Are you thinking about starting your very own stockpile? Many families rely on their stockpile to get them through the times when money is tight. It allows you to shop from what you have instead of spending money at the grocery store. Combine couponing with your stockpile and you can save money. Here are some tips to help you start a stockpile.

How to Start a Stockpile

Where will you put the stockpile?
Before you can start a stockpile you need to figure out the answer to a very important question. Where are you going to put it? You will be collecting up a whole lot of food. It has to be stored in a place that you can easily access every day. Ideally, that location will not be one that is in the way.

A kitchen closet or pantry can become an ideal stockpile. Another option is to put the stockpile along the walls of your basement. This solution will require you to obtain plenty of shelves. Others put up shelves in their garage and put the stockpile there. The thing to keep in mind about the garage is the temperature. Not all foods are going to survive extreme heat or cold.

Measure your freezer space.
Would you like to stockpile frozen foods? Take the time to measure how much freezer space you actually have. When you are first starting your stockpile, it is a good idea to buy less frozen food than you think will fit into your freezer. It may take a while until you figure out the right amount to buy. Obviously, buying more than will fit into your freezer is going to be problematic and may lead to waste.

Start buying in bulk.
First, take the time to figure out the kinds of foods that your family uses a lot of. Next, do some price checking. It is possible that the cost per item in a bulk order could be less than buying the same amount of individual items.

Now would be a good time to get a membership to Costco, Sam’s Club, or other stores that sell bulk foods. Don’t go overboard, though. You don’t want the food to expire before it gets used. When your supply gets low, do another price check. The price of the bulk order may or may not be the best at that time.

Revise your coupon strategy.
People who go grocery shopping and buy enough food for one week have a different couponing strategy than those who are intending to start a stockpile. Pay close attention to changes in a store’s coupon policy. Do they double coupons? Is there a limit on how many coupons you can use in one transaction? Find out so you won’t be unpleasantly surprised in the check out line.

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