Buy In Bulk

If you’re a frugal living enthusiast, you probably know how much you can save when you buy in bulk. No! I’m not talking about the occasional mega-pack of paper towels that you buy at the drugstore.

The focus here is on the warehouse club stores that cost you a small annual membership fee (around $50 per year) and provide you with an array of things to buy at bulk rates, throughout the year.   If you are a wise shopper you can easily save much more than the membership fee over a year’s time.

Being a smart shopper and a frugal living fan, if you don’t have a membership of one of these stores, you really are missing something big! Assuming that many of you are a member with these club stores, here are a few top things that you must buy in bulk:

1. Toilet paper – It doesn’t go bad on storage. Everyone in the house uses it, all the time. And you’re going to use it, always. What better reasons do you need to buy it in bulk? Using a coupon and buying twin Scott 12-packs of 1,000-roll toilet paper can bring down the cost of per roll to 70-80 cents from $1. You only need to make sure that you have enough space in your home to store it and that you buy a brand that is loved by everyone in your house.
2. Bottled Beverages – Okay, bottled water is not the greenest choice many times, still it is a viable option if you expect to have a huge group over. Buying bottles individually can cost you as much as $1.50 each; while buying in bulk you can get a 24-pack for about the cost of 4 individual bottles. Buy 4 get 20 free. Now that’s a deal!
3. Diapers – Buy 100 packs of 72- or 96- diapers from  BJ’s, Costco or Sam’s, to get the best deals. You’ll need to change them 100s of times in the coming few months, and saving money on them makes perfect sense, until your child is potty-trained. Sure, it may seem like a daunting task to fit them in your car and later find space to hoard them in your home. But you’ll soon see how rewarding it turns out to be! And you won’t have to make an emergency run in the middle of the night because you run out.
4. Laundry Detergent – Ever tried buying two huge containers of powdered or liquid soap sold in a pack? How about a 5 gallon bucket?  If not, you must give it a try! You’ll be surprised to know that buying brand name laundry powder in bulk can save you 40-50%, and it can last for a really long time. Also, be sure to follow the instructions on the package to understand the proper amount of detergent to be used based on the size load you are washing. With the ever more concentrated detergents, people often end up using more detergent than necessary, wasting money and clogging their machines.
5. Meat – Although perishable stuff is better avoided at a bulk store, meat is a good exception to this rule, if you have freezer space availalbe. If eating meat regularly fits the meal plan of your family, you can buy meat in bulk and easily freeze it for months to come.

You may also like:

• Improve Your “Save-ability”
• The Frugal Guide to Building Wealth
• Budgeting Your Family Finances
• College Savings Accounts
• The Wealthy Buy Assets, the Poor Buy Liabilities, and the Middle Class Buy Liabilities Believing They Are Assets

Image courtesy of Naypong.