PART THREE
THE INVENTORY LIST

The first thing we should do is look at what we have. Some people have great memories and they can glance into their pantry and have a visual picture in their minds of what is in there. Maybe you have a photographic memory. I do not . . . . I guess there was a time a long time ago when I could do that . . . but that is no longer true. So, one Saturday, I spent about 1 ½ - 2 hours creating a list of all that we had in our pantry and freezer. I found things that I didn’t know I had. I found doubles and triples of things that I didn’t know that I had that I just kept buying more of because I thought I was out of them.

Making a list does take time. Maybe you have someone at home that can help – like a spouse or children. If you homeschool, this could be an activity for the kids to help with their counting and writing and finding matches. One person can call off the items and the other person can write them down. Or maybe your spouse can take the kids outside and give you some free time to get it done by yourself. In addition to using coupons and sales to buy groceries, saving money means not buying something too.

This isn’t something that you “have” to do but I have found it be very helpful for me. Even if you only do it one time to get a feel for what you have (and never update it again), it will be time well spent. It has saved me from buying stuff that I didn’t need and that has saved me money.

My list isn’t professionally done. It is simply a list of what I have on hand. I try to update my list every so often. Most of the time, it isn’t up to date. But at least I have an idea of what I have. I put the date on it the last time that I updated it and that gives me an idea of what I could have used since then. You don’t need an absolutely-totally-accurate-up-to-the-minute list. You just need a good idea of what you have.

So, when I am looking at the sales flyers or walking through the store, if I see a sale on something that I use, I will check my list to see what I have. If it looks like I have enough to last me another 2 or 3 months, I will probably pass up that sale. However, if I only have 1 or 2 bottles left of something that I use a lot of and it is on sale for a great price, I will take advantage of the sale – even if I don’t need it for that particular week. Part of the way to save money is to stock up when things are on sale. My goal is to not pay full price for my groceries. I will not be able to meet that goal 100% of the time, but I want to do it as much as possible.

For example: Let’s say that I am going to have a BBQ in 2 weeks and I know that I will be needing some BBQ sauce. Now, let’s say the sauce is on sale now - wouldn’t it be a good idea to buy it when it is on sale? If I wait 2 weeks to buy it only when I need it, chances are that I will pay full price. Planning ahead is a key element in saving money.

For those that are just starting out with building their pantry, you don’t have to do it all in one week. When money is tight, we can’t buy “extra” stuff to fill a pantry. My suggestion would be to find one item on sale this week and take advantage of it. If it’s buy one, get one free – then you have 2 items for the price of one and you are on your way to building a well-stocked pantry. By simply incorporating one sale item each week, you will eventually see the difference. Your budget will determine how fast you can stock your pantry. When you have a stocked pantry, you aren’t likely to need as many items each week when you go shopping and your bill will start to go down.

A well stocked pantry will give you piece of mind. If you live in an area that deals with hurricanes, you will already have what you need – you won’t have to panic buy at the last minute. Also, if something comes up and you can’t get to the grocery store, you can probably pull something out of the pantry and freezer to get you thru. But, a well stocked pantry will not be very helpful if you don’t know what you have.

Here is a sample of an inventory list. Of course, you will have different items to put on your list but this sample is just to give you an idea. You are in control of what you want on your list – don’t overwhelm yourself. Chances are you will need to make changes as you use your list. It is a work in progress and one more tool in your money saving tool belt.

Stay tuned for Part Four!