Stockpiling is the practice of slowly build up a large supply of food and household products for your family’s use.  The size of your stockpile depends on your family and how much they consume.  You generally want to stockpile enough of each product to get you through until the next big sale rolls around.

Why stockpile you ask?  Stockpiling can save you big money if done correctly.   If you build your family’s stockpile strategically by utilizing sales + coupons, you will never have to buy anything at full price again! This is because you will have multiple backups of the items you use on a regular basis and you won’t need to buy them until they are at rock bottom prices again.

There is a possible downside to stockpiling and that is spending too much money and/or buying things you cannot possibly use within your lifetime or even getting addicted to shopping (if you aren’t already) but don’t worry, I’ll tell you how to avoid the pitfalls since I’ve experienced most of them!

Let's start where we left off in the "What is Stockpiling" Class.  We were about to discuss replenishing your stockpile.

Replenishing: Although your shopping trips will dramatically decrease once you have built up a decent stockpile, you need to understand that in order to stockpile successfully, you will need to keep up your stockpile.  This means taking advantage of the rock bottom deals that come along (you will see over time that they come every so often).   You should realize that stockpiling is an ongoing process.

In order to know what needs replenishing and when, you will need to keep track of your inventory so let's talk about that.

Keeping Track of Your Stockpile Inventory and Expiration Dates

Keep a Detailed Inventory: It is important to keep an updated and detailed inventory of your stockpile so you know how much you have of everything and can plan for upcoming sales, etc.  It also helps you track how much of each product you use and how often, not to mention how much you spend on a specific product.

There are many ways to keep track of your inventory such as a written form, excel spreadsheet or even a software program.  You should use whatever is easiest for you because if it's not easy, you won't keep it up.

Food Safety: Many of us, to some extent, stockpile on foods that have expiration dates such as meats, etc. because we can separate and freeze them so it’s important to keep track of the expiration dates of the foods you purchase. Lets take a look at a list of foods and how long they generally last,

Expiration Date Chart: The following is a basic food expiration date chart that you may want to print and keep handy. I recommend marking anything that doesn’t have an expiration date with a sharpie pen. (Such as freezer bags, etc.).