Buying in bulk / stockpiling ....is it really worth it?

newlywed

avinabacca wrote: »

The shed, then!?

As long as it's all in rat proof, mouse proof packaging Have read other comments on mice getting into the basement/stores and eating through packets

discodolly_2

Hi, everyone!

I'm brand new to posting, but have been reading Old Style for a few weeks now. Quick bit about me;

I'm 29, married and a SAHM of two lovely kids, aged 5 and 2. We are going on holiday to Florida in November and although we have paid for the holiday, flights, park tickets etc, we haven't managed to save any spending money:eek: .
Unfortunately, this means we have to take out a credit card - our first ever one! I'm proud that the only debt we have is our mortgage, but here I am, about to spend a load of money on credit, grr!
Anyway, I'm preparing to pay it off super-quick by stockpiling on food and essentials now so that I can avoid supermarket shopping for a good while once I'm home.
I'm trying to build up about 4 months worth of food and use that time to plough as much as possible back into the credit card!
I already have several bags of flour, a huge bag of pasta, rice and porridge. I've been adding oats and lentils to everything to stretch out meat, and I have at least 6 tins each of beans, tomatoes, sweetcorn and tuna.
I'll just add bits here and there each week (have already cleared a space in my loft for stores), and hopefully it'll build up fast.

What do you stockpile?

oliveoyl

Hello Dolly (isn't that a song?)

There's a thread here with people's lists of 'essentials', so that might give you some inspiration.

If you write down meal plans then that should help you work out what you'll need and can buy well in advance.

ZoeGirl_3

I stockpile mainly things that last ages and are quite cheap. Things like day pasta of different kinds, both white and brown rice, other grains like couscous, quinoa, kibbled grains, oats, raisons and other dried fruits, tinned products like tomatoes, corn, spaghetti and baked beans, salmon/ tuna/ sardines, some tinned beans etc type things, uncooked lentils, chickpeas, soup mixes (eg the barley etc kind), herbs and spices in sealed packages when they are really cheap, breakfast cereals, flours, sugars, baking things like baking powder, soda, yeast, coconut, chocolate chips, bran etc.

In the freezer I have meat, some frozen vegetables for emergency use mainly, I tend to have lots of made by me and frozen pasta and soup dishes too, and big containers of things like pumpkin puree since it is very versitile.

In the fridge, mainly butter and cheese and milk powder.

Things I don't stockpile but find last ages are oils, vinegars, salt, peppers, tea bags/ coffee (not big drinkers of either), dressings, mustard, and the like.

Of the non-food variety, I have toilet paper, toiletries, washing powders, dishwashing liquid, cleaners etc.

Then all i really need to worry about are eggs, fresh milk, and fruit and vege and I have enough to eat.

ZoeGirl_3

Was just thinking...could you perhaps scour money saving websites in America and try and print out some vouchers etc for eating out there? Or think of some other way of saving on spending money while there?

I am going on holiday in January next year, and I am staying in a tent (lol :eek: ) and doing mostly my own food instead of eating out just to save all the money for fun activities which I am not skimping on.

I figure its the activities the kids remember, and they will love sitting around a tent eating baked beans on toast anyway lol :rotfl:

Penelope_Penguin

Hi there, and welcome to Old Style :beer: We have a thread on buying in bulk, so I'll add this to that one and you can see what others do

Penny. x

Pitlanepiglet

jimmo wrote: »

Sorry but I think you are doing this all wrong. If you use your credit card in the States then you are likely to get pretty bad exchange rates and all sorts of administration charges. If you draw cash from a cash machine in the States you will get all those bad things, maybe a cash handling charge and a higher interest rate on cash withdrawals.
The only thing you should be stockpiling now is readies
Go to the States with dollars in your wallet and use your credit card to buy food etc when you come back.

I was thinking exactly the same thing. I'm not sure why you are bulk buying? Surely what you need to be doing is spending as little as possible and eating your way through your cupboards/freezers etc. so that you're not spending anything. Then you can put all your pennies away for spending money, you then repeat that when you come back and spend the absolute minimum to pay off your credit card. The last thing you want is to be paying for food that is just sitting in your loft.

Have you seen Mbaz's £20 a month "panic" thread?, it's not sustainable in the long term but as a short term way to save money and use what you've got it's a great example.

discodolly_2

Thanks for the replies!
Okay, the reason I'm stockpiling rather than saving cash is that at the moment, we only have about £30 a month spare, not really enough to get us far on holiday!
We have a couple of hundred quid saved for using in cash and the cards will be used for things like clothes shopping, etc.
That's why I'm using the small amount we have at the mo to stockpile food so that when we come back we can start trying to bring in more money to pay off the credit.
I researched the cards well and got one that is for using abroad so doesn't charge fees for foreign exchange, and we will certainly not be withdrawing caash on it!
We have also bought a kids eat free card, £10 per child and it entitles kids under 11 to eat free i most restaurants, so there's a saving!
I also have a job which I don't start until I get back, so really that's the credit repayment taken care of, as long as I don't spend much on food!

Anyway, back to stockpiling;)

Guapa1

Couple of funny stories about bulk buying. Years ago Safeway had an offer on washing up liquid BOGOF. There were about 50p at the time, well my mum and I went to the shop everyday and bought the maximum you could until the offer ran out. 2 years later when we move house we had to pack the washing up liquid too! It lasted for about 5 years!

Then 3 years ago, Superdrug had a special offer on feminine products and I done the same thing. They only ran out in January, I was used used to going to my little cubby hole for them I was thrown when there were none left at completely lost!

linni

I do stockpile, but am careful only to do this on items I would normally use, or couldn't afford if not on offer. Have just been to Lidl and got a few packs Charmain toilet rolls for £6.49 and have them stacked up in the bathroom.. I spend a fortune on toilet rolls!!!