I love stockpiling. It gives me breathing room on nights when I’m not sure what to fix for dinner. It means that we never really run out of toilet paper or find ourselves stinky, without deodorant. Stockpiling is certainly a blessing to your household. HOWEVER (don’t you hate it when someone slips one of those in?), should you stockpile while paying off debt. Maybe. But, then again, maybe not.
Don’t fall into these traps:
Buying Things You Don’t Need
Using coupons and finding great deals can become addictive. We’re anxious to show someone our big score. We have an adrenaline rush in the parking lot. However, if you don’t have a dog and you score an awesome deal on 15 bags of dog food, it’s not a good thing. Certainly you can be generous with your efforts and donate items (I suggest having a plan to drop them off within 24 hours or they might sprout roots and stay in your home for decades). However, your time is valuable too. Many of the stockpiling deals require you to make multiple purchases of an assortment of items. If you don’t need it, you’re better off not buying it.
Spending More Than Budgeted
No matter how great the deal, your budget is more important than your stockpile. This means while you’re paying off debt, you might squeak by with just enough in one week. Other weeks, you might be able to stash back a few items. Stay within your budgeted amounts for household expenses and if at all possible, use cash in the store. It’s not ever a great deal if you overspend.
Buying Perishables
Stay away from stockpiling perishable items. Unless they can be frozen, no matter how awesome our intentions, perishable items will end up going bad before you can use all of them. Believe it or not, you can freeze meats, cheese, and even milk (pour a little out first to provide space for expansion). If you don’t have a large freezer, don’t stockpile perishable items at all because you need the space for other day-to-day items.
Worshipping Stuff
Certainly none of us would bow down in front of a large stack of toilet paper exclaiming how wonderful it was and how it provided us with such great security. However, there exists a temptation in stockpiling to place our trust in our own efforts and provision instead of leaning on the Eternal. Be careful that you don’t create a pitfall by valuing things or the pursuit of a great score more than people or God.
Instead:
Focus in On What You Use Most Often
If you find you’re often out of a particular item and having to run to the store to just pick up “one thing,” you might want to consider stockpiling that item. Quick trips like that rarely result in one purchase. Instead, you come home with two bags of chips, a gallon of ice cream, and a new t-shirt. Take an inventory of the items you use the most and build a hit list, stocking up on them when a sale or deal arises.
Consider Amazon Subscribe & Save
Last week in The #1 Way to Save Money at the Store, I shared some of my strategies from staying out of the store and building a stockpile through Amazon’s Subscribe & Save program. One of the details I failed to mention is that I often cash in on rewards sites like Swagbucks and pick up Amazon Giftcards to do my purchasing and build my stockpile.
Be Generous
While we couldn’t always be generous in the monetary sense while paying off $127K in debt, there were certainly times when we were able to bless others out of our couponing excess. Being able to go to the cabinets and pass along a product that you passed along for free (or close to it) is a very good gift. Stockpiling allows for you to open up and share what you have when you might not have a ton of extra coin.
Should you stockpile while paying off debt? Honestly, it depends. Keep your motives in check and hold tight to your budget. But you might have the space and time to bless others in unexpected ways if you do.
Gain inspiration to pay off debt! Check out Inspiration to Pay Off Debt: 30 Days of Encouragement from the Queen of Free
This post contains an affiliate link. That means when you get a great deal or maybe even something for free, you also help our family pay off our mortgage early. And for that, we royally thank you!
