When do you stop stockpiling?

[MarianneR]

At what point do you say, "enough is enough". I started stockpiling a few years ago, and I can't resist stocking up on something when it's at the "magic price", whether I really need it or not. I am beginning to feel that I am feeding an addiction. I worry about the economy, and that makes me want to stock up even more. I have so much tuna fish, peanut butter, cake and brownie mix, cereal, baking supplies, and toiletries from CVS and Walgreens that I have pretty much run out of room for it all. The stash is no longer organized. My husband is beginning to ask, "How much do we really need?" And I've begun to ask myself the same thing. Does anyone else struggle with this problem?

Cheers,

Marianne

[porembam]

This past summer I went through my basement stockpile - everything has a great date now.
You have to rotate your pile and there is such a thing as having enough. I understand that you don't want to pass a deal but if you don't eat it before it expires then it isn't a great deal.

[frugalwarrior2]

Never. We eat out of ours. We keep about a years worth of everything. As the date approaches for expiration I give it to the food pantry and write it off for charity. So it's a cycle.
Some things I get free w/ coupons I buy to give away. Haven't paid more than .15 for the last 20 or so bottles of Franks Hot Sauce.

[forHISglory]

I think you are at a stopping point! I try to keep things rotating, so that I don't end up with unusable items. Not a bargain if I have to throw it out.

[hlwilson07]

with food we stop once our space is full (we have 3 pantrys) and we try to limit each item stocked to 6 months quantity. Once an item is down to the last month I start looking for sales and coupons to restock. As for non food items we try to stick to one years worth. Today I got 4 toothbrushes for free (super double coupons at harris teeter) and my DH has now cut me off. He says we have enough to last more than 2 years. I do have a problem turning away things that cost nothing after coupons. (Hence why I got 4 free canisters of oatmeal today even though I have 6 months worth already, but I did give 2 to my MIL)

[frugalfranny]

I have to watch it or I will do the same thing. If it is a keeper like toilet paper or paper towels I don't worry about it.

Everything else I try to monitor carefully and not go beyond what I could use up in 6 months. Especially the things with yeast in them.......that will get old and not rise/bake properly. If it is something like butter, that will go in my freezer, I don't worry so much and will buy more if a really good sale comes along.

Have heard (and a friend does it) that you can keep cake mixes and etc. in your freezer and they keep longer but I don't have room in my freezer. Same with coffee........but no room!!

[mamamia]

In the beginning of learning the coupon game and starting my stockpiling, I was also just like you. For some reason, I felt I HAD to get EVERY last deal, and use ALL my coupons. But it didn't take too long before I learned that the sales and the coupons repeat themselves in cycles, so really, there's no need for any "coupon anxiety"....lol

Now I stock mostly in just 6's and 12's of items. I feel SO much better, and way more in control. Just one of those things that make my life a little better! ....and besides my food allowance seeming to go further, the cupboards and freezers are MUCH easier to manage too.

Theresa

[Siebrie]

If you have to throw away excess food, you are not saving money, nor helping the environment. Do yourself a favour and stockpile realistically. If you only eat one tin of tuna per month, and there is a sale every 3 months, you only need 3 tins.

[scooby8themall]

We recently moved and I had stocked piled so much I had to give a lot away so now I pace myself If it is a good deal I will get what I think we will eat I live with my brother and his 2 sons and my daughter and granddaughter and my DH so there are 7 of us who combine money for groceries and we use a lot of coupons so some items I feel I could not have enough of and some would be way too much but like the original op some times a deal is hard to pass up.

[Nana2two]

We do eat out of our's.I do use coupons but have found over the years i don't use the items. If its free or less then 25 cents i will buy and donate to church or a family in need.
Using coupons lately is always got buy 2 or 3 to save that 50 cents.

[krbshappy71]

Can you take a day to sit in front of it and organize it? Maybe there are items you are buying but not going through fast enough to bother stockpiling with that item. Curb it on that item for a little while.

You will feel better about your next purchase if you know it wont go to waste, you will be able to turn your head away from an item you TRULY know you will not use up. But without that information it all looks like a "steal".

I used to do the same with meat. If meat was a good price, by golly I had to have it! Um, I don't care what good of a deal it was, throwing out food is never a deal.

[Ilovesewing]

I stopped stockpiling for two reasons a few years ago:

1) My kids are grown. One moved out and the other is rarely home. And eats at home even less than that. So I don't 'need' a ton of food around, and what I do have sits around even longer than it used to. So my pantry is stocked and I replenish when I need to. Even grocery shopping has whittled down to not often. Since I don't need much I don't worry about the cost difference any more. I will still watch and shop for sales, but I don't stock up for months down the road.

2) Last year we redecorated our bedroom. New furniture, carpet, paint, the whole deal. What was left when we were finished was a beautiful, simple, clean bedroom. And I LOVE it. And I figured out that 'stuff' makes me nuts! So I'm going through my house and simplifying...and that includes my kitchen and the pantry.

And you know what I have found since I no longer stockpile? My grocery budget has not changed, we always have plenty to eat, and we don't run out of anything.

Someone here posted once that they were going to the stores to get their stockpile up...and she did. She went and bought just what she needed in the amounts she needed. I asked her about best prices etc., and she said she was stockpiling for need (LDS Maybe? I don't remember) which was separate from being frugal. Whoa! Lightbulb moment for me! In fact, that may have been when I stopped working on stockpiling. If the need arrives one day when I need to stockpile groceries, I will do that. I have the money so that isn't an issue. Most frugal way? No, but if it comes down to a need to stock up, frugality is out the window. At that point best prices would be the least of my worries.

And I must say - I am MUCH happier now. Something very freeing about letting go....

[MomToTwoBoys]

I stopped stockpiling because of a diet change. We're not on that diet anymore, but I just don't have the room to start back up again right now. Once we get our house and it has a pantry in it, I'll consider stockpiling again.

[brennasmom]

I go thru occassionally and give surplus to the food bank if I know we won't be able to get thru it before it expires.

Other than that I try to buy what my family can use within a reasonable time frame (sales cycles, etc...)

[NikoSan999]

I've always had a well stocked pantry but started real stockpiling beginning of last year. Ours was due to economy, job loss, self employment and pending bankruptcy. I started off wanting a 6 month stockpile and by toward end of year decided a year. Bankruptcy happened last of April and bank is trying to take the business for no reason. Long story. Glad I did what I did for the year stockpiling. Guess I'm saying whatever YOU think for you realistically.

We eat out of ours and I replenish what's used. I eventually had stockpiled everything that we use plus some extras. Somethings like coffee, coffeemate, splenda, toilet paper etc I found we use 3 times as much as what I thought we did. Those are a constant buy. Other I wait until I'm way down before I buy a bunch of like Shake & Bake. Boxed items ususally expire quicker than canned. I, too, have a ton of brownies, cake etc.

I understand about the economy. That's what happened to us and still happening. Decide how long you want it to be for...3 months, 6, a year? Write down everything you use whether it be margarine, sugar, cake mixes etc. Write down how many you think you will need for that time. Keep the list and as you use out of it put it on a grocery list for replenish. Watch for the sales on those items.

This way you will always have the long term stockpile for whatever length of time and still be able to enjoy the feeling of stockpiling. Check out the expiration dates on everything before you put in the cart. Get the longest most of the time in the back.

I, myself, don't worry much about expiration dates unless it's really way out there. I figure when I open it, or taste it I'll know. No one's died yet.