Money Saving Tuesday- the stockpile

I have not written a money saving Tuesday post in so long it is almost embarassing. To tell you the truth, I couldn't even remember all of the topics I have written about and had to go back and reread them. I am telling myself this is normal and not a sign that I am losing my mind!

One of the many ways I work to save money in our house is through stockpiling. Stockpiling is different from bulk buying. When i bulk buy I buy a lot at one time, and I add it to my stockpile. But stockpiling is simply having a large amount of one product. I stockpile several products. I add to the stockpile whenever I see a good sale, or we head to BJ's. By doing this I know that I won't have to pay full price for many items in my pantry.

One item I stockpile the most is pasta. We eat pasta at least once a week, sometimes twice (once as a main dish and once as a side). I never pay full price for a box of pasta. The most I pay is $1 and lately I haven't even paid that much. I also stockpile items like:
toothpaste
peanut butter
juice boxes
cereal
poptarts
granola bars
cheese (in the freezer)
chicken
ground turkey
ice cream
soda (my vice)
hot chocolate
fluff
mayonnaise
apple juice (Owen's favorite)
salad dressing
macaroni and cheese
fruit snacks
oats
flour (I recently bought bags for 99 cents each, I have five bags in my pantry)
sugar
canned soup
bread (this freezes well!)
milk (if it is on sale I freeze it)
shampoo
soap
deoderant
toilet paper
paper towels

Most of the items are non perishable. The rest are frozen.

I save a lot of money by stockpiling and have more freedom in my meal planning. If I want a chicken dish, but chicken is not on sale, I simply "shop" in my freezer. Stockpiling also allows me to shop the sales. If pasta is on sale I buy it, even if we don't need it. This past week pasta was 69 cents a box. That is super cheap where I live. I bought five boxes. I would have bought more, but it was on sale for 77 cents three weeks ago and I bought ten boxes then. I am running out of room for pasta! Now I will not need to pay full price for pasta and can use the money in my weekly budget for groceries to buy other items that are on sale.

I love love love soda. But I cannot pay $4 for a 12 pack. It just is not in my budget So when it is on sale for $2.50 a 12 pack, or less, Jon and I stock up. We might spend $20 on soda one week, but we won't buy it again for about two monhts. Yes that is still high for our budget, but it is one of the last areas I will cut from when cutting my food budget. I'll cut chocolate and ice cream and otehr fun snacks before I'll cut soda! Luckily, because I work to keep my grocery bill down, I can afford to purchase the soda.

I never understood stockpiling until I became a stay at home mom working with a budget based on one income. I want my family to eat healthy, and I also want freedom in my meal planning. by stockpiling I can have both!