03 Aug

Ask Kathryn: Advice on Buying in Bulk

Dear Kathryn: I keep reading blogs that advise me to buy things in bulk if I want to save money. It seems like I end up wasting more money this way than I save. Is it true that it’s a good idea to buy in bulk or is that a personal finance myth?

Ooh, what a great question! I’ve definitely come up against this question in my own life. The answer is that there are some items that you should indeed buy in bulk in order to save money but there are other items that you should buy in a smaller size to save money. The trick is to consider the long-term costs of the things that you purchase.

Buying in bulk or buying the family size item is usually far cheaper than buying a smaller size of the same item. As such, many personal finance experts advise spending the money up front to get bulk items. However, bulk items can go to waste which puts you in the position that you’ve described of actually losing money because you’ve bought things that you don’t need. You need to make sure that any items that you buy in bulk are items that you really do need and items that aren’t going to get rotten while they’re waiting for you to use them.

Each individual item that you consider purchasing in bulk will differ from person to person but the general rule of thumb to follow is this:

Buy in bulk when the item is a long-lasting item that you use regularly. Buy the smaller size when the item is something with a short shelf life or something that you aren’t sure you will use.

Here are some examples from my own life to give you a better idea of what this means:

I buy toilet paper in bulk. Toilet paper basically lasts forever so it’s not ever going to get old in your closet. At the same time, you are always going to use toilet paper every day that you’re in your home. This isn’t something that you’ll suddenly stop using. It is safe to assume then that you are going to use up any toilet paper that you buy so go ahead and buy this in bulk whenever you see that it’s on sale for a good deal.

I don’t buy laundry detergent in bulk. Now, you may be thinking that this is the same as toilet paper – you always use it and it doesn’t go bad before you do so. That’s true. But in my case, I haven’t found a laundry detergent that I like. I’m picky about it. I often buy laundry detergent and decide halfway through the bottle that I really don’t like it so I try a different brand. Families who don’t have this problem may want to buy their laundry soap in bulk. For me, it makes more sense to buy the small size that’s on sale until I eventually (hopefully!) find a detergent that I like enough to buy it in bulk.

I buy pasta in bulk. I eat a lot of pasta. I know that I will always eat a lot of pasta. I have never had pasta so long that it expired in my pantry. Therefore it makes far more sense for me to buy the bulk package when it’s on sale than it does to buy a box or two of pasta at full price every time that I go to the grocery store.

I do not buy chocolate chips in bulk. I mention this because I actually used to buy them in bulk at one point. What I discovered was that if they were there, I would eat them. Then I would need to go to the store and spend more money on more chocolate chips. Now I just buy a really good (yes, somewhat expensive) chocolate bar now and then and that’s a better treat that costs me less in the long run.

I have bought clothes in bulk but I don’t usually do this. There is a really cool store in my city where you can buy clothing by the pound. I have done that before when I needed to drastically update my closet as well as when I needed lots of fabric for a project. There have also been cases when there was a good sale on bulk amounts of undershirts so I’ve bought them in bulk. As a rule, though, I think it’s better to focus on buying only those clothes that you actually need at the time that you need them. Socks are the one exception. I never run out of a need for more socks so I try to buy them in bulk when they’re on sale.

As you can see from my own life, deciding whether or not to buy in bulk means really taking the time to figure out your spending patterns. Here are some additional tips to assist you in making sure that you really do save money when you decide to buy in bulk:

Get used to looking at the “price per”. When you go shopping, there is a price listed for the item that is for sale. However, there is also usually a smaller price indicating the price per pound or price per ounce or price per unit. Get in the habit of taking a look at that price so that you can better assess how much money you will save by buying a larger size. Let’s say that you’re looking at three sizes of dish soap. If the middle size is closer in price per to the large size than the small size, you may want to get the large even if you’re not sure if you’ll use it all. If the middle size is closer in price per to the small size then you’ll want to get the middle size. If the three sizes are not that different in price per, get the size that you actually need.

Consider sharing bulk purchases with friends and family. There may be some things that you’d prefer to buy in bulk to save the money but then you don’t use them before they expire. Do you have a friend or family member that also uses this item? If so, you can take turns buying it in bulk and splitting it in half to share with each other.

Think about whether you might be able to re-sell bulk items that you don’t use. For example, if you see a great bulk deal on socks but you don’t need that many of them then you may consider whether you could re-sell those extra socks online or at a local flea market. If so, it could be worth it to go ahead and buy the bulk set and then sell off the units that you aren’t going to use.

Get the best deal when you buy items in bulk. Start keeping track of what a “good price” is for the things that you buy regularly. Make sure that you buy bulk items when they are at their lowest price to get the maximum savings for your expenditure.

Make sure you can store bulk items properly. I once bought a bunch of dry cereal in bulk. Two weeks later, my house got an infestation of ants. They got into the cereal and it all had to be thrown away. What a waste! I learned the lesson that I needed to make sure I not only had the room to store all bulk items but also that I had the proper containers to store it in. I’ve never made that mistake again!

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