Buy In Bulk: Save Money

Buy in Bulk and Save

Bulk Toilet Paper- Case of 80 Rolls!
Image Source: Dr. Penny Pincher

Tonight I was looking for a replacement spark plug for my riding lawn mower. I pulled up the manual to find the exact type of spark plug that was recommended, then searched on Amazon to find one. I have Amazon Prime, so I get free shipping on most things.

I found the spark plugs selling for $4 to $5 each. Some two-packs were $8. The manual wasn't clear whether I need one spark plug or two spark plug, and I couldn't remember if this engine has one cylinder or 2 cylinders. I figured I might as well buy two- I'll either use them both this year, or if I only need one then I'll have it ready for next year.

Then I came across a deal for a 24-pack of the same spark plugs for $8.57. Shipping was still free, but delayed by a couple days since the package was heavy. This pack was marked down from $83.76 which works out to $3.49 per spark plug. At $8.57 for 24 spark plugs, that works out to about 36 cents per spark plug! The bulk spark plugs are packaged in compact case, rather than individually packaged in cardboard boxes.

Bulk Spark Plugs- Save with a 24-pack
Image Source: Dr. Penny Pincher

I decided to buy spark plugs in bulk. I have room in my shop to store the box of spark plugs, and I will be set with spark plugs for the life of my riding mower and then some. I'm sure my wife will think it is a little ridiculous to buy a 24-pack of spark plugs, but it's a great deal! I could sell or give away spark plugs to friends and still have plenty of spark plugs. Buying 24 didn't cost much more than buying 2.

What to Buy in Bulk?

This bulk purchase of spark plugs got me thinking about buying in bulk. What other things do I buy in bulk to save money?

Clearance Items You Know You Will Use

A few months ago, I found some really high quality oatmeal on clearance and bought a ton of it. I bet I ended up buying a full shopping cart of boxes of oatmeal. This is great stuff, and only cost 4 cents per serving. That's hard to beat. Before buying, I checked the expiration date and tried to estimate how much I would eat before it expired. I know that food stays good a bit past the expiration date, but I didn't want to get carried away and buy more than I really needed. Still being cautious, I bought a few boxes to take and home and try it. After finding out that it was good stuff, I went back to the store and bought more.

So one category of item to buy in bulk is clearance items that you know you will use. I wasn't shopping for oatmeal that day, but when I saw it so cheap, I knew I could save a lot of money if I bought it. The cheap oatmeal saved me money since I needed to buy less food.

Things You Buy Anyway

Another category of item to buy in bulk is stuff that you are going to buy anyway. I have dogs, so I need to buy dog food. I buy the biggest bag of dog food that they sell. The same goes for my cat food. Bulk bags are not the most convenient size to haul around, but it is the least expensive per pound. Take the cost of the bag and divide by the number of pounds to get the cost per pound. The bigger bags of pet food are a lot less expensive per pound.

One benefit of buying pet food in bulk is that I don't need to buy it very often. The big bags last a long time, which means I spend less on gas driving to the store to pick up pet food.

Toilet paper is another thing I buy in bulk. We get big bales of 24 rolls, which is the lowest price per roll. One downside is that we need lots of space in the closet to store toilet paper. The upside is that this saves money, and we usually have plenty of toilet paper around.

Other than the bargain oatmeal that I mentioned, I can't really think of food items that I buy in bulk regularly. Bulk food can get stale. With food, I try to buy a little as possible. I know some people buy tons of meat when it is on sale and put it in a freezer. I don't have a freezer, so I haven't tried this.

When Buying In Bulk Wastes Money

There are plenty of ways that buying in bulk can go wrong, and you end up spending MORE money instead of saving money.

Things You'll Never Use

If you buy things you'll never use, it doesn't matter how good of a deal you got- the money spent is wasted money. Imagine if you bought tons and tons of blank VHS tapes in bulk, then you ended up getting a TiVo or Roku and no longer have a need to record TV shows on VHS tapes. Not only are the video tapes wasted, but you wasted space storing something that you will never use. Plus you wasted money that you didn't need to spend. When you buy in bulk, it commits you to use a lot of something and sometimes this doesn't work out.

With my example of buying spark plugs in bulk, I am taking a some risk that my lawn mower will break down and I will not need that type of spark plug anymore if I get a different one. But I am not too worried because the spark plugs were so cheap, and I think I could probably sell extra ones on craigslist if I wanted.

No Room For All The Bulk Stuff

Another problem is if you actually buy more stuff than you have room to store trying to get the lowest unit cost. At Sam's Club, you can buy some very large quantities of items. I could imagine someone buying 144 rolls of toilet paper trying to get the best price per roll. Then you really would need an entire closet to store it all. Or you can buy a 50 pound bag of rice for really cheap- but where will you put it? Running out of room in your house is not only inconvenient, but it can cost money. If you have so much stuff packed into closets and cupboards that you can't find anything, you might end up buying things that you already have. If your house gets too crowded, you might end up renting a storage garage, or even moving to a bigger house. Added expenses like this would greatly offset savings from bulk toilet paper!

Finally, buying perishable items in bulk is risky. You may have good intentions to use the perishable items right away, or to can or freeze them. But there is a chance the bulk purchase will get stale or spoil before you can use it all. In this case, you may be better off buying a smaller quantity and not wasting any than buying a bulk amount and wasting some of it.

Buy in Bulk

If you are careful, you can save money buying in bulk. Make sure to buy items that you know you will use and that you have room to store. It is worth checking the savings before buying in bulk- it is not always cheaper to buy in bulk.

Penny Pincher Journal

Penny Pincher Journal

Thursday, April 9, 2015