When to buy in bulk

Today, I had to make my monthly Sam's run. So that put in my head that today I should post some info on buying in bulk. The more I did coupons, the more I realized that certain items where still cheaper to buy in bulk at my local warehouse club. Mainly due to the fact that coupons for these items were hard to come by or just did not exists. The items I tend to buy in bulk are cheese, butter, meat (sometimes), bottle water, diapers, Clorox wipes, and frozen blueberries. There are probably other items out there that are cheaper if bought in bulk, but these are the ones that I normally buy in bulk.

Now diapers you can get cheaper else where, but from my experience it was hard to keep up with which stores had what diapers on sale and what coupons I had. I also had problems with the stores not having the diapers in stock when I did my grocery shopping. So to save me time and effort, I just buy a big box of the Member's Mark diapers for $29 every 3 months.

Most of the time, I check the local grocery stores weekly fliers to see what deals they have on meat. When something I want or need is really cheap, that is when I try to stock up. Tom Thumb usually has a great meat deal going on where I can stock up on 90/10 ground beef,chuck roasts, or pork chops. Albertsons usually has my chicken on sale very cheap, where I don't have to buy it at Sam's. Once in a while, I run out of hamburger meat before the next big sale and just have to buy it at Sam's.

Bottle water is always cheaper in bulk. I pay $3.88 for a 32 pack of Nestle water. So far I have not been able to beat that price anywhere else.

Diary products are also cheaper in bulk. I tend to get my butter and cheese in bulk. The price on these items do fluctuate quite a bit, but in the end is still cheaper than buying smaller portions at the grocery store. For 5 pounds of Cheddar cheese, I spend between $8-$10. Butter tends to run $7-$9 for 4 boxes. Sometimes, I even stock up on eggs. Two half a dozen packs of eggs run $3.12.

Frozen Dole blueberries are the cheapest at Sam's Club. Today I bought 4 pounds of blueberries for $7.58! Usually at the grocery store it costs $10 for 2-3 pounds!

Next time you are at your local warehouse club, find out the price per unit or the price per pound you pay on the items you buy there most often. Sometimes you will find that you can get these items cheaper when they are on sale at the local grocery store. I used to buy my Swanson Chicken Broth in bulk every month, but now I have discovered that during the fall and winter months this item is always on sale at some grocery store and the Sunday paper is loaded with coupons for Swanson products during the same time. So instead of paying $0.69 a can at Sam's, I can get it for $0.50 a can or lower during the holiday seasons. I try to take the time to stock up to last me until they go on sale again.

Now with warehouse clubs, they do not take coupons from the Internet websites or Sunday papers. Instead they will take coupons that they have mailed or emailed to you. For example, Costco mails out coupons to the masses trying to get them to come shop at their store. Sam's Club has electronic coupons that you can get at their store or on their website. At Sam's there is a machine right when you walk, that will scan your card and download coupons for you to use immediately. It will also give you a print out of all the coupons you have on the card and when they expire. Today I was able to use a $3 off of Charmin Ultra Soft Bathroom Tissue coupon. The price at Sam's was $18.48, but with the $3 coupon it made my final cost $15.48. 50 cents cheaper than the Member's Mark brand. So I guess even the warehouse clubs are getting into the whole coupon thing. Now if only Wallymart can get with the times and revamp their coupon policy instead of making their isles bigger.

Genesis: Why am I doing this

It's the beginning of August and time for back to school shopping for my girls. I have my school supply list in hand and ready. Time to head out to Walmart and buy the supplies. Every year I do the same thing, I get the school supply list and head to Walmart, which I like to call Wallymart. And every year, I end up getting upset because of the stupidity of those in charge of running the store. Like the previous years, I show up get the basic supplies like pencils, paper, rulers, crayons, and color pencils; but I end up wasting time trying to find the 12x18 assorted construction paper, composition notebooks, and folders with brads that the school deems important. After finally finding someone who can help me, I learn that Wallymart just does not carry these things. What I don't understand is that when I walk right in the front door, there is the list for the school supplies for the local elementary schools, which are either Fort Worth ISD or Crowley ISD, but Wallymart does not carry some of the basic school supplies on those lists. From Walmart's commercials, I get the sense that they pride themselves of making shopping convinent while having competitive prices. If that is the case, then why would they not stock up on all the back to school supplies that the local school districts want. They have the lists, then they should know what to order. Another thing I really don't understand is if CVS and Walgreens can have composition notebooks, then why doesn't Wallymart?

Okay I am starting to digress, after finding out that I'm going to have to find these items elsewhere, I discovered another mother in the same predicament as me. I told her loudly, due that a Wallymart employee was close by, that she can find all this stuff at Mardels. I also made sure to drop the fact that Mardels' prices were just as good and some times better than Walmarts. I know the employee has really little input on the way things are at Wallymart, but who knows maybe she will tell her manager what she "overheard" me say and he can do something, but that is wishful thinking. So I paid for my things,went to Mardels, and finished my shopping.

When I got home, I had to tell my husband, Rob, all about my experience and what I really think about Wallymart. That is when a light bulb came on in my head. Everyone now has a blog, why not start a blog about why I hate Walmart. Rob thought this was an excellent idea. Of course I had to get some unbiased opinions, so I posted on Facebook my idea. I had some people who liked the idea and a couple who just couldn't live without Walmart. So I decided that I would blog about my loathing of Walmart while vowing not to buy one thing at Walmart for one year and hopefully never again!

So now here we are, I am starting this blog. I do want to clarify a couple of things. I will NOT buy things from Walmart for one year, but I probably will set foot in their stores during this year. Mainly due to the fact that when I go grocery shopping with my mom, she goes to Walmart. My other clarification is that I Will shop at Sam's Club. I know some of you think that I shouldn't shop at Sam's since it is affiliated with Walmart and I should shop only at Costco. I shop at Sam's Club because they have the exact same things as Costco and then some for cheaper prices. The parking at Sam's is better, and my membership is way cheaper than Costcos. Sam's is also trying to keep with the times and have electronic coupons you can add right to your Sam's card. Last I saw Costco did not do this, but I could be wrong. Besides my problem is with Walmart not Sam's Club.

Okay with that out of the way, I'm ready to ween my family off of Walmart and save tons of money in the process. During this process, please feel free to leave your own experiences and comments. All mature opinions and debates are welcomed.