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Don't Buy in Bulk! Busting Down the Myths of Bargain Shopping and Coupon
"We all think we “know” how to save: Buy in bulk, buy generic, and you can’t go wrong. And, of course, you can only save on things that are really, really bad for you. Well, guess what? Everything you’ve heard about saving money at the store is wrong! Here, some realities behind common bargain shopping myths."
Not real thrilled by the article, but I will say that the times I've tried Costco and Sams I ended up on the short end of the stick more than not. I could always get better deals at regular stores, and if a 500lb can of coffee is bad, there is a lot more lost than if a 1 lb can isn't good.
That is the exact method I use. Now I will say that most of the groceries I buy I don't use coupons, because I don't eat much cereal etc. But I have found good use of the coupons for frozen veggies especially since my store doubles the coupon. I mainly use coupons for home & health and beauty products. For example, I got $15 worth of disposable razors for $1.68. I combined a store coupon and coupons I had clipped.
I don't buy bulk. I buy what I need and keep my money in the bank instead to let it sit in the pantry. Money needs to work. There is no reason to spend it and let it sit useless on the pantry shelf especially if you are not going to use it fast.
You really do have to keep an eye on the cost per unit price. There are a number of things we buy regularly where the price per unit for the medium-sized box or carton is actually less than the price per unit if you get the jumbo size.
Fortunately most/many stores these days are pretty good at posting the per unit price on the store shelves.
I don't buy bulk. I buy what I need and keep my money in the bank instead to let it sit in the pantry. Money needs to work. There is no reason to spend it and let it sit useless on the pantry shelf especially if you are not going to use it fast.
The interest being paid to me by my pantry is indistinguishable from the interest being paid by my bank.
I've got things in my pantry that I bought a year ago, and the price has gone up since then, but my savings have not. The value of rice is going up faster than the value of savings.
A 20-pound bag of rice is a lot better investment than a CD. In fact, the credit card I buy the rice with is giving more more cash-back bonus at the end of the month than my bank would give me for saving the money for two years.
I buy in bulk and I shop with coupons/sales. I buy bulk items like honey, rice, meat, flour, sugar, herbs, oatmeal, yeast, toilet paper, and some pastas. I shop with coupons matched with sales for personal care items and some grocery items. I have a limited number of stores in my little town, so I cannot get the crazy deals that some people in the city can get. So I have to be smart about which items I am buying. If I lived in the city, I am not sure I would have the time to run to every store for a sale, then go back a dozen times to stock up.
I make alot of our bread, so I really just buy buns when we bbq. I make my own rice and soup mixes in bulk, so I rarely buy pre-packaged stuff. We have a massive garden, so I can, dehydrate, and freeze food that lasts all year. I guess it all depends on how you cook as to what you idea of savings is.
Well, I think that buying bulk pays off when you have a large family, but bulk for one person eliminates the variety and leads to overspending. Some things can get even bad before finished.
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