Build a stockpile

My least favorite time of the day used to be between 4:30 and 5:30 when I'm frantically trying to get dinner made and on the table. I find it stressful and my patience runs dry. Then, come to find out, I am missing ingredients for what I was going to make and end up just purchasing a pizza. Ugh.

Part of this is due to my lack of meal planning; more on weekly meal planning later. The other part of this is because I really had no food to pull an improvised meal from...nothing in the pantry, freezer or fridge.

This is where building a stockpile in your pantry can come in handy. Be patient though because building a stockpile will take some time.

 How do you build a stockpile? 
1. Pull out that list I had you make in the very beginning of the top 10 items your family uses most. Add to that list, making it consist of everything your family uses on a weekly basis: snack foods, pasta and sauce, fruit drinks, soup, ketchup, cereal, etc. I would even add things like shampoo, toilet paper, diapers, etc.
2. Save a percentage of your weekly budget to put towards stockpile items. E.g. Our weekly budget is $50. I try to only use $35 on food items we need for my weekly menu, then I have $15 left over to purchase items for the stockpile.
3. Every Sunday and every Tuesday (Bend residents) browse the ads in the paper. If you see a good deal on an item on your list, buy it...remember to stack the sale with coupons. If it's a super frugal deal, purchase more than one!
4. Eventually your pantry will be stocked with items you purchased for dirt cheap--or FREE and you will never need to pay full price again. You'll figure out what you consider good prices...an example for me is I don't pay more than $1 on any cereal...and usually $0.50 is my limit.
5. When you notice something is getting low on your stockpile, make sure to stock up again when you can so you don't get caught needing it which results in paying more.