Its easier for politicians to have the Federal Reserve print money instead of taxing the people to get it.  The average American does not realize that inflation is really a hidden tax that allows the government to receive more money for its ever expanding budget at the cost of the dollar's buying power.  Therefore, the government is secretly taxing you with inflation.  But unlike the income tax, the inflation tax is easier to thwart.  You can simply stock up on the items you use everyday.

According to economist John Williams at ShadowStats.com , the real inflation is over 9%.  Therefore, you could save 9% a year by stocking up on your normal everyday items.  Not only that, but buying in bulk is often cheaper.  Below is a plan to help you do just that.

Note: Recommended supply amounts are based on my personal storage space, if you have more storage space you can buy more (and thus save more) if you have less storage space you can buy less.

1)  Buy a two year supply of small non-perishable items that you use regularly.  Good examples of this are razor blades, toothpaste, cotton swabs, etc.  Note the prices of these items.

2)  Buy a one year supply of medium to larger size non-perishable items, such as laundry detergent, cooking oil, shampoo, etc.  Note the prices of these items.

3)  Continue buying products regularly.  In other words, as you use an item replace it without tapping into your stored supply.  Do this until you see the price increase.  Once the price increases, begin using the items from your supply.  If the price drops back down again, resume buying the product regularly until the price increases.

4)  Buy a supply of longer lasting yet perishable items based on the date they expire.  For example, the cereal I buy normally expires a year from the date of purchase, therefore I could buy a one year supply of cereal.  Note the prices of these items.  You should continue to buy quickly perishable items regularly for obvious reasons.  For example, buy milk only when your supply is running low.  Of course some quickly perishable items such as meat can be frozen for longer amounts of time and therefore if you freeze them you can treat them more like longer lasting perishable items.

5)  As in number three continue buying the perishable products regularly until you see a price increase.  However, with perishable items you should consume from your supply and replace the supply with the newer purchased items. 

6)  Stock up on adult clothing that gets the most wear and tear, such as underwear and socks.  Most adult clothing can last years and since styles change, you probably don't want to buy too many extra clothes too far in advance.

7)  Buy children's clothes in advance as children outgrow clothes (of course hand-me-downs work well too).  For example, if you have a newborn baby, go ahead and buy him or her 3 month clothes, 6 month clothes, 9 month clothes, and 12 month clothes.  You can increase this as far as your storage space allows.  But be careful to factor in the season and thus the weather for the child at the time he or she will be 6 months, 9 months etc.   In other words, if your child will be 9 months old in the winter, make sure the 9 month sized clothes are winter clothes. 
 
You should always keep a supply of food and other necessities on hand anyway, just in case the worst happens, such as you lose your job, a blizzard hits, hyperinflation strikes suddenly, or your bank closes and it takes a while to get your money from the FDIC.  But these 7 tips can also help you beat the monster of inflation.  The amount you should buy depends on how much you can store, and of course, how much you can afford to buy at the time.