When is enough...enough?

[SariniLynn]

It will definitely vary. The one time I was sure I had finally gone overboard, it was 2-liters of coke. There were $1/3 coupons out, and I had gotten several trade offers for high multiples. I went for them. All of them. We literally built a wall in our dining room out of coke bottles. My family came over and laughed at the wall and I looked at that thing and thought, Oh boy, now I've done it. We'll never get through all of that before it goes flat! And can those bottom bottles even support all that weight?!

But you know what? As my husband picked up the next-to-last bottle (of that set; we restocked from the other side of the mountain, so to speak), he commented that it was "still fine, but maybe going flat soon..." Turns out we are just THAT family. ;)

[thickbluebug]

For me, I know I went over board when it's tossed.
When I lost something because it went bad.
Be it because someone helped me by moving a whole box of something or I forgot I put it there - it's still the same.

Something I wasted money on.

Recently I tossed a box of 24 bbq sauces that was suppose to go to my brother and his 5 kids.
Apparently the box got moved from my - to donate area and then into the paper plates/paper towels/air freshener area.
Probably when I brough in my new stuff. Since I had reused the old labeled cardboard box. I guess that someone couldn't tell by the weight that it wasn't light as a feather air fresheners stuff or paper plates.


When it goes bad b4 I could use it - I wasted my time, energy and money for it.
My time, energy and money are very valueable to me.

So I have to take a step back on stockpiling and check my exp dates and rearrange it all.

Now I know:

I can't stockpile huge quantities of cereal. I use to have 100 boxes of it, now I keep less than 25. About a 3 mo supply for us or a 6 week one when the neices and nephews show up.

I can't stockpile huge quantites of crackers or snacks - they go soft about the time they expire

That's the biggest challenge of stockpiling for me - stuff going bad - especially since a lot of the stores put it on sale 2 months away from it's expiry. I may already have 10 at home with a 8 month expiry date and now I just bought x amount of a 2 month date. It's possible that I could end up tossing it.

A waste.

Decisions decision,,,,do I buy 5 for this month or do I buy 25 since it may not be on sale until Jan.

What ever the decision is - when you have to toss it, it was a bad one.

[AndreaCA]

It's a very individual decision based on all of the variables that have been mentioned in previous posts.

I just started seriously couponing in January but I've kept a "stockpile" for years of long-term storage foods and nonperishables. I rotate these items all of the time as I use them and I don't feel comfortable unless I have my pre-determined amount of items on hand. For example, soap & toilet paper, I like to keep a one year supply on hand. Same for pasta, beans, oatmeal, peanut butter, tuna, rice, etc. Things like crackers and prepackaged cereals, I only keep a 3 month supply on hand, otherwise they go bad and get tossed. But, I do store and use the basic ingredients to make these things should I need to.

Did I get a great deal on all of these things? Yes, for the most part they were all bought on sale in quantity but saving money isn't the only reason I store them. My DH and I are self-employed which means varying amounts of income each month. We live in an earthquake zone which could mean an interruption in services for days or weeks at a time. I look at my "stockpile" which I call a pantry, as my insurance policy against uncertain times. I don't waste my limited storage space on things like air fresheners or shaving cream or make-up, but if it's what I consider a necessity, it's got a spot on the shelf. But again, my "necessities" may be completely different than some one elses!

It's a completely individual decision!

[queenofthehivemomof5]

We have a large family...5 kids total, 4 of whom are at home, one who is an adult and still "shops at mom's house" all the time. I am blessed to have ample space in our current home to stockpile a lot and my end goal is to have 1 years stockpile on hand for most items. There are a few items that I have more than a years stockpile of, bodywash and deodorant for example. It is hard when you can get it for free...to keep it in check I only alot a certain amount of shelf space and when that space is full I pass up the deals.

If I buy something to donate it does not even make it inside my house. I keep a rubbermaid tote right inside my garage door that I put donate items in and when it is full it is loaded into my car so I can donate it.

I stockpile for a year supply because in this economy you just never know what might happen to your job. I want to have enough on hand of the items that we use the most to get us through if my husband or I lost our income. So while pasta might go on sale every 7 weeks or so...I want to have 100 boxes of pasta in my stockpile and every 7 weeks or so when it goes on sale and I can get it for free I just want to replenish my stockpile. If for some reason we lost our income and could not afford much we could feasibly eat entirely from our stockpile for 1 month maybe more and not need to buy anything at all. I have frozen milk, dehydrated milk, tons of frozen fruits and veggies, frozen eggs, meat plus all of my non-perishables.

[ari'smom]

I haven't really been bitten by the stockpiling bug. But every once in awhile a coupon will come up that I know will help me out. So I try to find someone that has some extra and trade for them. Like there were some good coupons for cat litter back a few months ago. I found someone that had a bunch, traded for them, and wound up with enough cat litter for about a year lol. I did the same with some tooth brushes, and most recently for some toilet paper. But I don't go crazy and will usually get a small amount, no more than 20 at a time. Ten is usually a good number for me because I don't like to go in guns blazing and use them all at the same time lol, so if I get much more than that I usually don't end up using them all.

We don't have doubles around here so the coupon has to be pretty much good on its own together with my local pricing. Maybe if we had doubles I would "stock up" on more, who knows. But as it is it's such a challenge. I still enjoy getting a couple of papers, though, plus my mother saves me her inserts, so I use quite a few coupons for my regular shopping. Sometimes I try to wait for sales, sometimes not. It depends how badly I need the item and/or how likely I think it is to be on sale before the coupon expires. HCW really comes in handy in that regard because I can see if something is likely to go on sale based on what specials are going on in other stores, and in some of the stores where I shop. It helps.

[SarahL]

Thanks everyone. Very interesting. :)

I'm really enjoying reading these comments and there are things some of you mentioned that I had not considered - or ideas also that I've considered and rejected but you've given me a new perspective to think about again.

I appreciate your thoughts - keep them coming! :)

[ari'smom]

PS - Just to clarify, my trade wasn't for a year's worth of toilet paper lol, just the kitty litter.

Also, I think my problem with "stockpiling" probably isn't so much the stockpiling aspect, but rather getting all of that stuff completely free. I'm not sure of the emotion exactly, but I am actually uncomfortable getting something completely free, so I feel a little better when I can at least pay a little bit for it. Like I had a few Q's for the Garden Delight pasta recently, and last time I waited until I could get them for free. But since they were only like $1.29 at the store regularly, I just went ahead and bought them at that price. Even though they were free just last week somewhere else.

And back to those TP Q's. They are for $1.00, but the TP where I normally shop is $.99. They don't do overage, so every time I use one they have to call the manager, open up the register (for whatever reason), and adjust the price on the coupon to $.99. It's a real hassle. So I am thinking of going to one of the other stores in town because I'm pretty sure they have it for just a little bit more, like maybe $1.29 or something. I mean sure I'd have to pay an extra 29 cents, but it would be worth it not to have to stand there while everyone behind me is getting irate having to wait. Because it doesn't matter what time you go, there is always always a line at that grocery store.

[kiwibaby]

I keep enough of a stock up pile for 6 months. All the rest I donate thru my charity.

[434Teresa]

as far as paper stuff those deals are really hard to find these days..so if I can get TP or paper towels cheap I will get all I can while they are on sale and I have coupons for I dont know when I will have that chance again to get it that cheap. I got bounty 8 packs for .99 at kroger awile back with some ditigal coupons and kroger RR thats I had I was borrowing every kroger card I could I get 15- 8 roll bags and could have got 4 more but could not find anymore cards from people I know to use. So .99 for 8 rolls of bounty paper towels was a super deal thats why I got so many over kill maybe but I know that we would use them and that sale,coupon and kroger RR would not happen all at one time again anytime soon.

we all have our reason for what we buy but for me really really cheap almost free for dry goods is time to get them while I can. For things like foods I usually only buy what I think we will use over the next 3 months(unless the date is good for a year or two then I will buy a little more of that item....

[~~Who,Me?~~]

I also have a decent setup with shelving and freezer space for storage. Only 4 of us in household, but they are big eaters. And, with a 2 year old and a 4 year old, going out to eat is rarely fun or relaxing, so we do eat most of our meals at home-that's just the stage in our life right now. I certainly didn't stockpile this much when we were DINKs with two awesome incomes (I'm not working right now) and we ate out quite a bit.

I did a guest post on a blog recently about the stockpiling mentality and stockpiling, and a few readers kinda got on me because I had posted about getting 40 free boxes of cereal. They thought that was excessive. I thought it was ample supply for six months.

Everyone's view is different, you have to do what is right for you. Everyone's stockpile prices for things are different too--my stockpile price for me, today, was $1.49 for Capri Sun. That's a high value item for my household, and I wanted it. I've heard others that will pay that much for a 12 pack of soda, which I would never do--because soda is a no-value item for me.

What stores you have access to & how good their promos are, what coupons you can get & how many, how much of the item you want, when it will expire....so many different things go into deciding what to stockpile, when, and how much.