One of the areas which I feel a need to concentrate on is food storage. I have a lot of food stored to the point which my wife makes some snide comments. Regardless, I plan to get A LOT more.
The main foods I store are what I am sure you have in your kitchen cabinets right now – a lot of canned goods and other foods you can buy at your local grocery store. That is my message in this post is there is not a need to buy expensive freeze dried food to have a decent level of readiness.
Now – I do have freeze dried food stored and if money is available then by all means purchase some. More on freeze dried food like Mountain House meals another day.
Stocking up on food is not rocket science. Store what you eat and eat what you store.
Here are a few things to consider when stocking up:
- Buy on Sale – We are all on budgets. I get the sale papers for three grocery stores in my area and scour through them every Tuesday. I highlight those items that are good deals. During the week I visit each store and buy multiples of each item selected. The quantity is based on how good the deal is and how much money I have.
- Del Monte canned corn on sale BOGO (buy one get one free) – regularly $1.39 per can – now about .69 cents
- Store brand canned fruit on sale for .60 each – regularly $1.00 each
- Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup on sale 2/1.00 – regular price .99 cents per can
- Buy in Quantity – My goal is to buy as much as I can with the money I have available. One guide to follow to just save money is to purchase the amount that will last until the item goes on sale again. If you pay attention many common items go on sale every 3-4 weeks…. consistently. What I recommend is purchasing 2 months worth per month and then one month later purchase 2 months worth again when on sale. You will be surprised at how fast your stockpile will build.
- Buy What You Like – This is common sense but needs to be said. Don’t buy stuff just because it is cheap. Buy what you like.
- Consider Comfort Foods – Should something happen and the stress level is high have comfort foods in your stores will be, well, comforting. Some examples might hard candy, bottles of Gatorade, and chocolate. Especially if there are kids around comfort foods can assist in relieving some stress.
- Look at Expiration Dates – Check expiration dates on the foods you are stocking up on. Some brands have longer lives for the same foods. Also – stores may not rotate there products well and typically the oldest stuff is at the front of the shelves. I often reach to the back of the shelves to get the freshest stock.
.69 cents here and .50 cents there can add up. If you can save 40% by purchasing ONLY sale items that means you can bring home $100 worth of groceries for $60 dollars. Do this week after week, month after month and the dollars really add up.
Coupons can also save you a lot of money although they can be very time consuming. I used to coupon A LOT. I did find that I was buying stuff that 6 months later I never used. Several stores in my area have put strict policies on using coupons as well.
In summary – To keep it the simplest and most effective: “store what you eat and eat what you store.”