Have you noticed how the prices at the grocery store get higher between visits? How each shopping trip you buy less but spend more money? Prices continue to rise, making it impossible to feed your family. No matter if you take advantage of coupons, cheaper brands, and sales, you’re still spending more for food. Other household items also continue to rise in price.
What can you do?
There is a way to control the amounts you pay for food, household paper goods, laundry soaps, and cleaners. By buying in bulk and finding the best possible prices, we can keep constant price increases from impacting our personal finances so drastically.
How to save money on items you use most:
Make a list of items used in your home daily. Then, prepare some space in your home or garage for nonperishable bulk items. Buy three or four large storage bins for staples like rice, pasta, and other grains. Look in the newspaper for sale or closeout items that you frequently use. Buying in large quantities saves money over the long term.
Other cost saving items to buy:
- Buy your dog and cat food by the case and not individual cans or bags. Buying by the case, you save around 10%, over buying individual or small quantity products. Again– look for sales and close out prices you save even more.
- Buy toilet paper, paper towels, and napkins in bulk. Look for sales on bulk quantities and stock up on these items.
- Buy your canned tomato sauce, vegetables, and soups in cases. Store the cans in your garage. By buying a case you save 15 to 20 cents on each can you buy. That adds up fast. These items store well. Look for sales or go to warehouses stores that sell in bulk.
- When sugar and flour are on sale, buy 6 to 8 sacks each. Store the unused bags in storage bins in your garage. Sugar and flour keep as long as you store them in airtight storage bins away from bugs and rodents, in a cool area.
- Shop at warehouse stores offering bulk quantity items to purchase your bath soaps, laundry soap, shampoos, and dish washing agents. Store the extra items in the garage. By buying large quantity of these items you save 20% over buying individual items in your grocery store.
- When men’s and women’s socks go on sale, nab a large quantity of each item. Store the unused items in your closet or storage bin in the garage.
- Instead of buying conventional, chemical household cleaners, buy vinegar, salt, and baking soda to clean your home. Buy these items in bulk at warehouse stores. Need that fresh “clean” smell? Add a little lemon or lime juice or lavender to your cleaning repertoire. By going natural in this way, you’ll do both the planet, and your pocketbook, a favor.
- Stop buying scrubbing pads to clean your pots and pans. Invest in a good scrub brush that lasts for years. You’ll be surprised how much money you save by not buying expensive, disposable scrubbing pads to clean your dishes.
Have fun saving hundreds of dollars each year on items you buy weekly. While it takes careful and strategic planning, the overall payoff is entirely gratifying. Happy shopping!
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