Comments on: Tightwad Tuesday: Buying in Bulk

By: JillBilly

JillBilly — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 23:53:59 +0000

We got a basic Costco membership when they first put up a store in Chicago – about 10-12 years ago. We went wild: huge tins of tomato sauce, massive sacks of beans. We lugged home a 50-lb sack of white rice that we put into 5-gallon buckets, which we bought from the White Castle for a dollar apiece, and I’m just now getting to the bottom of the last bucket. Man! That was one bulk-tastic shopping trip!

By: » Weekend Roundup - New Layout Edition @ fivecentnickel.com

» Weekend Roundup - New Layout Edition @ fivecentnickel.com — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 01:43:52 +0000

[...] Lynnae talked about saving money by buying in bulk. [...]

By: Eva White

Eva White — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 05:23:23 +0000

I totally agree with you, buying in bulk really helps in saving. There are couple of wholesale markets also which give good discounts if you pick up stuff in bulk. 2 of my cousins and I all three of us go together to shop in the wholesale market and when we all 3 buy in bulk we get huge discounts.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:45:19 +0000

I buy paper goods in bulk–diapers, t.p., paper towels, paper plates–at Sam’s. It is so much cheaper this way (for the off-brand), esp. when those items aren’t always on sale in the type you like.

I had never thought of buying spices from the bulk foods section though. I buy them in big containers at Sam’s sometimes but they usually get old before I use them up. Thanks for the tip!
Say hi to Winco for me, and eat some bulk dried cranberries in honor of me. :-) I miss that store!

By: Amiyrah

Amiyrah — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 01:11:06 +0000

Unfortunately, I found that bulk shopping took up more money than regular grocery shopping. Because of this, I have let my BJ’s membership expire and will not be renewing it. We don’t have too much freezer space, so i just wait until certain meats are rock bottom and stock up. We end up eating mostly just that meat for a few weeks but lo and behold, another type goes rock bottom and we can switch it up. This keeps mutiny at bay in my house lol. Also, I now get my spices from the dollar store. I used to get them from BJs but realized that I didn’t go through them fast enough to merit getting that amount in the big jars. One thing I wish I could get in bulk is oatmeal. we don’t have bulk bins at the grocery stores in my area, so I have to wait until quakers drops to rock bottom and stock up. We’ve been out of it for a month and there hasn’t been a rock bottom sale for it in about 4 months :o(. I miss giving my boy oatmeal in the morning.

By: Juli

Juli — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 19:58:38 +0000

I agree that shopping at Sam’s has to be done carefully. I can get a lot of stuff cheaper with the sales and coupons at Kroger and CVS. The one thing I do at Sam’s is watch for the clearance items. Sam’s ends all clearanced items in .81 and so it is easy to scan all the prices on the shelves as we walk through and pick out the ones marked down. I have gotten some GREAT deals this way. Last year, organic sugar for .81 for 6 lbs. Oatmeal just after Christmas in huge boxes for $1.81, just have to watch for the out for the items and then stock up. Of course letting my hubby and daughter graze their way thru the store always eliminates an entire meal, Sams has so many samples!

By: Cynthia

Cynthia — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 18:47:45 +0000

I buy my grains, flour and rice in bulk from Bob’s Red Mill – mostly organic, and all products are “natural”. I love their products! I use some of my bulk grains, etc. to put together my own meal mixes (recipes in a jar type of things). It lets me avoid paying for packaging, additives, preservatives, food dyes, etc.

Since I have a chronic illness and other disabilities, my quality of life is very much affected by what I put into my body. Being able to eat nutritionally, and thriftily, is essential for my health!

I also buy my spices and herbs in bulk at Winco, but for those of you who aren’t near a Winco, try looking in the ethnic food section of your grocery store. I used to buy packages of spices from the Mexican aisle – oregano, basil, cinnamon, chili powder, paprika and garlic – at .69 per ounce.

I buy 5 dozen eggs at a time, which provides good savings. And I keep my eyes open for organic products at the local Grocery Outlet store. When they have them, I buy in quantity at great savings! If they have fresh or frozen organic fruits and veggies in stock, I’ll buy in bulk then freeze and/or dehydrate the rest to use in soups, casseroles, etc.

Dehydrating foods is a great way to preserve them without losing their nutrional value. I’ve done this with carrots, sweet peas, celery, onions, green onions, tomatoes, corn, strawberries, raspberriesm etc.

Trader Joe’s sometimes has excellent sales on meat. They currently have chicken drumsticks (antibiotic and hormone free!) at only .99 per pound. And yes, I bought in bulk!

Great ideas and advice in both the blog post and in the comments! All of you rock – thanks so much for sharing!!

By: Marci

Marci — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 17:25:22 +0000

I think whether or not you can save money when you factor in the cost of the card is how much you buy.

If a card is $60/yr – (for easy figuring) and you go once a month, you need to actually save $5/month on the groceries you buy there to pay for the card.

I think my last renewal was $45… so if I went once a month, I’d need to save just under $4 each trip to pay for the card.

At least that’s how I figure it. As I’m down to about 3 trips a year, I don’t feel I save $15 per trip when I only spend about $100-$150 total – so for me, it’s time to let go of the membership.

By: glady

glady — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:48:50 +0000

We used to have a Sam’s Club membership and we bought things in bulk. You do have to know your prices though, as some things are not cheaper when you can use coupons and sales at the local grocery store. We now have a Costco in town that my kids think is the greatest. My problem was I also bought other good deals (books,toys,etc) that were at Sam’s and would spend more money that I planned on. Do you think it is a savings to have a Sam’s Club or Costco membership when you add in the cost of a card? I really would like some feedback as my kids think I should get a Costco membership

By: Carrie

Carrie — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:25:23 +0000

I miss Costco…I knew I shouldn’t have read this post…*cries* we saved soooo much money in Phoenix. I had a book with all the prices, and the sales were the same in the other 3 stores I shopped at about every 6 weeks so after about 3 months I knew exactly where to shop for what I needed in order to spend the least amount of money. We were making 3x as much money and spending 3x less in groceries…*sigh*