The Benefits of a Household Stockpile

by Lauren Romano

If you think building a household stockpile is not worth your time or money, think again and consider these benefits. Even if only a few apply to you, you’ll find it is likely worth it to build your own.

When it comes to building a household stockpile, there are many who feel it’s pointless or that they don’t have the money or time to do it, and while it does require both, you may be surprised how beneficial it can be. The more you see your stockpile grow, the more you’re going to realize that it was all worth it, especially during times of financial stress.

The following are just some of the reasons you may want to consider starting up your household stockpile sooner than later.

You Save a Huge Amount in the Long Term

Do a bit of planning in the short term and you’re going to save a lot in the long term.

Let’s use cereal as an example. You could easily find yourself paying $4.99 or more for a single box, but when you use sales and coupons in tandem, you could get several boxes of cereal for what you would normally pay for a single box.

Buy enough boxes while they’re on sale so they can last you for a while and so you won’t have to pay full price.

It’s an Opportunity To Help Others

One of the best benefits of building a household stockpile is that you can help others.

Say you have an overflow of canned vegetables and the local food pantry is running low or someone in your family could make good use of them. You could help by giving away some of your household stockpile, and considering how often sales are on canned vegetables, you can replenish what you gave away in no time.

You Won’t Worry About a Shortage

You never know when something is going to be hard to find. When a shortage will occur. If you’re stocked up on essentials, you won’t be forced to search for that hard-to-find item.

It was comforting to know that there were a number of rolls of TP when the toilet paper shortage hit!

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You Don’t Have To Worry About Running Out of Essentials

Think about how many times you’ve needed a particular item and didn’t have it because it’s constantly being used up in your home. Not only does this mean you have to run out to get it, but also you’re probably going to have to pay full price.

Items that are frequently staples in a home and have a long shelf life, such as canned soup, peanut butter, boxed pasta, and even products like paper towels, are ideal to start with when you’re building your household stockpile.

Just remember, however, to only buy items that you’re actually going to use. Otherwise, you’re not saving yourself money at all.

You Don’t Have To Go Out in Bad Weather

When you run out of an essential like toilet paper, it’s bad enough because you’ll probably have to pay full price when you go out to get it, but when you do it in inclement weather, it can also be inconvenient and dangerous.

It’s just one of the many reasons building a household stockpile that features essential items can be so beneficial.

You’re Not Stressed Paying Full Price

Have you seen the price of toilet paper, laundry detergent, juice, or peanut butter? When certain household staples are purchased at full price, it can result in a huge grocery bill.

We all have enough stress to deal with on a daily basis. We certainly don’t have to add paying full price for items into the mix.

You’ll Always Have Gifts on Hand

How many times have you wanted to get a gift for someone only to get sticker shock when you went to buy it? This can be especially tough when you absolutely have to buy a gift (such as in the instance of a baby shower or housewarming) and the amount in your bank account isn’t allowing for much leeway.

Building up a household stockpile that includes potential (inexpensive yet fabulous) gifts could be really useful for special occasions.

For example, let’s say a store is having a huge sale on a high-end coffee maker that would make a perfect gift and you have a store coupon. Get it when it’s steeply discounted and you’ll have it for when you need it and you won’t have to pay full price.

One of the most important things to keep in mind is that you don’t have to go out and create your household stockpile all at once. The whole point of building a stockpile is to have the essentials on hand that you obtained at a significant discount, so you don’t have to overspend or pay full price.

You should do it little by little, wait until you see sales that match up with coupons, and don’t rush the process. Before long, you’ll have a well-stocked stockpile that you can be proud of.

Reviewed June 2023

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