Perfectly Practical #15 - Stockpiling

I took a friend around my house the other day to check out our "store" and when she got to the feminine products she exclaimed, "You're set until menopause!"  She might be right.

Stockpiling is basically buying items when they are on sale so that you don't have to pay full price when you need them. 

For instance, Hunt's tomatoes were $.25 a can a few months ago, so I bought more than I needed at that time.  If I needed canned tomatoes today, I would have to pay somewhere between $.88 and $1.99 (organic.)  I also, wouldn't have the panic mode of oh my gosh I am in the middle of making spaghetti sauce and I've run out of tomatoes.
 
Make no mistake, there is a difference between stockpiling and hoarding: 

• Stockpiling is buying more than you need of stuff you will use so that you have it when you need it. 
• Hoarding is buying more than you need of stuff you will or won't use and letting the stuff you did buy go to waste. 

I admit that I buy cat food and treats sometimes and we do not have a cat.  Is that hoarding?  No.  Diva and I go down to the Pet Place and take the treats to them.  So even though I bought stuff (with coupons and on sale so that I get them for free) that I couldn't use, it wasn't wasted because it was given to somewhere that could use the items.  We do the same with boxed potatoes - no, we don't take them to the Pet Place - we give them to the food pantry.

Stockpiling also gives us flexibility.  Whenever a baby shower comes up, I have a ready made gift from my stockpile of baby toiletries.  What about a wedding gift?  Well, when CVS has their 5qt. Rival crock pots for $20 and give you $10 in ECBs to take it, then I stock up. 

Between Diva's school and Engineer's work, I get asked just about every week for items to donate to animal shelters, food drives, yard sales, etc. and I am always prepared since I have a stockpile.

The best benefit of a stockpile though is when Engineer hollers from the bathroom that he is out of hair product (a mortal sin) and I can sweetly answer him with "Have you checked the store?" and there it is, a perfectly practical solution - stockpiling.

Part of Works for Me.