If you are looking to create a reduction in your food budget, you might need to consider ways in which you can take advantage of low prices and stock up on some of the essentials that you use on a daily basis, without going over your food budget.

How to create a stockpile

To create a stockpile of goods, you are, in effect, creating a pantry; a place where you can turn to and get staples food item for your diet without the need to purchase them each week, when they might not be at a reduced price. The only way that you can create a stockpile and have enough food and money, is with careful budgeting of your money.

Working out how much money you need is not always easy, it can change weekly or monthly depending on available money. For me, I like to keep to the same amount of money, and then if the month is a four-week month I can use the spare money for stocking up on goods at a great saving.

However, my main aim is to come under budget for my shopping and this allows extra money to buy the goods that are on at a special price, saving me money the following month.

It is important to start small; there is no reason to create a stockpile of food and go into debt. You must work this into your budget or you must forego the stockpiling. There is little point buying so much of one product that doesn’t allow you to eat normal meals; stockpiling or creating a pantry is a way to add variety to your diet but to get these goods at discount prices.

Understanding loss leaders

Most shops and supermarkets have loss leaders, these are products that they heavily reduce in price in order to entice you into the store. Once they have you, there is potential that whilst you are there you will purchase other items you need. This is how shops trick their customers looking for the bargain.

It is, therefore, so important that you know the items that you need before you shop. If you are a person that is unable to stick to a shopping list then it is important that you take a person with you who is accountable, or let them shop for you. This is a great way to enjoy shopping but within budget, you must have a set amount of money for your shopping, take a calculator with you, it is important that you don’t go over your budget. If you are under budget don’t fill up on products that you don’t normally buy, this is a waste. Save this money and plan next week’s shop. Check on-line before you shop as to the loss leaders they are offering, if you need the item and it is larger or more expensive than your normal purchase check to see if you are saving money. If there is a saving, it might be worth adding to your shopping to increase the stockpile of food and products that you have. If the item has a best before date and you know that the product will go out of date before you finish them, it is not a great bargain and not worth the expense. The idea of stockpiling or building a pantry is to save money and not waste it.