10. WHAT IS A GROCERY STOCKPILE?
Stockpile: A supply stored for future use, usually carefully accrued and maintained.
A grocery stockpile is like a mini supermarket in your home. Multiple grocery items are bought on sale and stored, usually enough to last until they come on sale again. Serious stockpilers build supplies up until they have enough groceries on hand to last three or more months. Stockpiling is common amongst Cheapskates because it saves them a lot of money. If you are tired of spending too much money on groceries perhaps it’s time to start a stockpile of your own.
I come from a long line of food stockpilers. There isn’t a woman in the family who doesn’t have a fully stocked pantry. My mother has the reputation of being able to feed a small army at a moment’s notice and since Disaster Struck I’ve been told my pantry could outdo Woolworths!
So what does your pantry say about you? If I were to take a peek, would I see canisters of flours, sugars, dried fruits and other baking needs? Would I find lots of different herbs and spices, just waiting to be added to casseroles and cakes? Would I be able to tell the type of cook you are – a from-scratch cook or a convenience cook – by your pantry?
Over the years the contents of our pantry has changed considerably. BC (Before Cheapskates) if you’d opened the pantry door you would have seen four shelves stuffed full of packets, tins and jars of food.
On the bottom shelf you would have found tins of braised steak and onions or baked beans or perhaps tinned fruit. There would have been jars of pasta sauce and simmer sauces. You may have found the odd can of spaghetti too. You’d see a bread container full of packets of pasta and sauce or instant noodles, casserole bases, packet soups and instant gravy.
The second shelf held cereals and spreads. Lots of them. Weet-Bix, three or four different types of muesli, Nutri-Grain, Coco Pops and Fruity Bix. The jams were lined up next to the stash of cereals: apricot, raspberry, strawberry, orange marmalade and ginger marmalade. Then came peanut butter (smooth and crunchy), Vegemite, Nutella, cheese spread and a couple of different Peck’s pastes. Note the brand names – in those days I did not buy generic cereals or spreads and absolutely none of them were homemade.
Third shelf was what I called my baking shelf. A packet of self-raising flour, one of plain. A canister of white sugar and another for icing sugar. Then a packet of custard powder and one of Gravox. Lined up along the side were the cake mixes – chocolate, butter cake, patty cakes, cheesecake and muffins. I did a lot of home baking – it just mostly came from a packet.
Fourth and top shelf was used for storage – it didn’t hold any grocery items at all, just a load of empty containers.
Today when I look at the pantry I am still in awe at just how much it has changed. Gone are most of the packets and tins. These days the tins are baked beans, tomatoes, pineapple, peaches, pears and apricots. The jars are mustards – Dijon, wholegrain and hot English.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a packet cake or muffin mix in there. In fact, I know you won’t. Instead you’ll see canisters of different flours (self-raising, plain, wholemeal, gluten-free, cornflour, pasta flour) and sugars (white, caster, brown, raw and icing sugar). There are packets of noodles and pasta of various kinds.
There are canisters of sultanas, craisins and mixed dried fruit. Small jars of herbs and spices and a 750ml bottle of homemade vanilla extract. There is a big canister of rolled oats and two more with milk powder, skim and full cream varieties. I almost forgot the white vinegar, a large 5-litre container.
If a spendthrift were to look into this pantry they’d probably say there was nothing to eat. For the Cheapskate, it is a mini-supermarket, chock full of all the ingredients to make hundreds of meals.
So what does your pantry say about you?
Building Your Stockpile
When you first start to live the Cheapskates way you are very conscious of where you spend your money, especially when it is in the supermarket. Convenience packets and mixes are swapped for raw ingredients and basic pantry items in an effort to get the most from your grocery money.
Indeed, many new Cheapskaters find that in the beginning they are spending more on groceries each week than they were in their spendthrifting days. This isn’t unusual and is to be expected. After all, many households are building a pantry from scratch as well as learning to cook this way. It won’t be long before your spending will swing around and you’ll be spending less, keeping a better stocked pantry and eating better than ever before. You’ll also start accumulating some of your more frequently used items to use in the future. This is the start of your pantry stockpile.
These days when I do the grocery shopping I am just replenishing my stockpile. If disaster were to strike us (again!) I can rest knowing that I can provide three meals a day for my family for at least six months. The stockpile of frozen meat, dry goods, tinned goods, toiletries and cleaning supplies will give us six months of maintaining our current standard of living. At a pinch it could be stretched to eight or nine months or perhaps even longer.
Getting Started
Building a stockpile takes time and involves a little planning but it is something that anyone can do. While it would be fun to go to the supermarket and load those trolleys with six months’ worth of groceries, it’s just not practical. Creating your stockpile all at once will cost you a fortune and really blow the grocery budget out of the water so unless you have a barrow load of spare cash lying around be prepared to take 12 to 24 weeks to build your stockpile. Start off with adding one or two extra basics to your list next time you shop. It might be an extra packet of pasta or sugar or another box of cereal. Once your stockpile is in place you’ll find that you never pay full price for anything again – the main benefit of investing in a ‘mini-mart’ in your own home.
Determine what your stockpile needs are. What are the items that you find your family uses on a frequent basis? Those are the items that you will want to begin to stockpile immediately. Two examples are things everyone needs – toothpaste and shampoo. When you have the opportunity to get these items for a very low price it makes sense to stock up or even replenish your current supply when the sales are on.
In the early days of my stockpiling I would use the grocery slush fund and any leftovers in the grocery budget to build the stockpile. This helped to build up a supply of the basics quickly, without impacting negatively on our budget. There were weeks when no great sale opportunities were available so I just saved that money for the next week when something did come up, and it always did!
These practical tips will help you start your stockpile:
Build Up a Slush Fund
A grocery slush fund (see p61) is the way you can build your stockpile without going over your allocated grocery money or going into debt. Every week, fortnight or month when you draw your grocery money, do your shopping. Then take whatever is left and put it in the grocery slush fund. You can then use this money to buy up extra of your basic items or to buy up items you use regularly when they are on a good sale.
Buy Up Loss Leaders
Supermarkets entice you into the store by offering a few items at ridiculously cheap prices (the Tim Tams on sale for $1.49 a packet at Woolworths a few weeks ago spring to mind). These items are generally on the front page of the brochures and can be seasonal. For example, when diced tomatoes are on sale at two cans for a dollar, use your slush fund to fill your pantry until the next sale.
Figure Out Your Storage Possibilities Ahead of Time
Even if you live in a small flat, you can find unused space for storage. In a box under a bed is a good spot, for example. Use the space under a coffee or end table for storage; just throw a cloth over to hide your stockpile.
Invest in a Freezer
This is the single best thing a stockpiler can buy. Our first chest freezer cost just $50 secondhand and it lasted us for over ten years and saved us thousands of dollars before it decided to stop working. Meat, vegetables, fruits, bread, butter, even milk can all be frozen for months. You can also store dry goods such as flour, pasta, cereals and dried fruit in the freezer if you have room. Make double or triple batches of biscuit dough or an extra casserole to freeze and you won’t be running to the fish ’n’ chip shop for takeaway when you are tired.
Shop in Bulk
I have always shopped in bulk. I buy lamb and beef by the side, chicken pieces and fillets in 20kg lots and whole chickens by the box (usually six to a box). Fresh meat, produce, cases of canned goods, flour, sugar, cereals, toilet paper, toothbrushes and nappies are usually good deals. Watch prices on frozen convenience foods and non-food merchandise. Resist the 12 dozen tins of smoked oysters for 20c a tin if you only use half a tin once a year on New Year’s Eve. There is no saving in buying that many of anything, no matter how cheap it is, if you aren’t going to use it in a timely manner, that is, before the best before or use-by date, and it just gets old and stale. It will just become an expensive waste of space.
Be Selective
Only stockpile those items you know you will use – the basic staples and the treats your family loves. It makes no sense to stockpile a carton of instant coffee, for example, if no one in your family will drink it. As with bulk-buying, stockpiling things you won’t use just ends up being an expensive waste of space.
Donate Any Excess
Never has my family ever become bored with something I stockpiled, but we do like to share our bounty with others. Older family members, friends and neighbours will be especially grateful when you show up with a smile and those extra staples and treats for them.
What to Stockpile
Some things that store well and are good for beginners are:
Baking supplies: dried fruit, sugar, coconut, essences, nuts, etc
Canned goods: soups, tuna, salmon, fruit, tomatoes, etc
Cereals
Cleaning products
Flours: self-raising, plain, wholemeal, rice, gluten
Fruit juices and cordials
Laundry detergent
Paper products: toilet paper, paper towel, feminine products, tissues, nappies
Pasta: spaghetti, macaroni, shells, lasagne sheets
Powdered milk
Recipe bases: powdered sauces, seasonings, etc
Rice
Rolled oats
Soft drink
Toiletries: soap, shampoo and conditioner, deodorant, toothpaste
Vacuum-sealed instant coffee
The basic reason to stockpile is to save money in the long run by buying more when your favourite groceries are on a big sale.
Let’s say you use four boxes of breakfast cereal in one month. If you buy whenever you run out without paying attention to the price, you will pay more because some of those times it won’t be on sale.
Buying when you need it:
First box $7.00 (not on sale)
Second box $6.30 (10% off sale)
Third box $3.50 (50% off sale)
Fourth box $7.00 (not on sale)
Total cost: $23.80
Stockpiling:
Use your Price Book to wait for cereal to go on 50% sale.
Buy six boxes at $3.50.
Total cost: $21.00, save $21 because you did not spend $42 to buy six boxes at $7.00, and get two boxes to add to your stockpile.
Only buy for your stockpile if it’s on sale. This is where you need to take the ‘no junk mail’ sign off the letterbox and let the catalogues roll in. Sign up for any email catalogues you can, too. Aldi, Coles and Woolworths/Safeway all list the weekly specials online so you can easily check prices before you go shopping. Remember, the aim is to only buy on sale.
Try not to get carried away with your bargains. Only stockpile the quantity that you will easily use within a 12- or 24-week period (depending on the size of your stockpile). If you use two cans of tuna a week then you need 24 cans in your stockpile for a 12-week supply. Whenever they show up in a specials catalogue and you have under 24 cans on the shelf, buy the number you need to bring it back up to 24.
Most foods have a use-by or best before date so stockpiling more than you will use in this period could well end up costing you money. On the off chance that you do find you have more than you can use within a reasonable timeframe, consider sharing with family or friends or donating to a food pantry or women’s shelter, etc. Just be sure to do it before time runs out.
If you can’t afford whatever that number is – it’s OK! Buy what you can and try to build your stockpile up the next time it hits the specials catalogue. If you aren’t brand specific, you are more likely to quickly fill your stockpile. And if you aren’t store specific and have the cash, it’ll happen faster as well.
In time, ideally you will have stockpiled 12 weeks’ worth of every non-perishable item you use, enabling you to only buy replacements when they are on special at a good price. For a Stockpile Inventory template, see p87. If you keep a Price Book you’ll soon learn the sale cycles and know when the price is at its lowest.
A stockpile saves you money but it also gives you security for times of trouble. Aim to have a stockpile that will let you skip grocery shopping for a week. Then aim for a fortnight, a month and build up to three months. When you have 12 weeks’ worth of everything on hand, skipping the supermarket battle for a week, or even two or three or more during an emergency, doesn’t cause stress and you can happily apply the grocery budget to wherever it needs to go.
Once you have the non-perishables established you might like to consider moving on to perishables. Buying meats, fruits and vegetables and dairy products in quantity when they are on special will only save you money if you can store them or use them up quickly, before they ruin. If you have access to a deep freezer then go ahead and stock up. Being able to buy chicken fillets on sale for $5.99 per kg, knowing you can freeze a quantity, lets you take full advantage of the bargain. If you are in the market for a freezer, look for a working second-hand model or check out online communities whose aim is to recycle and pass on unwanted goods.
The thing to remember is that not everyone cooks or eats the same foods, so not everyone will stockpile the same foods, or even the same quantities. Your stockpile will be unique to you and your situation. Build it up until you are comfortable. Then you can shop at home first, and use supermarkets to replace your stockpile items.
Storing the Bounty
Before you start stockpiling it’s important to know where you will put everything. It is also important to know the proper way to store items. Even if you are living in a one-bedroom flat or a tiny bedsit, you can still build a useful stockpile. While pro stockpilers have built-in shelving in their garage and dedicated storage cupboards in the laundry, you can store your stockpile anywhere. Clear a shelf in a linen cupboard, store paper goods under a bed. Throw a tablecloth over a carton of canned goods and use it as an end table. Make use of the space on top of the kitchen cupboards.
I keep baking supplies and general groceries in the kitchen pantry. I have a cupboard and shelves in the laundry that hold canned goods and dry goods. Cleaning products are on the bottom of the laundry shelves or under the laundry trough, depending on what they are. Health and beauty products are kept in the bathroom cupboards. Paper goods are in the linen cupboard.
Before you add any new dry goods to your stockpile, treat them for weevils and other bugs. Three days in the freezer will kill off any nasties in flours and cereals that you are adding to your pantry and won’t harm the food at all. This step may seem a little over the top but once you have weevils or pantry moths established they are so hard to get rid of and the cost of all the food you have to destroy can well set you back to the very beginning. It is far better to be safe and know you have a bug-free food store.
When you are storing, always keep anything liquid or that may leak on the bottom shelves. Cans and glass jars next and then paper goods and anything that needs to be kept dry goes on top. That way if a can of soft drink springs a leak or a bottle of tomato sauce tips over you won’t lose six packets of toilet paper or ten boxes of wheat biscuits. It’s important to rotate your stock so you never have out-of-date supplies on your shelves. I like to work on the FIFO system (first in, first out) so new groceries go to the back of the stack and we use from the front first.
Using Your Stockpile
Use your stockpile as you’re building it. It doesn’t make sense to pay more to have it set up earlier. You don’t have to have a complete stockpile to use your food – it’s a guideline on where you want to be. Do what you can within your budget to get there and enjoy never paying full price for anything again.
