Why Food Storage Should Be Part of Your Financial Plan
2.8.08
By Jodi Moore
Have you ever been out of work for a week, a month, even longer?
Do you wish you could buy foods ONLY when they are on sale and with coupons?
Do you wish you had a stockpile of grains now that the prices are getting so high?
I have the answer for you and it is called food storage! Food storage to me is similar to an emergency fund and can be split into two components as well, short term food storage and long term food storage. There are financial benefits to both types of food storage.
Short Term Food Storage
Your short term food storage consists of getting a 3 month stockpile of foods that you eat on a day to day basis. Once you have this in place you can start to grocery shop from your food storage and only replenish those items when they go on sale and/or you have coupons. This will actually reduce your grocery budget as you will only buy things that are deeply discounted. But those few dollars a month will not mean as much to you as the food will if you have a short term emergency. For example, my husband took a pay cut for several months and we were able to spend less than HALF of our usual grocery budget for those months because we had stockpiled so much of our every day foods.
Long Term Food Storage
Your long term food storage consists of getting a year's supply worth of life-sustaining foods that have a long shelf-life. You probably won't be rotating through this food as much since it will be items such as wheat, white rice, dried beans, powdered milk, etc. But since the shelf life is so long you can gradually purchase the items when they are on sale and work up to a year's supply. If you only have to replace some things after 10, 15, 20 years it will not be a huge damper on your monthly budget. If you get brave enough to start using your long term food storage items you can save some money in the short term. Homemade bread is significantly cheaper than store-bought, especially if you grind your own wheat. Making other items from scratch such as muffins, pancakes, etc. can also save you money over buying packaged items. In times of economic trouble you can rely on your food storage for long periods of time while other people are begrudging the high prices of rice and wheat. Prices will most likely come down before you deplete your stores. And finally if a major disaster, economic melt-down, or other long-term emergency were to occur, you can feel confident that your family will be able to survive with basic food and water for quite some time.
To learn more about setting up your family's food storage program please visit our blog at http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net and we will walk you through the process in a series of simple Baby Steps.
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