Stockpiling

I remember watching "Extreme Couponing" on TLC and there seemed to be one of many common themes with those on the show - having a stockpile. While I do not know if I can appreciate having enough toothpaste to last for 2 years, I think I can appreciate a smaller version of a stockpile.

I am trying to use my coupons in combination with deals I find at various grocery stores or pharmacies in the area. I make sure I have a member card to each place that offers it and do my best to wait for items to go on sale to best utilize my coupons. I went to Harris Teeter because they were having a sale on some Starbucks ground or whole bean coffee. I think you saved about $2.75 off of each bag of coffee with their member card. I had two coupons for $3.00 off two bags and decided that while it was on sale, I would get the four bags to use my two coupons. Trust me when I tell you that Husband and I do NOT go through that much coffee in a month but I thought that we do drink coffee a couple times a week and this would last us for a bit. All we would have to do is buy some coffee creamer and it would be good.

This got me to thinking about stockpiling items in my pantry. I have bought some extra cans of veggies, spaghetti sauce, bottles of liquid dish soap and the Finish tablets for the dishwasher. There might be a couple bottles of shampoo for Husband and a few other items that I have bought more than one of but NOTHING like the stockpiles on "Extreme Coupons." One of my thoughts was how much is too much? I am definitely not stocking up on a cart full of toothpaste because I can get it for pennies on the dollar but where is that line that it goes from "You won't need any for awhile" to "When will we use all of this?" I am not sure, to tell you the truth. What is the magic number for that is too much? I can understand that some of the items might be bought out of fear of not being able to provide for your family or saving money on different items. I do not know. Who does know?