Why I Stockpile...

I recently had someone ask me why I stockpile grocery, health and beauty products and other needed items.  My answer is 2 fold...why not stock up when the prices are the lowest or you can get it free rather than paying full price for it and you never know when something may happen that cause you  or someone else to have a need for it and no money to purchase it.

In the past, my family has gone through a period of no income due to job loss and also to injury on the job that caused my husband to be unable to work.  L and I was very slow at processing his claim when he was hurt and that meant no income.  We still had bills to pay and kids to feed.  We were homeschooling our children so my husband was the sole wage earner at the time.  It was scary to say the least but I was able to feed our family because of my stockpile.

I now work as a substitute teacher which means my income fluctuates due to how much work I get each month during the school year and of course, there is no work during the Summer.  My paychecks are also delayed by a month meaning whatever I "earn" this month, I do not get a paycheck for until the end of next month.  This makes things very tight around here since we are also aggressively paying down our debt.  Last month subbing was very slow and the times that I did get called, I was unable to work due to family obligations (wedding and an illness).  That means I have no paycheck coming in at the end of this month.  I am very thankful that my husband's paychecks cover our regular bills but if it is one of those months when the property taxes and life insurances are all due at once or if we have a major repair bill, we need my checks too. 

This Summer looks to be an expensive one for us.  We have to travel to my son's wedding and stay in a hotel for 2 nights plus we are paying for 1 night in the hotel for another son and his family and we have a reception up here a few days later for the happy couple that we are paying for. We  also have other weddings to go to and buy gifts for and we have the graduation season upon us where we also give gifts to some very special seniors that are a part of our lives. :)  All of these are happy moments but the costs do add up.  By not having to spend as much money on groceries and health care items since I already have them in my stock pile, that frees up money to spend on these other occasions.

As for gifts, I also have a gift closet where I will buy nice things when they are on sale and put them away for birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, Christmas, graduations and baby showers.  I buy things throughout the year knowing that I will need gift items.  Some items are bought with a specific person in mind and others are more general gifts that would be nice for anyone.  This saves me time and money.

Stockpiling for me not only saves me time and money,  but it takes a lot of stress out of my life.  I live in a small town with no grocery store so if I run out of something, it is not just a quick 5 minute trip to get to the store.  I keep a running list of items that we are getting low on and that way I can stock up on them when they go on sale.  It also allows me to be generous and help others in times of crisis.  I love being able to fill a bag full of items for a family in need at the spur of the moment and lessen the stress in their lives.  I also keep a running list of "gift giving occasions" that are coming up so I will be on the lookout for appropriate gifts for those.  Being able to bless others is something that brings me great joy and stockpiling helps make it happen. :)