My stockpiling plan for after quarantine

I'm sure that many of us felt ill prepared for this virus. I'm one of those people. While we have a decent stockpile, I still wish that I had stocked up more. Not because we don't have enough for ourselves, but because it would have allowed me to help even more people.

Let the record show that I'm not gonna listen to DH where shopping is concerned. I'm gonna continue to trust my own instincts. He's not allowed to complain about stockpiling ever again either. This pandemic taught us a hard lesson. Yeah, we almost ended up low on t/p & perishables, had I listened to him. I want to make sure that we have a big enough stockpile to last 6-9 months. Yeah, DH might bitch about this again, but he has to admit that thanks to stockpiling, we didn't have to risk exposing ourselves to the virus by running around town for things constantly.

I know that many folks might not have extra cash to stockpile. However, there are many ways around that.

My plan is to use $5 (hopefully $10) of our weekly grocery budget to stockpile (I did that last year, but fell off the wagon)

I like to shop at Walmart, because of the super low prices. Yes, Walmart gets a bad rap, but I'll suck it up and shop there. It helps stretch our grocery budget. Also, I don't mind using their store brands. I stay far away from Meijer store brands, because I got food poisoning from it on 2 occasions. I know that I can stockpile at least 10 cans of veggies (weekly) with my $5 budget. However, there many other items I want to add.

I definitely need to up my game where paper products are concerned. We mainly need to stock up on t/p and p/t. We don't use much p/t, but t/p is at the top of my list. We prefer the Sams store brand. It's soft, strong and a great price. They have a 45 roll pack that usually lasts us 5+ months. I'd like to keep 3 of those big packs in stock. I want to do the same with cleaning products.While we always keep a bottle of bleach at home, I want to get several. We've made a nice water, bleach & Dawn mix for cleaning/disinfecting during the pandemic. However, the bleach soon made my allergies flare up. So Lysol it is. I usually buy the big refill bottles.

The other thing I really need to focus on, is a medical kit. We rarely use medication, but I do keep a few things in stock. I also have a decent cold/cough syrup stash from all the drugstore deals. Having an emergency medical kit available could come in handy, especially when you have to quarantine. 

The drugstores will be hit hard - all 3 of them. Between CVS & WAGS, I have $73 in rewards. I'm gonna put that to good use.

If anyone would like to join me in stockpiling, please feel free to do so. Make use of every single $$ that you can find/earn.

How am I gonna do this?

We have 3 trash bags full of pop cans. No we don't drink that much soda. I just like to save it up so I don't have to use the dirty recycling center at Meijer. Yep, I'm a bit of a germaphobe...lol.

Drugstore rewards. Please sign up. I know it takes some work, but there's some serious savings to be had. We haven't needed any personal care products during our quarantine

Gift card earning sites like Swagbucks, Mypoints, Instagc, Microsoft Rewards, Ibotta, Fetch, Savingstar, Checkout51 (yes, I use them all). The point earning sites normally give me an extra $110 per month. That's not including the grocery apps. Since we don't need much clothes, I'm just using that money for some stockpiling and some for saving.

If your grocery store offers rewards, sign up. Meijer has Mperks (it only gives back 2%, but its money in my pocket). Kroger also has cash back rewards on select items (kinda like Ibotta/Savingstar). Just select the items on your account.

Catalinas (coupons that print out at the register). I mainly use self checkout, because I like having control of what I do (I can easily spot when an item rings up incorrectly). Many folks leave those CATS behind. If I find any, I take it home with me. I often find ones that I can use. Heck, I even scored a $10 one and free bread once. I doubt folks would be so eager to leave hard cash behind. Those CATs are as good as cash to me, so I'm not ashamed of picking them up. The cashier just throw it away anyway.

I'm only gonna start stockpiling once it's safe to go out. In the meantime, save those extra stockpiling cash every week. By the time it's safe to be out & about again, you'll have a decent amount to start your stockpile.

It looks like some businesses might open on May 1st here, which I think is a huge mistake. This is Michigan and our numbers are through the roof. We're just gonna continue social distancing for a few extra weeks.

Stay safe & healthy everyone!