What is a STOCKPILE and why do you need one if you have kids?
According to google, a stockpile is defined as “a large accumulated stock of goods or materials, especially one held in reserve for use at a time of shortage or other emergency.” And they summed it up pretty good! I’m sure you’ve seen those shows of people hoarding YEARS worth of goods but that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about stockpiling a small amount of goods so you are prepared when life happens. In our home we have one shelving unit and that’s it.
Ok, so how do you build a stockpile? The most popular way to build your stockpile quick and cheap is to coupon. But, if you’re like me, you don’t have time for that {couponing is GREAT but it’s also super time consuming}. Before I was a mompreneur I was on of those crazy couponers! I had a binder that was so organized I even amazed myself with my organization skills. I would spends hours each week sorting, clipping, searching the sale ads, and planning out my trips. If I had the time I’d still be a couponing crazy but I don’t, so instead I shop the sales and take advantage of our SAMs Club membership.
Building your stockpile without coupons can be done. It will take longer, but you can still build a great stockpile for your family. I highly recommend getting a membership to Sams Club. We have had ours for several years now. At first, I didn’t think we would use it very often but we actually use it every single month. It’s worth the small membership fee! They also let you share a membership with someone you know making it even cheaper for you! Sams is GREAT when it comes to running sales and their additional savings. This is when I stock up. Here’s an example…we buy our dishwashing tabs from SAMs. They are usually around $10. A couple times throughout the year they will go on sale for $2-$3 off the regular price. When that happens I’ll buy 2 or 3 instead of 1. Now we are set for dishwashing tabs for the next 6 months. I follow this same principle at the other stores I shop at. When I find something my family uses I will buy multiples at that low price.
If you keep that up, buying multiples of things when they are at a really low price, you will slowly build your stockpile up. Be sure to only buy things you will actually use. If your family doesn’t eat peanut butter but you find it on sale for .50 a jar you don’t need to buy it unless you plan on donating it. Also, if something will expire before you use it, it’s probably not a good idea to stockpile it.
So, now you know how to stockpile but why do you need to stockpile? My answer…because it’s smart! Life is so unpredictable, chaotic, and full of surprises that you don’t want to find yourself totally out of shampoo in the middle of your morning shower because your 7 year old used the last of it to give her baby dolls a bath the night before. Yes, that’s a true story! This kind of stuff happens ALL THE TIME in our house and thank goodness we stockpile to make these wonderful little surprises no big deal. Here are my biggest reasons why WE stockpile in our home.
TOP 3 REASONS WHY TO STOCKPILE
1. My biggest reason is the reason why we started stockpiling…so you don’t run out of something when you can’t afford to replace it. Let’s face it, having kids isn’t always sunshine and rainbows. Unexpected things happen and you never know when you’re going to have a financial strain. This was a very real thing for us several years ago when my husband’s construction job had a bit of a slow month. We aren’t ones to borrow money when things get tough so we made it work with what we had. That’s when I started couponing and vowed we would keep a stockpile from that day forward. And we have we just go about stocking it a little different now that I’m not couponing anymore.
2. My second reason you should stockpile if you have kids is so you don’t have to make those unplanned trips to the store. Dragging our four girls through Walmart isn’t really my most favorite thing to do. Especially if it’s for one thing that we NEED like toilet paper or diapers. Usually when that happens everyone is grouchy, tired, and just done for the day. So it makes for a very unhappy trip for all.
3. Last but certainly not least, so you can help others in need. Countless times our stockpile has helped others when they’ve been without. We’ve been able to give to family, donate to a local crisis closet, and we even donated over $300 worth of items when a tornado hit our small town. All because we had a stockpile we could give back to so many. This is a great way to teach your children to share and give.
I hope this inspires you to build your own small stockpile for your family.
