Buying in bulk / stockpiling ....is it really worth it?

NemoToad

We buy olive oil in bulk (5 or 10 litres) which we then decant into a smaller bottle. It works out much cheaper and means we can stock up so I don't have to carry it on my bike. We get it from either the 'international foods' aisle of Tesco or from an international supermarket. Other good things to buy in bulk and that we get from these sections are things like rice, lentils and other pulses. We also get big bags of spices (for very cheap) to top up our spice jars when we need them. Sultanas and other dried fruit are something we get in bulk too. If you bake a lot bread flour, SR flour, etc are also good to bulk up on and don't go off. We keep all our bulk food in the cupboard under our stairs!

gunsandbanjos

I bulk buy pasta and rice when i go to makro. Always handy to have.

miss_corerupted

gazza975526570 wrote: »

surely you can bulk buy anything that wont go off

Wipes are always good value on bulk buys as are nappies

yes i can just couldn't think of anything else lol so thought i would ask the collective oldstyleness

Pink.

Hi miss_corerupted,

There's a good thread with lots of advice on bulk buying that should help so I've added your thread to it to keep the replies together.

Pink

sandygirl

Hi,

Normally I only read the message boards, but I thought I'd take the plunge and ask my first question.

I always try to save money by buying in bulk - loo rolls, the largest packets of cereals, teabags, etc, but then I got a'thinking.

Whilst I have all this stuff lying about in the home waiting to be used, its not earning me any money is it? And if you think how much 'money' is lying about waiting to be used, it comes out a quite a tidy sum, when you're trying to save money.

So, for the mathematicians amongst you all, would I save more money if I bought smaller packets, only bought what I needed, when I needed it, and kept the rest of the money in the bank, earning interest. I can never work out which way would be best. :rolleyes:

sra

Hi

i'll move this over to Old Style since there's already a thread about this here

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FairyElephant_2

Sandygirl - I have often wondered the same thing!

I am a b****r for buying loads of stuff when it is on offer as 'we will get through it anyway', but we don't have a great load of storage space really (well we'd have more if the house was less cluttered, I confess, LOL!).

I've noticed if I buy 'kids stuff' in bulk then the SK's get through much more of it when they are with us, so I've taken to 'hiding' the extra (though they often 'find' it, or dafty DH lets slip that there is more - arrghh!). DH & I don't seem to do this (except for DH & beer/cider/lager - have to find somewhere safer to hide them!).

The last few weeks I have consciously tried not to buy more than a month's worth of anything, even if it is on offer, so see how this affects the bank balance - am going to try this for a few months and see if the interest gained is noticable or not. Not the most scientific approach, but one I think I can stick to and we'll see what happens.

miss_corerupted

i think the fact you don't have to go shopping as often is the best bit!! i hate shopping

Mags_cat

I use Costco (as do my mum and my mates when I take them!).

You do need to have a good idea of the prices and BOGOFs in your usual shopping haunts though, as a lot of their prices can't beat the special offers. However, lots of them do and if you have the storage room they're great value.

I buy huge packs of loo roll, washing up liquid and washing powder and similar and *decant down* into smaller containers so there's no risk of using more than I need "because, look, there's lots here". A lot of their food deals can be really good if you have the freezer space (and you portion it out into bags first).

If I had a family, it'd be even more useful - but I split a lot of the stuff with mum so we both get the benefit. She's been known to fill my car if it gets to five or six months since she last went

(Oh, and my dad swears their black pudding is the best he's ever had - we have to buy at least three each visit for his freezer - and they're almost a foot long :eek: )

mardatha

When do we get the passport offers everybody talks about ? Do they send leaflets to the house like Makro or do you jsut find out when you go up ?