In this spiraling economy, everyone is taking their own measures to be prepared for the worst. Whether they are saving more of their income, cutting back on unnecessary expenses or learning how to shop more wisely and coupon, they are all preparing for what could and might happen to their family...the loss of an (or all) income. And maybe you've not even thought about it. What will you do if one of your incomes is lost due to lay off or job loss? What if you lose your only income due to one person being a stay at home parent? It's important to be prepared for tough times ahead. Even though the news casters say that the economy is slowly turning around, I think we have a long ways to go before things are 100% better. So it's best to be prepared for what could still come.
That's where two important parts of frugal living come in...food storage and stockpiling. The way I see it, these two aspects are the same, but completely different at the same time. Stockpiling is stocking up on a good deal, perhaps a free or cheap item after coupon. If you can get Campbell's cream of chicken soup for only a few pennies after sale and coupon, then by all means stock up! Calculate how much you will be needing in the next year and stockpile as close to that amount as you can! Often time stockpiled items are prepackaged items (canned goods, boxed goods, meats, etc.), and in being prepared, it is important to have on hand a food storage of ingredients that can be used to make full meals independent of your stockpile. Items that you shouldn't forget when deciding what to keep in your food storage would be flour, dry milk, oil, sugar, yeast, etc.
Deciding how much you want to stockpile and have available in your food storage is up to you. Do you want to be set for A few weeks? 6 months? A year? That amount is up to you to determine. It is typically recommended, however, that you have about 6 months to one years worth of food stockpiled and stored, just in case. That's a pretty lofty goal! But with some hard work and dedication, you can have a good stockpile and food storage going in no time! Just don't expect it to happen overnight! Be sure to use the Food Storage Calculator to see how much you should shoot for based on the size of your family.
If you just think I'm crazy and don't believe in the true importance of a food storage and stockpile just head on over to the Prudent Homemaker to read her story of how her food storage and stockpile fed her family for a year!
Food storage and stockpiling is something that I really believe in, for the sake of feeding my family, and it really works for me!!
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
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1 comments:
Thanks for the mention!
I'm preparing for the possiblity of a significant decrease in income again.
For many people, just a salary cut is a huge problem. A friend of mine had her husband's salary cut 70% this year, and since then they've had 4 weeks without pay as well.
We went 8 months with no income and we've had 60% income since then. My husband's income varies, but it could easily decrease again, and at least for January, it is going to be less. I don't anticipate any trips to the store then. After that, I don't know what will come. Thankfully, I have been able to restock a lot of things this year (but not everything!) Our fruit trees have grown bigger and I've made even better use of my garden space. Hopefully it will all grow really well!
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