I used to work for Blue Buffalo, the company that produces the Wilderness brand. They make some less expensive stuff that's also very good. Oddly, my cats don't like the Wilderness line very much. I can slip one in every now and then, but they seem to want some veggies in their food. Don't misunderstand; I am not talking down the Wilderness food, as it has excellent ingredients; if only I could get my cats to read the ingredient list. To bring the thread back on topic, I have an air-tight canister that I store kibble in, so I buy that in the large bags. Their kibble is nearly always Blue Buffalo, although not the Wilderness line. Now that I have only two cats, it takes them a while to get through a large bag, and I buy their canned food by the case too. Actually, I often buy two or three cases at a time since they want variety in canned food.
@Ken Anderson I did buy a can that was about 30 cents less that was fish free. I can't remember the brand. I was afraid to feed it to the cats thinking it might not agree with them since it was different but they seemed to like it and no one threw up. Fish free is hard to find. The bags I get from the vet are also kind of large and last two cats about 3 months. I use a larger Rubbermaid container to keep the food in and dish it from that refilling from the bag when needed. It's easier than dealing with the bag each time.
I do stockpile for two reasons. The first being I just don't like to shop so the more I have stockpiled, the less I have to shop. The second reason is I do like to stock up on things we use when they are on sale for a really good price. With my Honey working part time at a grocery store...he can always bring home something we run out of, but even with our 10% discount things are still higher most of the time at the small Country market where he is employed...yet we do get lots of free things from there too. Stockpiling things we use often like toilet tissue, laundry detergent, toothpaste, soap, etc. is something I just can't see not doing.
Mostly I just buy it as I need it, unless there is some sort of irresistible sale on something I use a lot. Only exception is my freezer is so stuffed full, if I want to make a quart of ice cream, I have to use enough stuff in the freezer to make room for it. With frozen food I turn into a packrat.
We have to prep some as Alaska would run out of most food in three days if anything bad happens to block re-supply. I December 1989, we had a volcano go off that closed Anchorage airport for a week. Although I lived near the Bering Sea at the time, almost all the supplies for the state come through that airport in the winter especially. Although the store did have some stored canned goods, everything else was gone in just a few days. It could happen elsewhere, I am sure, but I have seen it happen here with absolutely no warning. Earthquakes are the other big hazard hat can disrupt things.
I try to keep an extra of the most common items on the emergency shelf, shop the dips, and use a few coupons. I try to shop my freezer and pantry on a regular basis to ensure that my small stockpile of bargains does not become another form of waste.
My chest freezer is full ( mainly veggies but with a little meat) .... my dry store cupboard is full of canned goods..beans, veggies, rice , flour, pasta, canned fish etc........and the cleaning cupboard is FULLL....several bottles of of Washing up liquid, 3 or 4 boxes of laundry tabs, dryer sheets, large packs of Loo rolls, and Kitchen paper!! I even stockpile skimmed UHT milk.. always got about 6 litre packs in the cupboard .. in case I run out of fresh and can't get to the supermarket!! I think we'd be alright for a while if there was a disaster...
We usually buy extra when we find a good sale on something, and we go to Sam’s club once a month for the items that we regularly buy in larger quantities, and use up during the month. A while back, I found a closeout at Walmart on the McCafe coffee that Bobby loves, and it was $3 instead of the usual $9 per can; so I bought 5-6 cans, (whatever it was they had on the shelf) and was very pleased with getting such a great discount. For some reason, Walmart keeps putting more of this coffee out, but I usually only find 2-3 left when we go to Walmart and I check for it. It is only the blue label coffee that is on sale, but fortunately , that is the blend that Bobby likes best. So, I will keep watching each time I shop there and bring home any that I find at the discount price. Speaking of store shelves going empty fast, that can happen pretty easily down here in the south. For some reason, any time a bad storm is predicted, or ANY amount of snow (heaven forbid !); people all run to the store and buy bunches of bread, milk, and eggs. All of those shelves will be totally bare in just a matter of hours !
I live by the rule that 1 is none and two is 1. I therefore have two of most things because you can not count on the first one working or being enough. I always have a new tube of toothpaste, box of cereal, etc.. Some items we have a lot of if they are on sale. Otherwise we just make sure we have two of most things. I have 5 computers and 3 iPads for some reason. I only use one of each though.
When I lived in rural Alaska (off the roads), we had to fly into town to buy most things, so when we made the trip, we would buy thousands of dollars of food at a time, and the difference in price would make enough difference that it would pay the plane fare. We also had fish and game to eat, of course, but you can't grow too much out on the tundra, and it is easier to buy toilet paper than to gather moss....
I only stockpile if I suspect something is going to be discontinued. Latest example: vacuum cleaner bags. I just bought a bunch of them online because they quit selling them at the stores.
Yes, but the only place that has carried the bags for years was Lowes (building supplies), now they've stopped. It's a canister vacuum. Not many of those around any more. Not an expensive one either, just a Eureka.
If I find a good price on something that I am going to continue to need and which won't go bad, it makes sense to buy in bulk, as long as I have the space to store it, of course.