Irrational fear of empty cupboards

mumoftwo

lynzpower wrote: »

but its not really moneysaving to buy things you dont need tho is it?

The money would be earning for you in the bank - or not costing you money on your credit cards. Many many people on this site buy food they dont need on tiher credit cards, Ive seen it time and again.

It makes no sense to me to feel secure in having food in the cupbaords & overflowing freezers, yet making yourself more FINANCIALLY insecure by going into debt to do it :eek:

I agree with not going into debt because of it, buying a few things extra a week can come in very useful if something does happen to your income, illness, redundancy, weather disaster etc and then being prepared will stop you from going into debt then... But I think the key here is knowing what you are buying and rotating, no use if in need you only have 20 tins of tomatoes or 100 toilet rolls I try to do it in a more organised manner, I have pasta, beans, corned beef, juice, ham, tuna, salmon, tomatoes, lentils, flour, yeast, dried beans, so that you can make bread/meals and if there is no electricity, you can eat cold beans, corned beef/ham/tuna and

And making it more money saving is bying when on BOGOF or reduced prices and making sure you rotate your stock so nothing gets out of date, do what they do in supermarkets, new stock goes to the back of the shelf

rosieben

mumoftwo wrote: »

I try to do it in a more organised manner, I have pasta, beans, corned beef, juice, ham, tuna, salmon, tomatoes, lentils, flour, yeast, dried beans, so that you can make bread/meals and if there is no electricity, you can eat cold beans, corned beef/ham/tuna and

And making it more money saving is bying when on BOGOF or reduced prices and making sure you rotate your stock so nothing gets out of date, do what they do in supermarkets, new stock goes to the back of the shelf

Absolutely agree!

I sorted out all my cupboards a few months ago and now stack new at the back. I’m also careful about freezer storage times. I think keeping a good store cupboard is just good sense but you do need to keep an eye on dates and rotate stock.

I live in the country and we’re prone to bad winter storms. If worst comes, I wouldnt have to leave the house for several weeks because I have enough food, toiletries, toilet rolls etc to last … and of course a good stock of candles and matches for the regular spring/autumn/winter power cuts - not to mention my trusty little candle stove!!).

My dd lives in London and when she told friends that we have power cuts here they laughed, thought she was joking! We dont have shops within walking distance, nor open 24 hours. Our nearest decent supermarket is 15 miles away.

We each have to plan for our own specific situation and I really wouldn’t feel safe without my full store cupboards.

I'm still trying to get into the swing of buying enough to last from one offer to the next, not quite there yet though

Edited to say - I can see the point you are tyring to make lynzpower and I suppose it would make sense for someone in different circumstances - but money in the bank is no good to me in an emergency - I cant live off my pass book or bank statement if I'm snowed in!!

doddsy

lynzpower, taking my tuna example further.

Currently Princes tuna chunks 4 packs are 1/2 price. I know we use at least 2 tins a week (Sarnies and baked potato). So I know I will get through 14 x 4 packs. At £3 per pack = £42 but at 1/2 price only £21. I could not make £21 in interest if I saved my money in 6 months.

I know I could buy cheaper varieties but I am lucky enough to have the storage space, and buying this way I get the brand I like.

Of course I do agree with you that it is no good getting into debt to shop this way though.

Garnet_Gem

I have a well stocked food cupboard too. I'm not too bad as 6 tins of anything is my maximum. I'm sure it stems from my childhood when, although I never went hungry I knew my mother lived from week to week food wise as money was short. Something about food storage gives me a sense of security. I also keep bottled water as I'd hate to be left without water, even for a day.

lynzpower

Oh definately!

I know the tuna is half price, as Ive bought a few of those too! But then I know OH uses 2 a week.

I dont have a full storecupbaord by any means, but I bet i would be able to feed us for a week, on top of the weeks worth weve got in for menu plan.

As long as you have powdered milk ( or some UHT stashed somewhere) and flour for breadmaking I dont think theres anything else Id really need to have in. We have some dried beans/ onions and the like for soup making that could be wheeled out, stock cubes we have plenty of ( 3 boxes).

I really dont think here in the UK you would starve. Even inthe floods we've just seen, I just dont think the authorities would allow it, search nad rescue here is superb.( compared to other countries such as Nicaragua who have just seen the weather do them in) I know what its like to be snowed in my mums best mate lives in Lancashire and every year they get snowed in. So in October, she stockpiles a few extra loaves in the freezer and the milk, and of course goes through the rigmarrol of filling the car with the usual suspects ( few bars of choc/bottles of water/ cutlery/ plug in water heater for the car to make into pot noodles etc) HOwever, they have oly ever been snowed in for 3 days. So they prepare for a week, as they know it wont be mucyh longer than that!

However, having full cupbaords at the times of the year when you are LIKELY to be snowed in /flooded/ whatever isnt an "irrational fear" its based on fact, fact is that some roads are impassable etc.

Irrational fear is more when your EMOTIONS drive the fear as opposed to an actual event which is practicable to prepare for. Moneysavers should be more rational, and try where possible to reduce the amount they spend on UNNECCESARY STUFF!!

lil_me

This is something I have a major issue with, after hitting very tight times over the years when it was hard to afford to have a lot in I now go OTT.

As an example, I've got 6 large boxes of tins, then there is packets, 6kg rice, 3kg lentils, huge american FF which is jam packed, under bench freezer also full, then like yesterday went shopping and spent another £30, had to force things into the already packed freezer, just not sensible is it? This is during summer aswell, ok we get bad winters here and can be snowed in for a few days but no excuse in the summer really.

redmel1621

I think it is definately not moneysaving to buy things that are BOGOF if it is an item you would probably not have bought before or that you don't use very much of.....
I went mad on Kitten food in sainsbury one time. We usually pay 3.09 for a box of the sachets (10) They were on offer 2 for £5.00 now I know it is only a £1.18 but I bought 12 boxes of them thus saving £7.08 effectively getting 2 boxes free.....I have just run out and wish now that i'd bought more....
Mel x

doddsy

redmel1621 wrote: »

Ummm will confess now that I agree with mumoftwo. I stockpile making use of bogoffs. For example when tuna packed in tins of 4 are on bogoff I buy enough for 6 months (for us about 52 tins:eek: ) . I am organized in my storage and hopefully will never therefore pay more than 1/2 price for tuna. I do this with all tinned goods and pasta, tea, flour etc. as well.

I may sound mad but an old friend of mine goes even further! I have some brilliant stories about her extreme saving measures:D

Do share pleeeeaaaaase!!!!

When I was a Saturday girl in a supermarket I got to know a woman who managed on a shop assistants wage (oh didn't earn alot either) to have the most beautiful home full of antiques and great decor. She let me in on a few strategies! Slightly off topic but:

1. She only shopped twice a year. She had a spare bedroom which she turned into a 'shop'. She would buy boxes of walkers crisps, slabs of tinned goods etc etc. I think she went to a Cash & Carry to do this. When she needed a tin of something she would go to her 'shop' and get one, putting the FULL PRICE for the item in a money box. When it was time to go shopping again she had the money to do so + the savings she had made, in the money box.

2. Her children had pocket money for chores - but they had to spend it in her shop if they wanted crisps or chocolate bars. Mean or extreme I don't know

3. Her daughter nagged for ages for a dog. So she did some research and bought her daughter two. Of course they were the daughters pets but mum got £600 for every pup produced! I don't remember the breed but this was 30 years or so ago and £600 was ALOT of money.

4. When she wanted to re-do her bathroom the oh said no it wasn't necessary. So she bought some gnome moulds, concrete mix, paints etc and set up a production line in her back garden. she touted these around garden centres and fetes, and even sold them on the pavement outside her house. At the end of the summer she had enough money to totally revamp her bathroom - without having to dip into savings.

The last time I saw her was about 20 years ago and she was sitting outside her house making rag rugs from cloth scraps she got from jumble sales. A few of the finished rugs were around her for sale and she told me she did 'quite well' with them:rotfl: . Of course she did all the usual os stuff and kept a few chucks, veggie garden etc as well.

Although a bit extreme she was an inspiration to me and a good example of 'lateral thinking'

Sorry to go off topic;)

piglet6

I found this a very interesting thread, because it hit a real nerve with me. Earlier this week I did a cupboard inventory, then de-frosted the freezer and did a freezer inventory. Even though we had been working through the freezer to reduce the contents in order to defrost it, I still filled 2 large coolbags with food while I defrosted it. Since then, we have made up a large amount of home-made ready meals and re-filled the freezer to what I would estimate is now 85-90% full again! And I still have a bulging cupboard...:rolleyes:

However, I wonder whether my parents have influenced me. Growing up, we always bought in bulk to take advantage of BOGOFs, and my parents still have a large double cupboard on their landing upstairs, full (and we are talking floor to 9ft ceiling cupboard, so about 7 shelves, about a metre in width...) of cans and jars. If they see something on offer that they use, it is not unusual for them to buy a case or two of the product. Again, they both grew up in homes where food was not always plentiful, and their parents did live from week to week money-wise, so they both feel more comfortable knowing they have plenty of food in, and they are not in debt so who am I to criticise...? However, they are getting a little bit better now as they only have 2 freezers (one under-counter and a half-size chest freezer - until about 10 years ago they also had the most enormous full size chest freezer in the shed which was also full to bursting!:rotfl:).

I am trying to cut down now, so have made a list of what is in my cupboard/freezer and stuck them on the doors and am crossing things off as I use them. However, I suspect I won't want to go lower than 6 cans of tomatoes/beans, 3 of sweetcorn/tuna/chickpeas, and probably a couple of kilos of pasta/rice. But if I can get down to these levels, I will have cut down significantly (so that tells you my current hoarding levels...!!:p).

Piglet

P.S. I am also not paying interest on credit card debts (and what we have on a 0% card could be paid off with savings immediately if necessary) - I do agree with Lynzpower that to pay out for hoarding food when you are trying to pay of debt does not make financial sense...:o

rosieben

piglet6 wrote: »

...
I do agree with Lynzpower that to pay out for hoarding food when you are trying to pay of debt does not make financial sense...:o

This is so true, I've never ever used a credit card to pay for food, just cash or a debit card. It can never make sense to buy food on credit!

I'm keeping a check now on the good special offers and BOGOFS and how often they come around - seems a really good way of spending less (or half) on items that you buy regularly.