Last week I had an interesting conversation with and older gentleman of American Indian decent, who spoke of the way his ancestors lived. They stockpiled by the season only, assuring that there was enough food to get them thru the winter. Their rather Nomdic lifestyle limited what they could keep.

I reflected on this attitude and what we have seen recently in our own markets. A number of times it has been reported that we are using our cars less, the demand for oil and its by products is down and so is the price per barrel of oil. (I am not going to address the speculator side of the market, I know that a tank of gas costs a whole lot less today than it did last summer.) Most of us have no way of storing gas beyond the tank in our car and a gallon or so for the lawnmower. We do not have the abillity as end consumers to stockpile gas.

Many of us have decided that last winter's clothing will work for another season or we have taken to purchases at second hand stores. As a result there are all sorts of enticements by the big department stores to have us come and check out their wares. The bottom line is that prices are somewhat less this year over  last by the bargains to be had.

I am sure that there are other examples as well. 

The one place that I do not see us as consumers willing to stockpile is food and other everyday consumer goods (cleaning, health and beauty products.) We pride ourselves in have pantries bursting with the  bargains we have found at the supermarket. Stores like WalMart are doing a great business for their low prices conseption by the consumer (the truth in that and the company politics are not at issue here.) The bulk sales stores likes Costco and Sam's are also doing well.

What if we as a nation decided that we could live with just a season's worth of goods. what if we all lived as if we were going to be moving tomorrow  and space to transport our stuff was limited. Would lack of demand force the prices of food, cleaners and, toiletries go down?

Would our lives be better if we did not need lots of plastic boxes to keep safe our out of season needs. If you do not have a lot of stuff to keep up after do you have more time? Can you live in a smaller less expensive place having more money there too? I used to dream of retirement being a time to take all I need in an RV and travel the country. With a 3 bedroom house I would have a lot of stuff elimination first. The idea of living with only what you need might be the next great challenge. How would it change our country if we all lived like that?  Could we as consumers hold back inflation? Could we keep from a long drawn out recession occuring?

 

This is an interesting concept and it deserves a good debate. While I understand the Native American approach to storing for a season, it would only work for a small percentage of people now. On the other hand the LDS Church (Mormons) believe in "providential living" and it too has its pluses and minuses. There were times when I was growing up there was no food in the house. It was extreme feast or famine. Something has compelled me to start "stockpiling" for a few months now but our stash is modest. This is the first time in my life I have ever done this. There is only the two of us here now, but we share with our sons if need be. If its something your going to use up eventually or offer to to someone in need, stockpiling is not such a bad thing.

karen604:

We pride ourselves in have pantries bursting with the bargains we have found at the supermarket. Stores like WalMart are doing a great business for their low prices conseption by the consumer

Unfortunately many people can't even afford to buy the bare minimum of everyday consumer goods as it is. Some have large families. Many have lost thier jobs. Some are beset with medical problems or saddled with loans. Some folks spent their money on "large ticket items" but their cupboards and pantries are bare.

karen604:

Can you live in a smaller less expensive place having more money there too?

We have a large home 1,700 sq. ft. home on 1 1/2 acres of land. At this point it wouldn't be cost effective to "downscale" because we have a very low mortgage which will be paid off soon. We have eliminated a lot of stuff and simplified our life. We would be foolish to uproot.

karen604:

Could we as consumers hold back inflation? Could we keep from a long drawn out recession occuring?

We could IF we were the only ones having a say. However this current situation is a culmination of several other factors beyond our control. If it comes down to a choice of "holding back inflation" and "long term survival" I think long term survival would win out. But this is an interesting thought.

You pose some very good questions, and I'm sure I don't have the answers. There's one thing, though, that makes the 'store for a season' mindset not so helpful in this day and age and that's that our supply source is different. When people lived close to the land and gathered, hunted and grew their food, it was a sensible thing to have enough on hand until spring came, and nothing more. When does spring come in a grocery store? When is harvest time for potatoes in the aisles of a national market? They're always there, regardless of the season, but our stockpiling what we can is for an unforeseen calamity or economic winter... and no one knows when, if or for how long, something like that will occur. 

I don't know if we could hold back inflation or a recession if we quit buying anything except what we needed for the moment. It seemed to work with oil, but I suspect there were other players in the game that we know nothing about.  I do know that I feel more secure about riding out a recession with a stock of food and dry goods that will save me money - unless, of course, people decide to quit buying so much and prices fall drastically, then I'm left holding the bag. But that's a chance I'm willing to take.

stockpiling to me is more of common sense living....when you can homegrown foods, it needs to be enough to last until you grow and harvest the next year. When you butcher, ideally you have a freezer full untl the next time you grow up an animal and butcher.

I don't see a problem with that. It just makes sense.

Being prepared ahead of time with a stockpile of food is more my concern than whether my actions affect the economy or not.  The economy is affecting me! Is that selfish? No I don't think so, it's facing the responsiblity of taking care of my family and being prepared ahead of time because none of us knows what the future holds. It is wise management of resources. I refuse to accept any responsibility for the cause of inflation because I choose to be prepared. Inflation is a political manipulation, and I will not accept it as anything but that.

I have little trust or faith that food will always be available and affordable. It always has been in my lifetime, but there is no guarantee from anyone that it always will be. There are many examples around the world where the populations were at one time thriving, but now are starving. Droughts and infestation can happen, mismanagement of crops can happen, like the foolishness of planting corn for ethanol instead of food. From history there was a year or 2, I think in the 1500's, where summer didn't happen, there wasn't enough sunshine and heat to grow food,  that was world wide, and world wide starvation happened. A volcanoe eruption put so much ash in the sky during that time that winter weather was year round.  That could happen again, and nobody knows when.

The security of my family and myself depends on the stockpiling. That is the only reality, not the whim and fickleness of speculators or governments driving the prices up.

Edey

Life is uncertain. Stockpile dessert first.

Joyous:

Life is uncertain. Stockpile dessert first.

Lol Joy love that thought

I spent 3 yrs depending on food pantries cause dh was trying to find himself and kept taking a diffrent job every few months before he landed a good one that he kept (under threat of divorce) for 4 yrs before being laid off. For those 3 yrs there was seldom if ever enough food for the 6 of us and several times I would go with out eating a meal or two to make sure the dks had enough to eat.

When dh landed his good job I started keeping a pantry incase of emergancy including the plant he worked for going on a long strike (df was on a 6 mo one when I was a dk and we scraped by on dm's wages which were 1/3 df's), a sudden lay off. Or him arriving at work one day to discover cops holding back his angry co-workers as the management informed everyone that as of noon when day shift was on lunch the factory was permantly closed cause the company had been sold to their direct competetor a week before. Life is uncertian but after what I've been through I try to make certian that at the very least I can feed my family.

If things came right down to it and I had to leave my 1600 sqft house and move to an 800 sqft one there is no way my current pantry would be able to go with me. There are, however, several food pantries in my area that would be more than happy to take what I thinned out so the food wouldn't go to waste.

I slowly stock pile my food grabbing an extra can or two more than I normally use at a time unless it's a great loss leader then I grab all I need in a week. I doubt that the way I stock my food would have much effect on the countries ecomony. I'm not 100% self sufficant, zoning won't permit me to have chickens for eggs or cows for milk so I have to go to the store each week for those. I am still spending money and still adding to the consumerism machine like a good little cog.

 

Stockpiling to me only makes sense- I figure I have about 3-4 months of stuff, a season's worth, 6 months to a year of some stuff. Probably two years of salsa after this summer!  I have clothes stockpiled, meaning I don't need to spend money on clothing.  I have toys rotated andstockpiled, meaning the kids get new things for birthdays and Christmas, but they can play with toys that seem new whenever we want.  We have extra shampoo and soap, toothpaste, it keeps us from running out and was bought at greatly reduced prices.  I am usin g my basement as a way to create money for us by using food sales and hand me down clothes to greatly reduce shopping for essentials.

If I had to leave my 4 bedroom house and move into a two bedroom house, it would truly be an uncomfortable experience, I can't imagine at this point having less space than I do right now, pantry or no pantry.  I can't imagine the 9 of us in an apartment or cheaper housing.  I don't think we are wasting space. I didn't think we were wasting space when we moved in here with three kids, it is comfortable, not excessive.   

I really enjoy the convenience and  cost savings of stocking up.  Love having a freezer.  When I have a smaller household and all more self sufficient people it might be different, but I can't imagine having an empty cupboard would have a positive effect on the economy, just a negative effect on my household budget.  When I am buying extra, I'm buying at low to reasonable prices, I don't think if I bought them weekly with everyone else the price would go down much for everyone.  Besides, not everyone wants the same food- my sister likes to shop fresh, she has no pantry and hardly anything in the cupboards, some rich people like gormet or prepared fooeds, frugal and low income people, or people trying to make other purchases or pay off debt, enjoy buying cheap and sale food, saving money by putting a little work into it.  

I think stockpiling makes sense if you want to save money , if you are interested in socialized food with the same food and prices for everyone, then I guess it would take some doing to convince me that it would work, and that it is preferable that everyone eats the same.   

karen604:

Can you live in a smaller less expensive place having more money there too? I used to dream of retirement being a time to take all I need in an RV and travel the country.

We have had our experience with living with minimal space and in an RV as well. My preference is never do this again but I know there are a great many things I can do out of need. If I had to, I would find a way to manage again.

Storing up food and supplies are something I have done for years. My habits are for the most part unchanged. This is a way of life for me so that we can survive our lives. My husband routinely hits slow times at work and is laid off every one to three years. We have been able to weather these by having food and supplies to fall back on and cut to the minimum of needs, small emergency funds and the ability to lower or continue to keep other expenses low.

We did not change our driving habits either. Most of the driving done is dictacted by work not out of choice.

 

karen604:

Can you live in a smaller less expensive place having more money there too? I used to dream of retirement being a time to take all I need in an RV and travel the country.

 

I neglected to address this part. I would love to live in a smaller, less expensive place. This one is not large by most people's standards, but it's much too large for me. It's almost 900 sq feet up with a full, mostly finished basement under it. It's not arranged to make the most of the space it has, but if I were moving to a smaller space, I'd look for one that was. All of my pantry would go with me. I'd leave something else behind instead, probably! Storage places would be under the bed, behind the couch, in closets or wherever I could find a nook, but having a good stash of food and personal care items is important to me.