Great thread. For me its the thirll of the stockpile and help people with the stuff I get for free or next to nothing and also with the money I save we get a date nigt weekly without feeling guilty about going out to dinner when the kids stay at grandma (she gets free chocolate btw) so it makes all of us happy.

I think too people stockpile or hoard depending on the way you grew up. My grandfather liked to have the pantry fully stocked so I grew up with always having what ever we needed in the house. On the other extreme, my mother in law just buys things when she needs them. Umm I can't live like that. I'd die if I had to run out everyday to buy the stuff we use. The only thing I run out of all the time is milk......sigh....can't stockpile that.

I'm very new at this, and having a blast! I am saving about 50%. It doesn't feel like it right now, as I'm using the extra to build my stockpile. My DH is giving me some strange looks, too, but when I showed him the basketful of FREE stuff I picked up this past weekend between CVS and Walgreens, he was impressed. I picked up a glucose meter that will be FREE after the MIR, and intend to donate it. I am also a pastor's wife, and I can tell you from firsthand experience, that there is ALWAYS a need. Toiletries are great, especially as someone said, during the holidays. So many folks are focused on giving toys, etc for kids, and often mom or dad would really enjoy having some basics taken care of so they have a little extra to buy their own stuff for their own kids. Don't get me wrong - giving is giving and it's GREAT, no matter what it is. I will be donating items through collections taken at church for a local shelter.

I also have a daughter in college, who is working hard part time while going to school full time. She now appreciates the value of her money, and I have been telling about all the great deals I've been getting. I have about 4 grocery bags full of groceries, toiletries, laundry supplies, etc. to give her when she comes home next weekend. She won't take the time to do all the couponing, ordering free samples, and rebating that I do, nor does she have the time. It makes the money I might otherwise need to give her go much further, and she loves the fact that the shopping is already done, too!

huh. I keep my stockpile to what we will use in 3 months because I read that the sales cycles are about 12 weeks. We have a large family and a small house so that amount takes up space that I had to carve out our storage area.

I was raised by my mom and grandmother and they hoarded so much stuff most of our bedrooms were filled almost to the ceilings of just STUFF. Clothes, shoes, Sets of dishes, you name it. I couldn't have anyone over bc of it. We had a fire in my house when I was 10 and the fireman said it was a huge fire hazard w/all the stuff they had..

So they threw what was damaged away.... And put the rest in STORAGE! For YEARS. Three HUGE storage units. They brought most of it home little by little. We'd go and load the car up and bring it home. Only we couldn't take it out of the car until after dark bc someone might see. (Whatever that meant.)

My grandmother still has most of this stuff and its all like 20 years old or older. Old bottles of perfume. Sets of dishes new in the box... She claims she's saving it but I'm not sure what for. Her fridge and freezer can barely hold anymore because she doesn't clean things out. My mom tries to help her when she comes over but my grandmother just gets mad and doesn't want her to throw anything away. She keeps food and things she will never even eat!

I've only recently started stockpiling and the things I get are things I will use at some point. I won't buy anything JUST because its marked down. My mom will see like some iced brownies marked at kroger for like .80 on Managers special and she'll try to get me to buy them just because they are marked down. I don't LIKE iced brownies. She doesn't get it. She's like but they are only .80!

My freezer is stuffed now but its all w/morningstar or boca burgers etc that I got for super cheap with my coupons and those I eat all the time. I keep my things much more organized than my family did. They'd just have bags and bags of stuff never even taken out once they got home.

My grandmother thinks she can sell all this old JUNK and crap but she can't. Nobody is gonna buy 20 year old clothes that smell like smoke from the fire STILL. It's sad. But she won't do anything to change it. Her idea of cleaning up is maybe throwing 1 box of frozen food from the freezer away.

the things I buy I will either use myself or share with my cousin and her husband. (Her mother is a complete hoarder too.) Its frustrating. Its embarrassing. And its stressful. Hoarders feel like they have to gather and keep every little thing they can. For no reason other then having the mountains of stuff around them makes them feel safe in some way I suppose.

Actually with hoarders that really is what they feel. SAFE. So, really I try not to say to much to the people in my life who are hoarders. You have to try to be understanding. Its kind of like a disease and yet not. Its their safety net. I don't hoard things as I'm to big hearted. Most of the time I get so caught up in giving I end up with maybe 1 item left. But, I love the thrill of getting these deals and of giving these deals. My family made fun of me for a while now its what q's are coming out and they can't wait to get the paper on Sun. They don't quite understand the stockpiling part as they buy just one of each thing and I will buy 6 (depending on item more or less) but when they run out before a new deal comes along they know they can always call me and that makes me feel good.
Not to mention everything we try to get for food shelters, women shelters and the church at Christmas has annonymous sp? families that need help and I try to take 2-3 boxes rather than bags since I probably get a better deal then the rest of the congregation. I also put a little note in each one with AFC's website so they can get things they need the rest of the yr. Big thing is remembering they need a handup not a handout.

roflmao!!! I knew I wasn't the only one!

"We grew up poor and didn't have much, so having excess now is strangely uncomfortable."

I feel the same way. I've wondered the same (if I'm becoming a hoarder!). But we do give a lot away too, and I love being able to help others with my deals. It's also made our life MUCH more comfortable since we are no longer spending so much at the store, we can do other family activities that we used to not be able to afford pre-AFC.

Wow. Thank you! I am so glad to know there are others here like me!

I know I would not share with family, they think I am strange for the deals I have begun to get. Actually, DH family is awful about it. His mom always buys what she wants even if they cannot afford it, and can't ever think of buying ahead. She had to come borrow coffee last week, and when I offered her an entire can, she said no, it isn't the kind she uses. UGH, so I'm sure she ran in and paid full price the next day for her brand. I have given up trying to help them save money. I cannot even begin to explain what I'm doing to my family, they wouldn't understand.


However, things at church or the shelters is a wonderful idea that I will use, once my closets have a comfortable amount of stockpile in them. When our LWML donates to shelters this will be such a wonderful asset to use!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My Family was concerned at first also..

I dont feel that what I do is hoarding. Hoarding I feel is keeping everything from newspapers to trash.

I stockpile and help my family and friends out. I give away lots of the items that I buy. I offered to start a food pantry at my church. I happy to help others.

I agree that with Gas Prices now nearing 4.00 a gal and no end in sight of how high it will go. It only makes sense to provide for your family in the best and most economically savvy way that you can.

Stockpiling when I get great deals allows us to spend our money on items that We could not afford if we had to spend it all on food and basic needs. At first my husband complained and complained and then he saw me save 170.00 off my 400.00 grocery bill at Krogers and now he brags about how we save money. He even ask me for coupons for Mc Donalds and etc... I think that couponing can be contagious even to my old die hard stuck in the mud hubby

I agree with pp. I tell my husband if that I didn't coupon then he would be able to play golf as much as he does and I tell the kids that we wouldn't be able to have as many toys! I have made some wonderful friends with the girls and guys at CVS. They always smile when they see me and I smile when I see them. They were the 3rd and 4th people I told I was pregnant! I am blessed to have found a bunch of great AFCer and helped me shave $100 weekly off my grocery bill. Thanks AFC!

Very interesting thread...

I think I honestly am more of a hoarder, at least at this point in my life. I agree with another poster when they said hoarders feel safe. It does make me feel safe. I cannot manage to save a lot of money each month, but this way, if I lost my job tomorrow, I don't have to worry about buying anything for at least 6 months, some items a year. This is my safety net. I do donate every so often and offer my sister items, but I mainly sell what I can't or won't use. I think what dictates a stockpiler from the hoarder is what kind of position you are in, in your life at the moment. Someday I would love to donate in mass quantities and I plan to do so.

I received a graduation invitation to my DH's bosses twins. They are going to college and moving into their first appartment. I am using allot of my stockpile and little freebie samples and putting it in a basket and giving them this for their gift. MY DH thought of this, not me!!

I have to agree with the people that say that their stockpile makes them feel safe. There have been times in the last couple of years when my pantry has been completely empty, the fridge empty and we were out of everything. So I think my stockpile is a little bigger than it probably should be.

But the most joy I have gotten from my stockpile is sharing it with others. For the last few years I haven't been able to buy gifts or birthday or Christmas presents for friends and that really kills me because my absolute favourite thing in the world was seeing something I know one of my friends would like and buying it for them.

Now I've bee able to send one of my friends home with 5 Target bags full of stuff without making a dent in what I have. I have a friend that works on a cruise ship and has very little time to shop for necessities, so I send her a flat rate box full of stuff every couple of weeks. When I'm shopping sales for cosmetics and stuff, I buy shades for my friends that I can give them. They are thrilled they are getting it for free and it makes me happy to be able to give again.

When I am out shopping and running errands, I have been taking bottles of the free or cheap water and giving it to homeless people hanging around the bus stations.

Bottom line, as long as you are getting joy from what you are doing and giving, that's all that matters. Anyone that judges you, is just ignorant, and doesn't deserve a second thought.