in bulk. (And buy a freezer--used or new, for storing foods). It will save you money over and over again. Choose a few items one month (detergent, flour, bread, cereal, etc.) and a few different items the next month. Always correlate your spending with the store-sales, and use coupons and free product coupons whenever you can with them.
In a short time, you will have all the products you regularly use, and because they are in larger-sized containers, they will last you longer than usual.
Keep account of your budget and expenses, and use the money you saved to either increase your stockpile or to buy other items, always with coupons if possible.

Join a few coupon/freebie/coupon-trading sites on the internet and they will mail you coupons and samples regularly. Whenever a company is doing a promotion of their product, that is the time to buy it, again with coupons or free product coupons. Buy as much as you can afford within your budget, because the promotion won't last too long. For example: bodywash on promotion might be only $1-$2 per bottle, or even free, plus tax; but it will rise several dollars more in price after a few months of the initial promotion, so get it while its cheap. Stockpile some bottles; then watch for other promotions on other products; when they come up, make a purchase plan, get your coupons out and go shopping, over and over again, till you've got a good supply of that product too.

Stockpiling and saving money are mindsets which come from an initial decision and concentrated effort to get control of spending and to empower oneself to have the provisions needed now and for an emergency. Good luck, and remember, we're all in this together!

[NewLeaf]

I started my stockpile using $100 from our tax refund. I took that money to Save a lot and stocked up on the very basics. Flour, powdered milk, canned fruits and vegies, shortening, sugar, salt (you get the idea). My stock pile started out as ingrediants you can make meals from. Also, I added dried pinto and black beans and rice.

Then I just added one or two items caught on sale w/a coupon. Eventually I was able to buy less weekly groceries and use part of that budget to stockpile.

I only keep about 3 months supply. I just can't seem to get past that hump. And I keep meat in the freezer too (all bought marked down).

I go to a Salvage grocery store and get things at rock bottom price. Coffee, tea, bread, baking goods, spices, t.p. and juice. Recently I got 2 cases of MRE's for $20 ea.

I am really trying to take advantage of CVS sales and coupons.

Just realize that this takes time and eventually it will accumulate. Only buy what you will eat. Set a goal. Maybe aim for a two weeks supply at first.....

[Grainlady]

I love the $5 idea, and highly encourage using that method, but the link above is sorely lacking in a good variety of foods - such as vegetables and fruits - but the link still gives a good idea of what can be done on a budget inspite of it's nutritional failings. You should stockpile food from ALL the food groups, and foods your family enjoys to eat. This doesn't mean you can't try foods you have never thought about using before, like wheat, which can be used in many ways.

On my fixed food dollars ($50/week - 2 adults) I have managed to build 3 levels of food storage, over-time - all with those food dollars. Having done so, I now "shop-at-home" for meal preparation and don't have to rely on my next trip to the grocery store.

1. 72-hour Emergency Food (needs no heating or refrigeration)
http://lds.about.com/od/preparedness...72hour_kit.htm
2. Everyday Pantry Foods
3. Long-term Emergency Foods

I built my food storage in that order. When I had the 72-hour Emergency Foods in storage, then my goal was a 3-month supply of Pantry Foods, which is now a 6-month supply. After that was accomplished, I worked on the Long-term Emergency Foods which covers 1-3 years worth of a large variety of foods - especially the "Seven Survival Foods" - grains, legumes, sprouting seeds, sweetener/s of choice, salt, oil and powdered milk. ALL food is eventually rotated from storage to pantry use.

Choose ingredients with which you can make foods from scratch, rather than huge amounts of highly processed convenience foods - to get your best food dollar choices. For instance, with ingredients I have in storage I make my own "convenience" foods - Bisquick substitute (aka baking mix), pancake mix, pudding mixes, cocoa mixes, cream of ________ soup, homemade yogurt/kefir/buttermilk, all the cereals we use are homemade from either whole grains or gluten. I use tomato powder (http://www.thespicehouse.com/spices/tomato-powder) to make tomato paste, tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce..... It's less expensive and takes up less room than all those cans/bottles. I can also avoid ingredients we try to avoid - MSG, high-fructose corn syrup, etc...

Don't overlook all the FREE food you can add to your food storage. I dehydrate lots of free food. Free-for-the-picking apples are dehydrated and are our #1 snack food, and are used for making applesauce, and anything else you use apples. We use dehydrated zucchini slices (which you can generally get free from anyone who has more than one plant in their garden) instead of chips.

Food in storage is "an emergency fund you can eat", and it can be done on a small budget, it just takes longer. Speed things up by applying "found" money to the stockpile project. Have a garage sale and apply that money, or collect aluminum cans and turn them in for cash, put money gifted to you towards the effort. The beauty of it all, once you have it established, you just need to replenish things. So you can wait until you find a great bargain on tuna before you purchase several of them.

Good luck and good stockpiling....

[shoiji]

Stockpiling with coupons really helps. I still have some seasoned rice that I was able to get for free.

When stockpiling always check the expiration dates. Although soap items you probably don't have to worry about, such as laundry detergent.

The holidays are coming up and there will be sales for baking items. If you enjoy baking stock up during the sales.

[shoiji]

Also, canning season is here. I really enjoy using mason jars to store food. So you might want to pick up some quart or larger size jars. They may also be on sale. I have even found them at thrift stores.

[perSue]

I don't have too much else to add, except for my experience.
Being on a tight budget myself my "stockpile" would look like a normal kitchen for some... but when I have a few extra dollars, things are on sale (that i need and use) and/or have a coupon, I buy a couple extras.
Be it that I buy an extra pack of TP this week or extra vegetable broth or extra toothpaste... it will get used.

Good luck & just keep your eyes open for sales at different places. Or if you can buy the bulk items, that helps us out a lot.

[Tai]

We're on a very tight budget as well. I have $40 per week to pay for cleaning supplies, personal care items, groceries, and diapers for 2 kids. I am a "militant" couponer as my DH calls it- if its not a whole food we don't buy it without a coupon. Period. I haven't bought something that wasn't on sale for several years now.

We built our stockpile sale by sale. For example, there are catalina deals at one of my local stores that I'll "roll" over and over- buy $20 worth of groceries (before coupons), get $10 in coupons, then go back and buy $20 more and use that coupon to pay less, then get another coupon for $10. This week alone I've hit my grocery store 5 times, paid a total of $6.85 out of pocket for over $200 worth of groceries. Because of this week, we have 20 boxes of veggie burgers, which is about equal to 4 months' supply at my house.

I also only buy things on sale- I won't pay more than $1.79/lb for chicken breasts, so when they hit that price or lower I'll buy $20 worth and repackage at home. We don't eat much meat- I use more beans, lentils, and rice now that we're on such a strict budget.

[NewLeaf]

Tai, what store does the "roll over " deal? I think our Food City gives fuel bucks and coupons when you buy so many Food Club or Value time items.... You are doing great!!!