Before I even start to write this article I am going to tell you – Stockpiling is NOT the same thing as hoarding. Hoarders gather everything and save everything whether it is of value or even usable. Stockpilers have a reserve of products that their families use and in my experience, stock piles are usually kept highly organized, not just thrown in a mound.
Stockpiles can come in many shapes, sizes and locations. You may choose to stock only a few items, have one shelf, boxes under the bed, a corner of the basement or a whole room devoted to it (like me!). Each person’s stockpile is to their own personal preference.
I am going to share with you my Top 5 reasons for stockpiling – and why you should too!
Never Run Out of Necessities
Have you ever been in the middle of cooking dinner only to find out that you are missing a key ingredient? Or about to start a load of laundry and find an empty bottle of detergent. Or worse yet, a trip to the bathroom and find no paper on the roll! These things will NEVER happen again if you have a stock pile!
The main reason I have a stockpile is so that I have the things we use always in the house. This saves so much time, money and complication!
Go through your home and find the products that you use on a daily basis or that run out quickly. Wait for a deal on them and stock up! My favourite things to stockpile are laundry detergent, paper products, personal hygiene products and cereal. What are yours?
No More Unplanned Trips to the Store
As discussed above, running out of the basics results in an unplanned trip to the store. For many of us, we may just run to a convenience store to pick up said item. Definitely no savings there. If you are brave and decide to head to Walmart or SDM to pick up your item you are likely going to be spending a lot more time just to pick up that one item. On top of that, there is also a HUGE increase in the likelihood that you are going to pick up something else while you are there. Whatever savings you had, now is gone.
Stockpiling is just so much more convenient!
Anyone and Everyone Can Do It
Stockpiling isn’t hard. It doesn’t have to take up a lot of space. Anyone can do it – and should! You can shop sales, use coupons, price match, sign up for samples or any combination of these to help build your stock.
Save Money in the Long Run
Many people think that it costs to much money to stock up on a bunch of items at once. This is true and not at the same time. Don’t think that you can build a stock pile in one shopping trip. It isn’t going to happen – not the way you want it to anyways. You will wind up buying to much and paying way more out of pocket than if you build it up gradually.
Wait for a super deal on 1 or 2 items and purchase enough to stock up for however long you want. The math really does show you the savings:
Let’s say your family always uses Shampoo X. It retails for $5.99 a bottle and you go through 12 bottles a year. If you were to buy 1 bottle at a time when you run out you wind up spending $71.88 over the course of the year.
Now let’s say Shampoo X is on sale for $3.99 and there is a coupon for $2 off. This makes each product only $1.99. So now you purchase your whole year’s supply of Shampoo X at once. You will pay $23.88 for the whole lot.
That works out to a savings of $48 over the year on just shampoo alone! Now imagine the same results with toilet paper, laundry detergent, deodorant etc etc etc.
Put Savings Towards Another Cause
Now that you can see how much money stockpiling really can save you, imagine what you can do with all that extra cash! Shopping smartly can save you hundreds or thousands of dollars a year! What you choose to do with it is entirely up to you and your families needs. Saving for a house or paying off a mortgage? Use the balance of your grocery budget as extra funds. Trying to get debt-free? Pay off a little more on each bill every month with it. Need a vacation? Put your savings away for your dream trip!
The possibilities are endless!
Do you stockpile? If you have any other tips, please share them in the comments below!
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