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.