Posts tagged paper towels
Do You Buy in Bulk? It’s Not Always The Cheapest Option
Sep 9th
Are you frugal? If so, you’re probably conditioned to visit a shopping warehouse like Costco or Sam’s Club in order to try to save on groceries. But before you go on a money saving trip to these stores, check out some of the exceptions to the rule that supports buying in bulk. Apparently, bulk buying is not always the most frugal option. Here are some of those interesting exceptions as explored by MSN Money.
10 Things Not To Buy In Bulk
- Brown rice – because it’s perishable, with a shorter shelf life than white rice.
- Candy – it’s not good to buy a lot at once, for the simple reason that it may lead to bulk eating, which isn’t healthy. You have a tendency to buy more, eat more then buy more again, which sucks you into an unhealthy cycle.
- Paper towels – too much can take up space that you can use for other things.
- Tower towels – see paper towels.
- Mayonnaise and other condiments – these are not high consumption items and they don’t store forever.
- Vitamins and supplements – this can turn out to be a waste if you’re not careful. Plus they’re generally expensive. Buying them in bulk and consuming your entire stash requires commitment.
- Disposable diapers – babies grow fast!
- Bleach – goes bad over time.
- Spices – they lose their potency at some point.
- Bread – imagine stale, old bread, if you’re unable to consume it in time.
Well that’s a sampling of what you shouldn’t be hoarding without careful thought. Also, when you’re out shopping, scour the shelves well to see if you’re really getting the deal you think you’re actually getting. Just take a look at this photo snapped at a Target store. Buying several single items can actually be cheaper than purchasing the same things in packs. Pretty misleading eh?
Image from a Reddit thread
On that note, you can also check out Free Money Finance’s post that explains how bundling doesn’t always save you money.
For more great articles, check out our list below!
Personal Finance Articles
- Mint Life: Should You Be A Lifetime Renter?
- The Simple Dollar: What You’re Buying When You Go to a Store
- Cash Flow Sherpa: 5 Ways to Recession-Proof Your Life
- Monevator: The danger of small cap share tips
- Brip Blap: how kids (can) make you poor
- Lazy Man and Money: Ignore Your Personal Finance Guru
- Sustainable Life Blog: Carnival of Personal Finance
- Matt About Money: Best of Money Carnival
- Eventual Millionaire: Carnival of Money Stories
- My Wealth Builder: Wealth Builder Carnival
Do You Buy in Bulk? It’s Not Always The Cheapest Option
The Advantage of Buying in Bulk
Aug 6th
Everyone has to eat, but there’s no reason buying food has to wipe out your family’s budget. If you’re trying to find a way to save money, you may want to consider the advantage of buying in bulk. This is one way that nearly every family can save money.
One place you can go to buy in bulk is a membership club such as Sam’s, Costco, or BJ’s Wholesale. They offer items in larger packages which help to lower the per-unit cost for that item. It’s important, however, to be prepared when heading to a membership club or you may find yourself spending more money than you intended.
Here’s how you can save money on grocery shopping in general:
* Before making any trip to buy food, start with a shopping list. Look through what you currently have on hand to decide what items you need. You may also want to create a meal plan for the week which will help you write out your shopping list and enable you to get only those items you need.
* Look through local newspapers to see what is on sale. Write those amounts next to the items on your list so you can compare the membership clubs with local prices. Usually the bulk prices (per unit price) will be cheaper, but that’s not always the case.
* Common items that are consistently money savers when buying in bulk include paper products (toilet paper, paper towels, tissues), cleaning products, generic medicines, frozen vegetables, and frozen hamburger patties. With other items on your grocery list, you’ll want to comparison shop to ensure you’re saving the most.
* Some membership clubs accept manufacturer’s coupons. They may accept in-store coupons, coupons sent as a membership benefit, or traditional manufacturer’s coupons. Be sure to use coupons on bulk items that you’re already planning to buy and you’ll save even more!
* Avoid impulse buying. If it isn’t on your list, don’t put it in your basket. You’re likely to be bombarded with food samples – go ahead and try them, but don’t allow yourself to be enticed to buy them if they aren’t pre-planned.
There are several benefits of buying in bulk. Buying the same item in larger packages means saving up to 30% on your purchase of your price. Less packaging also benefits the environment because there won’t be as much packaging placed in landfills. People buying in bulk generally eat better because they’re not depending on convenience foods which are considered less healthful.
Now you know the advantages of buying in bulk. You will enjoy the benefits of saving money, helping the environment, and preparing healthier meals. So, what’s holding you back from giving buying in bulk a try?
Originating post: The Advantage of Buying in Bulk
The Advantage of Buying in Bulk is a post from: The Family Wallet.
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More College Dorm Essentials
Jul 27th
I covered college freshmen essentials last year. It became one of my most popular posts for the whole summer as new college students were looking for guidance in this area. This year the list has of course expanded. Let’s take a look at more college freshmen essentials for your dorm room/pad:
Leave your wardrobe behind. Don’t bring every single piece of clothing that you own. This will only take up space in your room– oh and it will bother your roommate who’ll be stuck with zero closet space.
Vacuum cleaner. Cleaning may not be your thing right now, but when a few months of pizzas and cookies catch up with you, you’ll be dying for that vacuum cleaner. You likely won’t have to bring your own vacuum cleaner, but it would be helpful if you could have one ready to borrow.
Cleaning supplies. To go along with the previous point, as much as you’re going to hate the thought of cleaning up, you’ll realize how important it is when your place begins to stink and nobody even wants to come in. You can’t have a college dorm essentials checklist without some paper towels and disinfectant spray. This may seem ridiculous at this very moment, but trust me you’re going to want to keep your place clean and fresh.
A stack of DVDs. I mentioned a DVD player as a college dorm room essential last year, but I never mentioned the stack of DVDs. It’s super helpful to have movies ready for every kind of situation. Nothing beats Super Bad on a Friday night, just like nothing beats a scary movie on a date night.
Headphones. Your roommates won’t be too happy with you blasting music in the middle of the night. A solid pair of headphones will come in handy when you feel like blasting some music in the middle of the night to pump you up for that assignment that’s due in a few hours.
Earplugs. There will be times where all you want to do is sleep. Having a roommate and a million other distractions, might make falling asleep next to impossible. The best way to combat this is through getting yourself a nice pair of earplugs (just don’t let this be an excuse for missing your alarm wake up in the morning!).
There goes another list of college dorm room essentials. What did I miss this time around? What could you not live without?
How Do I remove the doggy urine smell from my car’s cloth seats?
May 15th
I made the mistake of not taking my 85lb lab to a patch of grass after he’d been at the groomer for a few hours, and during the 15 minute car trip home, he peed. A lot. For like 35 seconds or more. All over the back seat of my lease car.
I raced right home and tried to blot the excess up with paper towels, and then treated the area twice with a generous amount of Petzyme, and left the car doors open for 12 hours to air out, but it clearly didn’t work. The smell is almost staggering when you open the car door. Is detailing the car my only option? Please help!
15 Things Not to Buy in Bulk
May 11th
I’ve noted before that if you buy the right things, then warehouse club stores can save you a bundle. Much of these savings are generated because club stores allow you to buy in bulk, which usually (though not always — do the math) reflects a lower price per unit than if you bought smaller sizes.
But there are some things you shouldn’t buy in bulk according to Smart Spending. They are:
1. Brown rice
2. Candy
3. Paper towels
4. Toilet paper
5. Nuts
6. Mayonnaise and other condiments
7. Vitamins and nutritional supplements
8. Diapers
9. Bleach
10. Spices
11. Bread
12. Tilapia
13. Eggs
14. Frozen foods and meats
15. Cereal
Here’s what we do when it comes to buying these items at a warehouse club (we shop at Costco specifically):
1. We don’t need/want/use that much brown rice so we don’t buy it in bulk.
2. Same with candy.
3. We just purchased a big bunch of Kirkland paper towels to see if we like them. The main objection Smart Spending has to doing this is that they are too bulky. We have a huge pantry with plenty of storage space that makes this a non-issue for us.
4. Same for toilet paper as with paper towels. The Kirkland brand is fine for us.
5. I do eat a few nuts (I try to focus on almonds, but every once in awhile get mixed nuts) every morning with breakfast, so I buy them in bulk. I never have to worry about them going bad.
6. We just bought three big bottles of ketchup awhile back and we’re almost done with the first one. We’ll see if we polish off the other two or not.
7. We buy vitamins at Costco, but not flavored supplements that we might get sick of like the article suggests. Costco will often coupon their Kirkland brand of vitamins in their regular flyers, making them an even better deal.
8. We’re not in the market for diapers, thank goodness.
9. We don’t buy bleach at Costco — I believe my wife buys it on sale elsewhere whenever she can find it on sale.
10. We bought a giant bottle of steak seasoning about eight months ago. I use it on steaks (of course), soups, eggs, fish, salads, and a few other things whenever I’m in the mood for it. We also gave a “regular-sized” bottle of it to my parents to use. And we still have enough left over for a year or so. Last time I buy spices in bulk.
11. My wife makes our (very delicious) bread.
12. We don’t eat that much tilapia, but we do get salmon and tuna at Costco.
13. We get all of these at a grocery store. We don’t eat enough of them to buy in bulk.
14. We do buy frozen fruit (for smoothies) and veggies at Costco, but that’s it. We get meat there every once in awhile, but not often.
15. I think you can get cereal for less at a grocery store when it’s on sale and has a coupon, so this is what we do.
What do you think of the list? Are they on target or missing it on some things?
