My point is this: I learned that stocking up is rarely beneficial. It is more likely to cause us to waste money than to save any. I know that sounds like bad math and I think I have admitted before that it was never my best subject. But I don't think it's the over-buying that is the problem. I think it is our big old houses.
Over the past year I can count on one hand the number of times I had to toss food out because it spoiled. In our previous 19 years of house dwelling it was a weekly occurrence. The fridge, the pantry, the freezer (and EXTRA freezer in the garage) were all large. With that much extra space things would get shoved to the back of shelves and under other items. By the time they resurfaced they were UFOs: unidentified frozen objects. Or Unusable Food Objects.
In our fifth wheel we had ample storage space for only enough food to get us from one grocer to the next. We could not buy more than 18 eggs and one gallon of milk, a week's worth of fresh fruits and veggies, and the smaller jars of jam or mustard at one time. We kept about two week's worth of non-perishables in our pantry and an extra plastic tub in the "basement." And you know what? We never suffered. Running out of OJ is not a big deal - you just drink water. We were in constant motion, hiking a few hundred miles, burning calories and eating a lot to replace them, but I never once felt like we wanted for anything. It totally changed my perspective on shopping.
Once I was in a supermarket and bought a jar of cumin. The cashier pointed out that I should go back for two more spices because they were having a "buy two, get one free" sale. "Spices are so expensive," she moaned. "Take advantage and stock up!" I told her I lived in an RV and did not have extra space to store even small things and it would lose it's flavor before I could use it all anyway. She looked at me as if I had just told her I predicted Tampa Bay would win the Super Bowl and Milli Vanilli would take home the gold in pairs figure skating.
A quick review of our budget revealed we spent about the same amount of money on groceries in an RV with no option to use coupons or take advantage of sales or bulk shopping. And this is despite the fact that we ate like ravenous Labrador Retrievers most days and were frequently stuck paying $5 for a gallon of milk or $4.50 for a loaf of bread because a small camp store was the only thing for miles. So if you take into account the fact that we rarely had to toss out spoiled or stale foods, we really spent less.
This year was full of great lessons "take aways" for us, and this is one that has given me new resolve regarding grocery shopping. I aim to never have more in the refrigerator and pantry than we intend to consume within two weeks time, with the exception of a hurricane kit June through October. BOGO deals are only for our high-volume consumption items like coffee, English muffins, and olive oil. And I give myself permission to run out of stuff.
Just not toilet paper.
-Jenni