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*WHY* do you stockpile?

25K views 98 replies 56 participants last post by  bookwormpeg 
#1 ·
If I had to guess, I'm pretty sure that aside from milk, sandwich bread, and fresh fruit/veg, we could live out of our pantry right now out past New Years...
oh, and if the chickens stop laying for the winter, we might have to buy eggs...

For me, part of it is the rumors of prices going up, part of it is I found good deals, part of it was I was on convalescent leave and had nothing
better to do with my time than stalk the good deals...

Now here I am , back to work, looking to pay down debt and seriously considering just NOT buying groceries for a while... just because there's
not much more room for them (nice problem to have) and I could put that money to other use... but then I worry that there will be unrest surrounding the
elections/sequestration/tax changes/etc not necessarily an end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it situation... but some type of disruption of supplies in
some areas.

In the past, when things felt different, I used to stop shopping in November at the latest and run out all of our supplies before New Years. Anything that was
left from the old year went to the foodbank. It was sort of a spiritual thing--the old year had provided more blessings than we could use, so we passed
them on, making room for new blessings to enter our lives. It was also a chance to make sure nothing expired and to wipe the shelves really clean... :)

I don't feel so comfortable with that these days. So here's my question.... why do you stockpile, and how low would you let your supply go if you were
going to use the grocery money saved towards bills (and probably restock later, because it's just such a nice feeling to have it there, just in case)
 
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#64 ·
We stockpile for a number of reasons and a lot mentioned here.

The first reason we started stockpiling was we were newly married and Both got laid off from our jobs. We had just bought a house, had a toddler, and got a new car.We managed, but I never want to have to ration food to my child again. Never!

Second is my hubby worked for jobs that would lay him off, and that would save us during those tight times.

Now I stockpile for those reasons, and also as a security blanket. Nothing makes me feel safer than looking at a full freezer and full shelves.

I want to work up a years stockpile for a family of 5, mainly with things I've canned from my garden. We'll see how that goes. I wouldn't want over a year.
 
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#65 ·
I posted once before a long time ago in this thread and since it's brought up again I'll say for the same reasons as before. When times are hard it's one thing you don't have to worry so much about or at least it's PRETTY much taken care of.
We're looking at some hard times coming up this year. They're already getting tougher and I don't know how bad they're going to be. He can draw full Social Security at 66 this coming August which will ease up some for us...but making it another 4 to 5 months is going to be rough. I've not had to spend a lot this year so far using out of it but at some point I'll have to replenish a lot of it. HBA/paper/laundry is almost gone. Thank God it was there
 
#66 ·
I stockpile because I fear that I will suddenly lose my job and have no money to buy food.

There were many times that I went to bed hungry just to be sure my children had enough. I never want that to happen again.
 
#67 ·
I don't stockpile in the usual sense of buying things on sale but we do grow huge gardens and can, freeze and dehydrate the produce. We also buy in bulk from local orchards and from a co-op. We live 25 miles from town where we shop. Mom and I only go once a month. We both dislike shopping so we avoid is as much as possible.
 
#70 ·
I manly stock pile now because I don't like to go to the store...If I want to fix something I want it here..Also I try 2 buy only what is on sale...Now that I have a good supply I keep a running list when I get low on something I put it on the list and buy when it is on sale this way..to restock..I usually can hold out until it goes on sale and then I always buy more than one..I do try 2 shop on Mondays at this one store because they always have a good bit of meat on managers special at less than 1/2 the regular price and some of it is meat that is on sale anyway..
 
#72 ·
I manly stock pile now because I don't like to go to the store...If I want to fix something I want it here..
Me too. And if I have to go to the store to get something before I can fix it.............it won't get cooked.

I have my stockpile built up enough now that I can skip going to a store if I want...........and that is nice. If the store only has one or two items on sale, and I am running errands, it is easy to say I will wait.......... (course within reason)
 
#71 ·
I learned about the Pantry Principle from the Tightwad Gazette. It made perfect sense to stock up on food that we like to eat when it is at a rock bottom loss leader sale price, hoping to get enough to get us through until it goes on loss leader sale again. So I peruse the sale ads each week and stock up on loss leader sale items that we can use. If we run out of something before it goes on sale again we go without or just buy 1 or 2 to get us by.

Sometimes I think I'm crazy for buying 4 flats of such-and-such food item, but them 6 months later I'm running out of that item hoping it will be on sale again soon so I can get more at that price.
 
#77 ·
So here's my question.... why do you stockpile, and how low would you let your supply go if you were
going to use the grocery money saved towards bills (and probably restock later, because it's just such a nice feeling to have it there, just in case)
The main stockpiling reason for me is the threat of disaster (pandemic, terrorist attack, riots, etc) which are not far-fetched. I guess all it takes is something to disrupt the food chain (production or delivery), and people will be panicking to the grocery store - it wouldn't take long to have shelves emptied. Also, if there is trouble happening out there (riots), it is better to stay off the streets as much as possible.

I buy a lot of food items that we can eat on ordinary days so they can be used before expiration dates (and are replenished). Rule of thumb for me, if I use it - it has to be replaced, pronto! I do have ready-to-eat items.

Start by buying a can of soup for each member of your family- if there are 4 of you, get 4 - and place them right away in your stockpile location.
I'd also get a large box of crackers with that. And if you can, grab a large tub of peanut butter, too. And a couple of pork and beans!
That makes a good start - probably 2 days' worth of food right there.
Get bottled water, or bottle your own (there are sites that show you how).
Make sure you check the best-before-date on items you buy. Make sure you buy what your family will eat.
They should be good for more than a year. I don't buy items that will expire in less than a year.
Try to build up 2 weeks worth of ready-to-eat food supply.

A lot of items you already probably use regularly like quick-cooking oats, tuna, peanut butter, flour etc..,

Try to make a list of items that you would need (medication, baby/pet food, first aid, supplement vitamins, candles/matches (wrap in plastic), hygiene products, etc..,) etc..,

I'm trying to find a better system myself. I'm tempted to put a week's supply of food in a large plastic container (stackable) with earliest best-before-date listed so I can easily spot what needs to be used up and replenished. I'm aiming for 12-weeks supply....apparently that's what UN recommend to their employees.
 
#78 ·
I have always kept a small stockpile but I have been getting a larger one going as of late. The reasons are two fold. First, I am worried about the economy. Second, I need to be stocked up in case my husband gets sick and looses time from work. But whatever comes along I want to be prepared.
 
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#79 ·
A few reasons-
- emergencies, be they man-made or natural. With grocery stores keeping very little 'extra' out back, it's wise to be able to be self-sufficient for as long as you can. Any major disruption in our food distribution chain and there will be trouble. And there's a lot of things that have the capacity to disrupt. We had a major ice storm here 5 or so years ago, and while we were just fine, we had friends who were forced to 'brave it' on the roads shortly after the storm because they had almost no food in the house as they had planned to shop in the next day or two and nothing 'extra' on hand.
-it's financially savvy. Buying things you need in large quantities when there's a deal to be had means spending less over all.
 
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#80 ·
I stockpile non-food items. The reason I do is that I hate shopping. I usually go to Walmart and buy a year's supply of things like tooth paste, tp, paper towels, deodorant, and so on. I clean my own house so I stockpile cleaning supplies and have 2-3 years of all that, purely for convenience sake.

On a funny note one trip to Walmart caused quite a stir when I had all these packages of tp on the counter. The clerk asked me WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH ALL THAT TOILET PAPER? I just sort of grinned. What could I say?
 
#84 ·
I have a small stockpile, and I do so for emergencies and to take advantage of large sales of items I know I will purchase eventually anyway. Doesn't make sense to pay later for something I can get for barely nothing now. :)
 
#85 ·
I am going to repost on this. I still have a good stock of everything so that I don't have to buy at full price. I even work at the store that I shop in most and when we are going to put things on sale that is a good buy I will check my list to see if I need it or not. I always have enough food to go 3 months except bread and milk. I do keep some canned milk just incase of bad weather.. I still keep a running list of things that we use a lot of and keep it stocked at each sale..
 
#86 ·
Great old thread.
I have always stocked up on the things I use when they are on sale. I never used the term stockpile until I came to Frugal Village.
It's nice to know I pay rock bottom prices, plus it is so handy to keep things available. I have a tendency to stock up in the winter, because I spend a lot of time outside once warm weather comes. I am trying to raise & preserve more fruits & veggies myself. I also am prepping more freezer meals.
 
#87 ·
I've been a couponer since I was 18, so almost 30 years. I've never been able to stand spending full price for anything, unless I have to. I love the fact that I can go to my stockpile and pull out a bottle of detergent, or shampoo, or box of cereal or whatever and know I paid pennies on the dollar for it. I love to stockpile, I appreciate the fact that I have the space and can stockpile. I feel better knowing if there is a weather emergency, or an economy emergency that I have a stockpile to fall back on.
 
#88 ·
my stockpiling has gone thru stages. When i was first a young mom my kids got ear infections in the winter and the youngest respiratory viruses. So I would buy a few so i could go out less. As they grew and ate more i upped the couponing and storing esp. as they became teens. Then when my Ds left for collage and then the army I let the stockpile go way down esp. as couponing changed. Now w/ Dh and the surgery/jobless double whammy i stocked in hard. We are well set.
 
#90 ·
I use to stockpile BIG TIME.....with my job there was always someone needing food and it was easy for me to just pull from my stockpile...now that I am retired, I don't run into these people so my stockpile is down......I do not buy anything unless it's on sale and I have a coupon....that will never change.....I could probably feed the two of us for three or four months....
 
#91 ·
This is an oldie but a goodie so I thought it deserved a bump...

I stockpile because my DH was laid off from 3 different jobs between 2002 and 2010. Knowing that we have enough food allows us to stretch our money further in situations like that and focus on keeping a roof over our heads and the lights on.

With the current flooding in the plains, I expect pork, beef, and grains to increase in price. When I stop and think about how far reaching the effects of that may be, it makes me double down on my efforts.
 
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