Making the Most of Your Money When Purchasing Food Storage

Welcome to Tax Refund Week! We often get asked the question “I got some gift money, or I inherited some money – what would you recommend I purchase?”. Talk about a LOADED question. The answer always ends up being: “Well…. it depends”. In this series, we are going to answer that question. There isn’t a universal answer for this, but by going through each topic below, we’re confident you will have a good idea about what may be right for you – should you get a nice tax refund or other unexpected “extra” money!

Back to the answer always ends up being: “Well…it depends”. The reason it depends is because not everyone has the same diets, lifestyles, monthly budgets for Food Storage, and ability or desire to rotate their Food Storage. If you are in the habit of replenishing and using your three month supply, then maybe splurging on an appliance you’ve been waiting for is a good idea. If your budget is super tight, and you haven’t been able to put enough food away for your three month supply – perhaps the appliance can wait and it would be a good idea to stock up on your three month supply foods all at once. If you have no real intention of rotating your Food Storage, and you want to have “just in case” foods, then spending money on some “Just Add Water Meals” would be a good idea. We all have different styles and philosophies, so that’s why: “Well… it depends”.

Here is a summary of all the topics that are covered in this series. We obviously encourage taking advantage of sales, and/or building your food storage bit by bit … but sometimes it can be easy (and nice) to buy things all at once. So take a look below and make YOUR game plan for any unexpected cash windfalls you might be blessed with 🙂

	BUYING A THREE MONTH SUPPLY IN BULK Ideally, you will purchase your 3 month supply little by little, while taking advantage of sales. However, maybe you haven’t gotten around to it, you haven’t been able to afford it, or you don’t trust your ability to stay on top of sales. You might not live close to regular grocery stores, or you could have any other reason to not add to your 3 month supply little by little. If any of those reasons to not add to your 3 month supply bit by bit sound like you, you may chose to use your tax refund (or a big chunk of change) and buy a lot of it all at once. Our Babystep 3 teaches you all about figuring out how to make a list of everything you may need for your 3 month supply of food. You can chose to use the spreadsheets included, or the printable forms. Read More >>>
	BEST WAYS TO PURCHASE TRADITIONAL FOOD STORAGE When referring to traditional food storage, the food items typically include grains, legumes, sugars, oils, etc. These foods provide a life-sustaining diet and at the very least these should be the ones you store. These items also have a long shelf life thus they are ideal for long term food storage. We recommend including additional foods such as fruits, veggies, meats and powdered dairy products in your traditional food storage to add a variety to your diet, and to allow you more flexibility to make your regular recipes using foods you have stored. A lot of people like to shoot for a goal of storing a one year supply of long term food storage, so buying a big chunk of that at one time when you come across some “extra” money is a great way to make a dent in it. Read More >>>
	WHAT TO KNOW WHEN BUYING JUST ADD WATER MEALS We used to consider storing Just-add-Water meals to be “cheating” when purchasing Food Storage. However, over the years we have come to realize that there is a time and place for this type of food storage. If you go through a short term disaster or need to grab some food and go, having a bucket or two of this kind of food will be invaluable to you. If you choose to store “Just Add Water” meals there are several things to consider as you determine what you need to store. First, decide how many servings your family will need to store. Second, decide if you want to supplement with other foods. Third, plan for the appropriate fuel and water. Read More >>>
	WHAT TYPE OF FOOD STORAGE SHELVES TO BUY Our BabyStep 1 is to get your shelves, and food storage area ready. The reason we have shelves as step number 1 (after your basic eprep) is because when you have a room set up, building and adding to your food storage feels fun. It no longer becomes a task of figuring out where to put stuff. So whether its cheap and temporary shelves, or if you’re more experienced and run into extra money, some of the food rotation shelves can be really nice solutions. When deciding on which shelves to put in your home, there are a lot of things to consider. We go into this is greater depth on our BabyStep 1 page. You may have space or budget issues to deal with, but there are options out there. Depending on what types of foods you are storing, rotating shelves can be a great thing to have. It’s also okay to start small with one shelf, and then add to it as you grow your food storage. Read More >>>
	TOP PICKS FOR EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PRODUCTS There are hundreds (probably thousands) of Emergency Preparedness products available out there. Some products are critical to have, while others just make life easier. Over the years of doing this blog, we have tried lots of different things, and have become dealers for many of them. When determining what it is you need, we always recommend taking care of basics first. Take care of your 72 hour kits, your water storage, basic first aid, and sanitation supplies. After you have taken care of the basics (and have either saved up money or get a nice chunk of change) add to your supplies. If you follow our blog, you know we often try to teach you cheap or free solutions to tie you over in the mean time. Read More >>>
	TOOLS TO USE YOUR FOOD STORAGE DAILY When determining what it is you need in terms of appliances, we recommend the “test yourself” theory. What we mean by that, is test yourself by either borsrowing, or doing things the hard way before buying an appliance. Try making bread by hand before buying an expensive mixer. SURE the mixer WILL make the job easier, and oftentimes make the bread turn out better, but see if you are dedicated enough to the habit or lifestyle before buying something you may never use. We borrowed wheat grinders, canners, and dehydrators before ever getting our own, and it was great practice to allow us to see what it was we wanted. So here are a few of our favorite appliances to help us use and preserve our Food Storage. Read More>>>