Saw this article on Smart Money: Will Stockpining Save you Money? Didnt know FW was a "shopping site". Maybe they were referring to HotDeals or the Grocery forum?
article said: Although experts say it's risky, many consumers have reacted to rising prices by stocking up. It's a hard trend to track, but enthusiastic stockpilers have been sharing more strategies on shopping sites like The Grocery Game, FatWallet and Frugal Village since the first notable round of price increases came through in September.
fatwallet is primarily hot deals so it is not surprising that they refer to it as a shopping site
I don't think stockpiling is necessarily a money saving activity. The more of something you have, the more of it you will use.
Also, people are only going to be stockpiling after prices start to increase to the point people get concerned. That may be too late because the price has already increased.
stormdog123
Member
posted: Feb. 25, 2011 @ 6:57p
naas said: I lost about $50 worth of food once when I discovered a pest infestation in my pantry. Stockpiling cost me some money there.
I view stockpiling as a supplement to our cash emergency fund. We have discovered some friends have been relying on a food pantry at church after being laid off and unemployed. I don't want to end up in a downturn without work and have it happen while food prices are inflating. I figure 6 months of expenses in cash and 6 months of food can whether most shocks.
Yes, stockpiling can save you money, if you are a savvy shopper. Hint: there is a Grocery/Drugstore forum here too: link. The proof is in the pudding (please see attachment).
Kanosh
Senior Member - 1K
posted: Feb. 25, 2011 @ 8:11p
In genereal, no. Stockpiled goods are subject to pilferage, loss or obsolesence. "Just in time" inventory strategies are much more efficient. Grocery stores are open 24/7, and even if they aren't, you aren't going to go hungry waiting for a store to open in the morning.
If you ARE going to stockpile, learn to do it right. It takes some strategy and work to build and to maintain a stockpile. From what I understand, listening to Mormon friends who do, is that you you don't stockpile all at once, you build it up over time. And you have to be careful to rotate stocks in the first-in, first-out method. You also need must remember the basics, ie, buy a hand cranked can opened before you buy a bunch of canned goods.
Kanosh said: In genereal, no. Stockpiled goods are subject to pilferage, loss or obsolesence. "Just in time" inventory strategies are much more efficient. Grocery stores are open 24/7, and even if they aren't, you aren't going to go hungry waiting for a store to open in the morning.
If you ARE going to stockpile, learn to do it right. It takes some strategy and work to build and to maintain a stockpile. From what I understand, listening to Mormon friends who do, is that you you don't stockpile all at once, you build it up over time. And you have to be careful to rotate stocks in the first-in, first-out method. You also need must remember the basics, ie, buy a hand cranked can opened before you buy a bunch of canned goods.
JIT inventories are only more efficient if prices are stable and you lack (or have to pay for) storage.
Stockpiling groceries using coupons, sales, etc. is definitely a money saver. A single example... wife and I eat certain kinds of granola bars. Normal price is about $3 per box and we go thru about 2 boxes per week, so annual cost would run about $300. When they're on sale and coupons are available, you can get them for $1. They go on sale about twice a year. So buying a 6 month supply brings the cost down to $100 per year, or a savings of $200.
centrifuge41 said: Yes, stockpiling can save you money, if you are a savvy shopper. Hint: there is a Grocery/Drugstore forum here too: link. The proof is in the pudding (please see attachment). Crazy. You spent more on sales tax than on product
Kanosh said: In genereal, no. Stockpiled goods are subject to pilferage, loss or obsolesence. "Just in time" inventory strategies are much more efficient. Grocery stores are open 24/7, and even if they aren't, you aren't going to go hungry waiting for a store to open in the morning.
Are you a college professor or a true Fatwallet'er? Regular price of my favorite cereal box - $4+. On sale $2.00 or $2.50. I am not going to hungry but I would lose $2 when buying when I need it versus stocking it when it is on sale.
Kanosh said: In genereal, no. Stockpiled goods are subject to pilferage, loss or obsolesence. "Just in time" inventory strategies are much more efficient. Grocery stores are open 24/7, and even if they aren't, you aren't going to go hungry waiting for a store to open in the morning.I'm not the doomsday survivalist type, but I do have a small (couple months) food storage for my family. Its not hard to imagine scenarios where our well greased JIT-delivery based society seizes up like it does along the Gulf coast everytime a hurricane is approaching.
I'll give you one. Its only a little far fetched. Gas prices have gone up 2-3% on average this week including the largest 1 day increase in gas prices in 3 years today because of unrest in Libya (18th largest oil producer in the world). But guess what? There are rumblings of unrest and protests in Saudi Arabia (second largest oil producer in the world). What do you think will happen to gas prices here in the only mildly far fetched chance that protests there explode like they have in Libya, Egypt, and Tunisia? What happens if the government loses control of its oil production like Libya did? And what if the rumors of this also spreading to Iran (#4 oil producer) and China (#5) also come true? What happens to gas prices then? And if gas prices suddenly double (or more), what do you think is going to happen to the trucks delivering groceries to your local store every night? And if the grocery store doesn't get its daily deliveries, how long do you think the food on their shelves will last before its sold out?
I don't worry about this because I have a closet full of food storage.
Kanosh
Senior Member - 1K
posted: Feb. 26, 2011 @ 12:28a
BigFatCat said: Kanosh said: In genereal, no. Stockpiled goods are subject to pilferage, loss or obsolesence. "Just in time" inventory strategies are much more efficient. Grocery stores are open 24/7, and even if they aren't, you aren't going to go hungry waiting for a store to open in the morning.
If you ARE going to stockpile, learn to do it right. It takes some strategy and work to build and to maintain a stockpile. From what I understand, listening to Mormon friends who do, is that you you don't stockpile all at once, you build it up over time. And you have to be careful to rotate stocks in the first-in, first-out method. You also need must remember the basics, ie, buy a hand cranked can opened before you buy a bunch of canned goods.
JIT inventories are only more efficient if prices are stable and you lack (or have to pay for) storage.
Stockpiling groceries using coupons, sales, etc. is definitely a money saver. A single example... wife and I eat certain kinds of granola bars. Normal price is about $3 per box and we go thru about 2 boxes per week, so annual cost would run about $300. When they're on sale and coupons are available, you can get them for $1. They go on sale about twice a year. So buying a 6 month supply brings the cost down to $100 per year, or a savings of $200. Buying a 6 month supply of granola bars because they're on sale might be a bargain. But that is not true stockpiling. That is just passively buying up stuff the supermarket has decided to put on sale. To Stockpile, you need to determine the nutritional needs your your family, and then buy the raw ingredients that meet those needs, have a storage and rotation system in place, and have the tools to make use of your provisions even in the event of power failure, gas shut off, etc.
To truly Stockpile requires more thought and planning than merely loading up on whatever processed food the store is selling cheap. By purchasing things like whole grains, flour, rice and dried fruits, you can make a multitude of good, nutritous foods. By first considering the nutritional needs of your family you can make a rational assessment of how much food you need for one month, three months, six months, or whatever time frame you want. By investing in storage containers and using a rotation system you can eliminate loss from spoilage or vermin.
In short...Stockpiling is a PROCESS that requires some planning and takes places over time. It's not a single act you do upon learning the store has a sale on granola bars.
Kanosh said: Buying a 6 month supply of granola bars because they're on sale might be a bargain. But that is not true stockpiling. That is just passively buying up stuff the supermarket has decided to put on sale. To Stockpile, you need to determine the nutritional needs your your family, and then buy the raw ingredients that meet those needs, have a storage and rotation system in place, and have the tools to make use of your provisions even in the event of power failure, gas shut off, etc.
To truly Stockpile requires more thought and planning than merely loading up on whatever processed food the store is selling cheap. By purchasing things like whole grains, flour, rice and dried fruits, you can make a multitude of good, nutritous foods. By first considering the nutritional needs of your family you can make a rational assessment of how much food you need for one month, three months, six months, or whatever time frame you want. By investing in storage containers and using a rotation system you can eliminate loss from spoilage or vermin.
In short...Stockpiling is a PROCESS that requires some planning and takes places over time. It's not a single act you do upon learning the store has a sale on granola bars.
PROCESS? What is that?
There is a difference between stockpiling for survival and buying things on sale to avoid paying full market price later. I think you are talking about the former. I don't want the former to drive my whole life style.
You know it is like the dart theory - some financial pros do a lot of legwork to lose to a collection of stocks picked by darts. Apart from the basic of "last-in-first-out", I don't have any fancy process. If I see something on a good sale price and I am running low on it, I buy it. The quantity that I buy is not that scientific - I don't know exactly that I will use 1 salad dressing bottle in 2 months or 3 months - but since it is in months, I don't go around buying a dozen of them at a time. In the absolute worst case, I might have to buy it at full retail but that is not the end of the world.
In case it is the end of the world, you guys are welcome to come shoot me and loot whatever is in my house - I don't keep a gun in the house to be ready for the doomsday survival scenario.
Kanosh said: Buying a 6 month supply of granola bars because they're on sale might be a bargain. But that is not true stockpiling. That is just passively buying up stuff the supermarket has decided to put on sale. To Stockpile, you need to determine the nutritional needs your your family, and then buy the raw ingredients that meet those needs, have a storage and rotation system in place, and have the tools to make use of your provisions even in the event of power failure, gas shut off, etc.
To truly Stockpile requires more thought and planning than merely loading up on whatever processed food the store is selling cheap. By purchasing things like whole grains, flour, rice and dried fruits, you can make a multitude of good, nutritous foods. By first considering the nutritional needs of your family you can make a rational assessment of how much food you need for one month, three months, six months, or whatever time frame you want. By investing in storage containers and using a rotation system you can eliminate loss from spoilage or vermin.
In short...Stockpiling is a PROCESS that requires some planning and takes places over time. It's not a single act you do upon learning the store has a sale on granola bars.I'm pretty sure the intent of the article is regarding stockpiling as a means to save money and avoid imminent price hikes, not self-sustaining survival. You arent hoarding an entire menu, just items you use regulary that you can get a deal on now/are going to cost more in the near future.
We have an underground fallout shelter, but even we don't stockpile much stuff. OTOH a chest freezer is great for exploiting sales on meat, chicken, dairy (not just ice cream but also milk), bread, and fish, especially the latter because we're far inlan, so fish is heavily discounted only 2-3 times a year.
There's a difference between "stockpiling" and "bulk discount," the former implies a speculation of price increases, the latter is just economy of scale.
centrifuge41 said: Yes, stockpiling can save you money, if you are a savvy shopper. Hint: there is a Grocery/Drugstore forum here too: link. The proof is in the pudding (please see attachment). absolutely.
Kanosh said: In genereal, no. Stockpiled goods are subject to pilferage, loss or obsolesence. "Just in time" inventory strategies are much more efficient. Grocery stores are open 24/7, and even if they aren't, you aren't going to go hungry waiting for a store to open in the morning.
If you ARE going to stockpile, learn to do it right. It takes some strategy and work to build and to maintain a stockpile. From what I understand, listening to Mormon friends who do, is that you don't stockpile all at once, you build it up over time. And you have to be careful to rotate stocks in the first-in, first-out method. You also need must remember the basics, ie, buy a hand cranked can opened before you buy a bunch of canned goods.
I live in an area where nothing is open 24 hrs except one convenience store. Convenience stores are expensive. Stockpiling does more than save me money, it makes me money. My out of pocket for grocery and postage stamps in 2009 was about $12. Yes, for the whole year. Then economic down turn. Spent about $50 oop for all my groceries in 2010 no longer including postage stamps. Groceries includes all HBA (ie drug store) stuff. Extra stockpile gets donated to the Food Bank (Feeding America; letter for 2009 taxes was for $800 donation, for 2010 $1350 donation.) or sold at my annual yard sale. Made >$500 in 2009, $800 in 2010. I rotate stock, I place newer additions to the back and use from the front. I have 2 freezers and an old fashioned root cellar. I clear out food at least once a year, don't worry about cleaning supplies, etc. Food has "sell by" and "use by" dates but I don't worry if its for personal use. I don't donate or sell outdated items. Two weeks ago came out ahead buying lots of Sorrento ricotta & mozzarella. Gave it to friends & family with the understanding that in exchange they give me a bit of what they made. Having a home made dinner waiting in refrigerator after a long day at the office-- priceless.
naas said: There's a difference between "stockpiling" and "bulk discount," the former implies a speculation of price increases, the latter is just economy of scale.But the availability of a bulk discount can prompt you to stockpile a given item; one is an action, the other is a reason for the action.
naas said: There's a difference between "stockpiling" and "bulk discount," the former implies a speculation of price increases, the latter is just economy of scale. Depends on the scale. What you consider "bulk discount", I'd probably consider "stockpiling"
I shop at CostCo for 1 and live in NYC. I consider CostCo "stockpiling". Target would be "bulk discount" because of the larger sizes than carried in my local Duane Reade/etc.
Bulk discount is buying a large quantity at once. Stockpiling is buying large or small quantities with the idea that you're keeping them for use in the future. Buying 2 cases of toilet paper because you own a small business is bulk discount, if for personal use its a bulk discount purchase and stockpiling because you're buying to use in the future. Buying a turkey because it was really cheap and keeping it in your freezer until you feel like cooking it is stockpiling.
I stockpile canned goods when they're heavily discounted. Our local grocery store will put canned vegetables on sale for 3 for $1 once or twice a year. When they go on sale, I usually pick up 200 to 300 cans. That lasts me until the next sale. I probably save $60 to $70 every time I do this.
pietromoon said: Lots of kcals and very little nutritionI think carrots, granola, and cheese are fine food items. You can disagree, but whatever!
dmlavigne1 said: and from 1 year ago. Who saves their grocery receipts for a year????I have some scanned receipts on my PC - yes some of my grocery purchases have rebates associated! And I have plenty of newer receipts that show me saving between 80% and 97%, but this one is particularly good at conveying the message that good shopping can save you lots, sometimes even 99%
If you're lazy no (letting items expire or getting close to expiration date where the nutritional value of the food has diminished even though the food is still acceptable), if you aren't of course it is. I like to cook but our family also has only about 15-20 total types of meals that we make (and probably 10 or less that we eat on a weekly basis). Ingredients for those recipes we stockpile in the basement, and we also stockpile non-perishable items (paper towels, toilet paper, cleaning supplies, etc.). If a good sale comes up for other items we normally but a couple, but I wouldn't consider those stockpiled.
If space is not an issue, it's almost foolish not to stockpile a bit IMO.
And one of the greatest things about having a stockpile for commonly used items is the laziness of not having to run to the store because you accidentally ran out of 1 ingredient for a recipe. That happens a lot when you overlook a spice, or you had the bottle/container but neglected to check the amount in it.
One of my biggest battles I'm dealing with now is trying to justify purchasing a chest freezer. I love smoking and BBQ and routinely scour the meat section for mislabels and good deals (just last week scored 12 lbs of ribs for 99 cents a pound!). I only bought 3 packs because that's all I could store in the freezer and eat before spoiling, but would have ransacked the place had I had the storage room. Same goes for chicken and beef. Very frequently less purchased (but IMO better cuts of meat if properly cooked) go on sale such as picnic pork shoulder, roasts, etc. for very VERY low prices, but these are normally large cuts of meat that just won't fit in a normal refrigerator. I'm just waiting on a fantastic deal on a chest freezer. Need to spend more time on FW hotdeals!!
PrincipalMember said: In case it is the end of the world, you guys are welcome to come shoot me and loot whatever is in my house - I don't keep a gun in the house to be ready for the doomsday survival scenario.
my4mainecoons said: Extra stockpile gets donated to the Food Bank (Feeding America; letter for 2009 taxes was for $800 donation, for 2010 $1350 donation.) or sold at my annual yard sale.
So can you actually do anything with that for taxes? Thought the rule was market value or what you paid, whichever is less..
7Enigma said: If you're lazy no (letting items expire or getting close to expiration date where the nutritional value of the food has diminished even though the food is still acceptable), if you aren't of course it is. I like to cook but our family also has only about 15-20 total types of meals that we make (and probably 10 or less that we eat on a weekly basis). Ingredients for those recipes we stockpile in the basement, and we also stockpile non-perishable items (paper towels, toilet paper, cleaning supplies, etc.). If a good sale comes up for other items we normally but a couple, but I wouldn't consider those stockpiled.
If space is not an issue, it's almost foolish not to stockpile a bit IMO.
And one of the greatest things about having a stockpile for commonly used items is the laziness of not having to run to the store because you accidentally ran out of 1 ingredient for a recipe. That happens a lot when you overlook a spice, or you had the bottle/container but neglected to check the amount in it.
One of my biggest battles I'm dealing with now is trying to justify purchasing a chest freezer. I love smoking and BBQ and routinely scour the meat section for mislabels and good deals (just last week scored 12 lbs of ribs for 99 cents a pound!). I only bought 3 packs because that's all I could store in the freezer and eat before spoiling, but would have ransacked the place had I had the storage room. Same goes for chicken and beef. Very frequently less purchased (but IMO better cuts of meat if properly cooked) go on sale such as picnic pork shoulder, roasts, etc. for very VERY low prices, but these are normally large cuts of meat that just won't fit in a normal refrigerator. I'm just waiting on a fantastic deal on a chest freezer. Need to spend more time on FW hotdeals!!
Stockpiling works. If you put in the time and know the ins and outs. It can save a family tens of thousands of dollars a year.
Those grocery store chicks with their coupons are 100 times more aggreessive and cutthroat than many of us FWF vets!!!! They will clean out a store in minutes paying 3 cents on a dollar with coupons.
Go to eBay and seen a bulk auction of 50 $9 razors on sale for $1 each - that lady got those for free somewhere.
But I am into organic and don't like many processed foods - so it is not my thing.
wiredspider said: my4mainecoons said: Extra stockpile gets donated to the Food Bank (Feeding America; letter for 2009 taxes was for $800 donation, for 2010 $1350 donation.) or sold at my annual yard sale.
So can you actually do anything with that for taxes? Thought the rule was market value or what you paid, whichever is less.. Feeding America values food donations at $1/lb. I donated 1350 lbs in December and my letter says I donated goods worth $1350. Its an "industry standard" re: food donations. When you see food drives they'll talk about how many pounds of food they collected. They don't talk about what its worth, they mention its weight. I collect for a few months then give them a call. Because I have so much they send their truck to my house to collect it.
I got my freezer for free from my neighbor. I kept giving him stuff and one time it was half gallon containers of Breyers. I mentioned that I was limited by not having a freezer and he had one in his garage he wasn't using! Its harvest gold but its an upright and it works. Since its in the garage and garage temp is below freezing for several months out of the year, electricity bill increase is negligible compared to the money I save by having the freezer. Before I had the freezer I occasionally stored stuff in snow banks in my back yard Check Craigs List for freezers.
I don't eat organic but I don't eat much meat and I eat pretty healthy. You can do well at Whole Foods if you know their deals. BUT stockpiling is a lot of work. Its way more work than buying FAR software and re-selling it. It takes a lot of patience and organization. That's why there are so few FW folks on the Drugstore/grocery forum. This week Honest Ade organic drinks are 10/$10 at my supermarket. I have $0.50 coupons which are being doubled. I'm stocking up on Honest Ade. Vitamin Water is also 10/$10. I have $0.50 coupons which are being doubled. I'm adding Vitamin Water to stock pile.
arch8ngel
Senior Member - 1K
posted: Feb. 26, 2011 @ 7:48p
patch96 said: Stockpiling works. If you put in the time and know the ins and outs. It can save a family tens of thousands of dollars a year.
Somebody is a little prone to exaggeration
If you're living on a reasonable grocery/restaurant budget already, a typical family shouldn't even be spending a single ten thousand dollars per year, let alone TENS of thousands
arch8ngel said: patch96 said: Stockpiling works. If you put in the time and know the ins and outs. It can save a family tens of thousands of dollars a year.
Somebody is a little prone to exaggeration
If you're living on a reasonable grocery/restaurant budget already, a typical family shouldn't even be spending a single ten thousand dollars per year, let alone TENS of thousands
Stockpiling is not just for food!!! Have you spent 2 minutes on some of these websites. These people CLEAR OUT STORES of product. These people have garages full of this stuff and are re-sellers on eBay and craigslist. I did nt find out about this stuff via FWF/SLICKD#$%S. I was buying a razor and was curious why it had a sticker on the back saying that it should only be sold through a certain store and if sold from other stores, please call a certain telephone number. It b/c there is a huge subculture of people buying for free with coupons and then reselling and making up to $3 to $5K per month.
So, NO, saving tens of thousands is not CLOSE to being embellishment as many have turned this into a business.
FYI, I don't do this, but it is real. I personally, am not a "couponer"; gift card, sure.
arch8ngel
Senior Member - 1K
posted: Feb. 26, 2011 @ 8:50p
There is a difference between SAVING "tens of thousands" and hoarding stuff for resale and EARNING thousands of dollars by running a side business.
Kanosh
Senior Member - 1K
posted: Feb. 27, 2011 @ 9:28a
patch96 said: Stockpiling works. If you put in the time and know the ins and outs. It can save a family tens of thousands of dollars a year.
Those grocery store chicks with their coupons are 100 times more aggreessive and cutthroat than many of us FWF vets!!!! They will clean out a store in minutes paying 3 cents on a dollar with coupons.
Go to eBay and seen a bulk auction of 50 $9 razors on sale for $1 each - that lady got those for free somewhere.
But I am into organic and don't like many processed foods - so it is not my thing. "Bulk buying" aka stockpiling seems like a lot of work to me with a lot of "hidden" expenses people don't recognize. We've heard chest freezers mentioned. And "serious" bulk buyers seem to dedicate a garage or basement to their stockpile. For me, living in the middle of the big city, this would be a huge additional real estate expense. And I suspect people are keeping quiet about (or forgetting) their losses due to rats, water damage, expiration, or even theft.
But my main issue with bulk buying is ... are these people buying things they actually LIKE, or just bulking up on whatever the store has on sale? For me, I also try to eschew processed foods so my stockpile would have things like flour, different types of rice, sugar, fruits and vegetables. I seldom see a coupon or rebate offer on these, but I don't care...it's good healthy food and I'll gladly pay for it.
I guess I understand the thrill of getting "something for nothing" using coupons, etc...but my hunch is that if these people thought a few steps beyond loading up their garage with canned goods and selling on eBay they could achieve something much, much bigger.
cheezedawg said: Kanosh said: In genereal, no. Stockpiled goods are subject to pilferage, loss or obsolesence. "Just in time" inventory strategies are much more efficient. Grocery stores are open 24/7, and even if they aren't, you aren't going to go hungry waiting for a store to open in the morning.I'm not the doomsday survivalist type, but I do have a small (couple months) food storage for my family. Its not hard to imagine scenarios where our well greased JIT-delivery based society seizes up like it does along the Gulf coast everytime a hurricane is approaching.
Yup. If you live in a disaster-prone area you certainly should have enough stuff around to last you for the longest reasonably expected supply disruption due to whatever disasters are likely in your area. JIT magnifies the effects of problems.
It has been said for some time now that GCD are some of the last hot deals out there. Both mfrs and stores go hot and cold on these type of shoppers. If they stop, sales drop so these weird deals come back. Remember stores know what coupons exist, so most of these deals are intentional. I've even seen recent memos from corporate reminding stores to not discriminate these shoppers who have low OOP receipts for a lot of merchandise.
I felt most of the deals were for food items that were over processed and many of the HBAs were not always things I really needed.
I still use occassional coupons for things I regularly used, but by using less processed food which have much shorter lifespans and not bulk buying, I have become healthier and gained more time with my family. Unless I am going to resell or have a large family, I cannot justify the time required to get these almost free receipts.
Months have gone by since visiting some of these stores like CVS or Rite Aid which would be considered a loss of membership in some of those grocery forums. I say this a bit tongue in cheek, but it is the system to blame not the consumer. Naturally, if these things do not lead to eventual profitability, the deals will go away or the stores will close.
I applaud those who can do the hard work and post these deals, but I'll just occassionally look these days.
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