I want to focus on stockpiling today because I feel that it has the ability to make a huge impact on a family’s budget, especially in the health and beauty area. Stockpiling can be done in the food area of the budget as well, but attention to detail (expiration dates) is necessary to avoid any waste.
Why create a stockpile: My personal reason for creating a stockpile is to purchase products that my family uses at a price that I want to pay, and not what the retailer wants me to pay. For example, I know that every month I may need to purchase a bottle of body wash, so this is an item that I know I need to stockpile, but I don’t want to pay the $3.00 regular retail price for this product. I know that occasionally the body wash will go on sale for $2.00 so I would want to wait for the sale and buy enough at the sale price to last until the next sale so that I don’t have to pay the regular retail price for the body wash.
Let’s also say that in addition to the body wash being on sale, there is a coupon available for $.50 off of the body wash, which would make the final cost $1.50 after the sale and coupon. The sale and the coupon would be the optimum time to stock-up on the body wash so that you begin to create a stockpile until the next sale. Here’s an example of what the math would look like purchasing five bottles in all three examples:
- Regular Retail: $15
- On Sale: $10
- On Sale and a $.50 coupon: $7.50
By stockpiling the body wash and purchasing the product at either the sale price or the sale plus coupon price, it allows you to use the savings on the body wash in another area of your budget. At first glance the math doesn’t seem to make a huge difference, but in the long-run if other needed items are purchased using the savings from the item that was on sale, this will eventually help reduce expenses in the future.
Stockpiling allows you to reduce the amount you spend on one item and spend that money on another needed item. I know that this is really common sense (purchasing more than one item on sale to stockpile), but I did not think this way three years ago. For health and beauty items I had a set budget and determined what items I would need to purchase every two weeks to make it last until the next two week shopping trip. Occasionally I would do really well with either a coupon or a sale and have a little extra money left in the budget and would use that to purchase something I knew I would need to purchase on the next shopping trip. Nearly all of the items I purchased were paid for at full retail price with an occasional sale or coupon.
What to stockpile: Each persons stockpiling needs will vary based on their family’s needs. When I attempted to start stockpiling I felt like I would never reach a point where I could see a difference in my budget or an increase in my stockpile inventory. It did take approximately six months to stockpile certain items, and I really could see the difference in my budget as I continued my stockpile. Stockpiling sometimes starts out slow in the beginning because you have to wait on sales, or the right coupon, or the combination of the two in order for the stockpiling to be worthwhile.
When to stockpile: At times I’ve actually had the opportunity to stockpile something because it was being clearanced out, and in addition to the clearance I had a coupon for the item which made it a really great deal. I’ve had to pass up some really great deals. When stockpiling always remember to ask yourself if your family has a need for a product and how much of the product do you really need, because who really needs twenty bottles of mustard, even if it is free. Think about the shelf life of the item that you are stockpiling to determine the quantity needed and what your family will be able to use before the product spoils. A lot of food items are shelf stable for a long time, but I have had personal experience with ranch salad dressing going bad before we were able to use it. Check your expiration dates, and use them in order to avoid any spoiled food.
Over time, you will be able to recognize that prices fluctuate for an item and that stores are on a sale cycle. This means that the price of a bottle of dressing may be a great deal once or twice during a three month period, and will not go on sale again until the next cycle. Since sale prices are cyclical, you will need to determine or have an idea of how much stockpile you need when the item goes on sale until it goes on sale again.
Creating a stockpile doesn’t happen overnight. My stockpile took about six months before I was really able to see a difference in both the items I had on hand in my stockpile and the savings in my budget. Stockpiling is not intended for you to break your budget every time you see a sale, it is designed for you to realize a savings in one area so that you can apply that savings in another area of your budget. We have a responsibility for what we are purchasing for our stockpile, even if we are getting a great deal on something. Start slow and eventually you will see the savings.