Welcome to my 52 Ways to Save $100 a Month series. We’re serious about saving money in 2016. Sometimes it’s the little things and sometimes it’s the big things. I’m here to walk you through some little things that can add up to BIG savings. 52 little things to be exact. Every week, join me back here for another small money saving tip or idea that might not seem like significant savings until you see the overall yearly savings. It might just blow your mind. So pop in each Tuesday and read a new tip that will help you on your way to save $100 a month!
After my Costco Experiment from last year, I know a thing or two about buying in bulk. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it over and over again: buying in bulk rocks. Now shopping exclusively at Costco? Not so much. But buying many of their bulk items to save a bunch of money? Absolutely! Here are my favorite ways to buy in bulk and save:
Costco: You can sub Sam’s Club or any other warehouse-type place that sells things in bulk here. I like to get flour, butter and sugar at Costco in bulk, especially around Christmas and baking season! Big bulk purchases make sense when you routinely use a lot of one item or when a bulk item last a long time {think rice, beans, etc.}. But you have to be careful when shopping at warehouses because they’ll have a flashy sale on a bulk item that you are tempted to buy, only the item will go to waste because your family won’t eat through it before it expires.
Bulk buying can be tricky like that. There is potential to waste money in bulk buying, but there is also great potential for savings. It’s knowing what bulk items your family will actually use is the trick!
Meat: When I buy meat in bulk, I like to use Zaycon Foods. They have super high quality meats that cook up deliciously. Their prices are crazy good, plus, they are just a great company. They have excellent customer service and their events are well organized. Then I Process and Prepare My Bulk Chicken and Ground Beef and my freezer is stocked with inexpensive, tasty meat. Boom.
Spices: You ever buy spices in bulk? Over the years I’ve learned the best way to buy spices is by purchasing them from the bulk spice section at my local grocery store. With over 50+ spices and herbs to choose from, I can usually find what I need without having to shell out big bucks for some random spice I’ll only use once.
Cooking in Bulk: One of the reasons I love freezer meals is because the cost per serving goes way down when you buy larger quantities and split it into several meals {that, and by dinnertime I don’t feel like cooking}. Check out how I made 100 Freezer Meals in 5 Hours.
What are some ways you save by buying in bulk? Or do you avoid bulk shopping?
How Much Can You Save: The sky’s the limit here. I estimate I save at least $100-$200 on just bulk meat alone each year.
More Ways to Save:
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Clean Out Your Closet {Week 1 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Break Up with Cable {Week 2 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Barter Better {Week 3 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Change Your Own Oil {Week 4 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Adjust Your Thermostat {Week 5 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Take Advantage of Your Perks {Week 6 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Pack Your Lunch {Week 7 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Make It Yourself {Week 8 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Preserve Your Bounty {Week 9 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Keep the Change {Week 10 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | The Art of Borrowing {Week 11 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Ditch the Gym {Week 12 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Clip a Coupon {Week 13 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Start Your Garden From Seed {Week 14 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Learn to Cut Hair {Week 15 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Become a 1 Car Family {Week 16 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Make a Phone Call {Week 17 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Shop Christmas in July {Week 18 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Grow a Garden {Week 19 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Just Say No {Week 20 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Go Generic {Week 21 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Make a Budget {Week 22 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Use the Library {Week 23 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Kick the Soda Habit {Week 24 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Improve Your Credit Score {Week 25 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Shop Online {Week 26 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Save on Lodging {Week 27 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Play for Free {Week 28 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Save Big on Birthday Parties {Week 29 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Back to School Clothes on the Cheap {Week 30 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Inexpensively Entertaining {Week 31 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Buy Used College Textbooks {Week 32 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Buy Used {Week 33 of 52}
Jeanie says
I am not a big coupon user. I truly only use the coupons that my Kroger sends that I can automatically load on my card, thus eliminating the problem of forgetting them. My Kroger regularly sends $20.00 off a purchase of $120 so that is awesome!
We have belonged to Sam’s Club for years and since at this point it is only my husband and me at home (and sometimes my college kid), I don’t buy a lot of bulk stuff. We buy socks, undies, toilet paper, disposable coffee cups, rotisserie chicken, random books, Montreal seasoning, pickles, peanut butter, printer paper, a lot of t.v’s, printers, iPads, fit bits, luggage, butter and the number one reason I will never get rid of my card….cheese. When I had kids at home I would buy a lot of fruit and veggies there but without kiddos….I just can’t use that much stuff. I usually just buy fruit and veggies and meat at Kroger.
We have had a Costco card but it is sort of out of my way and I just didn’t go there enough. I thought they actually carried better stuff than Sams but Costco unlike Sams never marked their aisles and I don’t really care to wander aimlessly searching for things. I don’t really like shopping.
I buy a lot of stuff like coffee, cleaning products, dog food, most toiletries, on Amazon.
Mable says
In our area, butter at holiday time is never, ever cheaper at Sams or Costco. It is a loss leader for the grocery stores so when it goes on sale for 99 cents a pound in November and December, I buy a year’s supply and freeze it. Ditto for sugar and flour. Also the milk is regularly 30 cents a gallon cheaper at the regular grocery store. After keeping tabs on what I could save if I took advantage of seasonal sales and froze stuff, I dropped our membership. It really didn’t work out cheaper in our area.
Amy says
It’s so true that you can’t assume that things are always cheaper in bulk at the warehouse stores! I’ve definitely made that mistake in the past, but once I sat down and actually calcuated the prices, I was able to figure which bulk buys save me money, and which don’t. Organic milk is $0.50 cheaper per half gallon at BJ’s. The Horizon milk boxes I put in my daughter’s school/camp lunches are MUCH cheaper at BJ’s. Razor blades – when I use a BJ’s coupon – are somewhat cheaper, but plenty of other things are not. And I no longer buy produce there. We’re a family of three, so it’s likely to spoil before it gets consumed.
Mel says
Our grocery store does not have bulk bins or anything like that. I can occasionally get cheaper things in larger quantities at places like Target or our version of Costco, but the savings are usually not significant enough to warrant the extra trip. So, I haven’t figured out bulk shopping, but bulk cooking definitely saves us a ton of time and money. I made more than 150 freezer meals over the summer for an average of $5 a meal. It would have been cheaper if I bothered to shop sales, but I basically just relied on most produce and larger cuts of meat being less expensive in the summer. I now do not have to cook until January (besides baking bread and fixing the occasional side dish), and we spend far less time, money, and energy on meal planning and grocery shopping each week. Everything is also conveniently portioned, so there’s very little waste.
Mavis says
150 freezer meals is awesome!
Mel says
Thanks! I think we have something like 65 different meals and 2-4 of each, but many of them are actually your recipes. I also take cookies to work each week, so I froze about 20 different kinds of dough so that all I have to do is cut the sheets of dough and bake each week.
Marcia says
That is really impressive!! A lot of work.
Mel says
It was actually far less work than I anticipated. And it just saves so much time.
connie munoz says
I have no idea what im going to do, we sold our 2700 square foot home, with freezer and tons of space for storage, to a 700 square foot apartment, I have no idea how im going to save money now with buying bulk, before we had decided to sell house, I had ordered already 40 pounds of the ground turkey from zaycon and i pick up in a couple weeks and so basically it will take up the whole freezer in apartment size freezer, so basically we will only be eating ground turkey for awhile, even storing bulk foods is going to be a problem, pantry is nothing….i will miss my zaycon foods, wont be able to store all that meat and i don’t have anyone to split it with….:( so for a year, my food budget is really going to suck:( any tips for people that don’t have the storage for bulk….
Marcia says
Search around and see if you have room for an extra freezer. I found a spare freezer for $50 on craigslist. It’s not a chest freezer, it has a door. That’s where we keep our bulk purchased things. It’s also where our printer sits, so it serves double duty.
As far as bulk foods go, we have large bags of beans and rice in a drawer. We also have a couple of five gallon buckets in a closet. You can store things under a bed, like canned goods.
I have 1100 sf, 2BR, 1BA, no garage, husband and 2 kids. I feel you!
Hazel says
I’m in the UK and the nearest Costco is too far away to justify shopping there. There used to be a Cash and Carry (bulk store) nearby but it burnt down and sadly they haven’t replaced it.
We do buy meat in bulk though- we buy a portion of an animal (whole lamb or hogget, 1/2 a pig, 1/8 or 1/4 of a cow etc) direct from the farmer, which saves a lot of money. Partly this is because you get offal and cheaper, less popular cuts, as well as fillet steak. I believe in ‘nose-to-tail’ eating when it comes to meat, so we’ll often be given free/trotters/pig’s tails/cheeks/organs/a pig’s head etc because other people don’t want them. I know that’s not everybody’s cup of tea, but if you can expand the range of meats you eat it helps bring the price down considerably!
Linda simons says
I try to only buy sale items when shopping my local grocery store and support our small town merchants. Bulk hamberger went into taco meat that I froze in muffin tons. The perfect amount for a taco burger or nachos. I made a froze cheeseburger soup in bowl-size portions. Then rest I froze in one poind portions and finally formed into patties.
Ten pounds of chicken legs/thighs gets all cooked up and divided. Chicken broth is saved and froze in one pint containers. I love my freezer.