Bulk shopping

[happy2bg33k]

Anyone buy grovery items in bulk at either a warehouse club or like a bulk meat distributor? I sometimes will shop at the local Sam's Club but I don't always think it's the best bargain for my bucks. I would love to buy meat in bulk but can't quite figure out how to do the storage/ one time expense.

[DeBora4BobbyL]

Before I went away to college, I would sometimes buy in bulk. Have you called your local meat market? If you can get people to split half a cow with you, you can get a good deal. But, you really have to have the freezer space.

[Stephanie2377]

I haven't yet figured out how to buy in bulk and actually save money. I don't have the storage space, actually. And, the little bit extra that I might save doesn't work out when I throw leftovers away if we don't eat it. The only things I would buy in bulk would be paper supplies (toilet paper, paper towels) and other toiletries.

[happy2bg33k]

Before I went away to college, I would sometimes buy in bulk. Have you called your local meat market? If you can get people to split half a cow with you, you can get a good deal. But, you really have to have the freezer space. Debora, even though I take your point and will followup I just had to laugh at the images of calling the local meat market conjured up. "Do you have anything about 6' with blond hair and blue eyes?" LOL Seriously though, we have a chest freezer which is a big help with bulk buying.

[cat lover]

Since DH and I don't eat much meat any longer we don't get to use the processing plant close by very much. But an example from there is $1.80 per pound for a side of beef. So if you have the storage space and can use that much meat buying a side of beef could well save you some money. Of course the price will vary according to where you live. We do get to buy some of our fish there and chicken and such at a good price. I can buy Alaskan Pollack in a 10 pound box for $17.00 and that lasts us quite awhile. Chicken breast are a good price too, but I can't remember what I paid last for those.

I too shop at Sam's when we go to the city, but Sam's isn't always a good price. Lots of times the regular grocery is a better price, you just have to learn prices and figure out which would work better for you. Of course now a days with the price of gas sometimes at least for us it works out cheaper to get more things at one stop than ride around for the best grocery price. If you live close to lots of places to shop you may be able to shop around, but for us we have to travel anywhere from 37 miles to 120 miles to shop so I usually just get what I need where we are. I still though will not pay regular price for things, I buy most times only when things are on sale. I have a large walk in pantry and two refrigerators and a chest freezer so I have the space to be able to buy quantity when it is on sale which enables me to buy only on sale.

[DeBora4BobbyL]

Debora, even though I take your point and will followup I just had to laugh at the images of calling the local meat market conjured up. "Do you have anything about 6' with blond hair and blue eyes?" LOL Seriously though, we have a chest freezer which is a big help with bulk buying.

Happy2bg33k, I love to know that someone else has the same since of humor that I do! Except, my order would be for a 6', with a dark complexion, dark brown eyes, and dark wavy hair. ;)

[happy2bg33k]

Happy2bg33k, I love to know that someone else has the same since of humor that I do! Except, my order would be for a 6', with a dark complexion, dark brown eyes, and dark wavy hair. ;) You just described my husband! No fair, he's taken. :p I'm glad you found the same humour in that that I did, by the way. Incidentally the butcher said that I would have to find someone to share the meat with me so I'm going to have to ask around and see who else I know is thinking about bulk purchasing.

[DeBora4BobbyL]

You pay a lot less per pound on meat that is shared. Unfortunately, you have to find the people who are willing to share and who have the freezer space.

[ajrsmom]

You just described my husband! No fair, he's taken. :p I'm glad you found the same humour in that that I did, by the way. Incidentally the butcher said that I would have to find someone to share the meat with me so I'm going to have to ask around and see who else I know is thinking about bulk purchasing.

I wish that we lived close by......We would love to split it with you!

You don't happen to live near Charlotte, NC, do you?? ;)

[ewriggs]

We compared Costco and Sam's Club, and went for a Costco membership. 2-3 times a year, we purchase about $90 - $120 worth of a variety of meat cuts that we like during one of their sales. Beef, pork, lamb and chicken. We then spend about 4 hours cutting, packaging and labeling, and then storing in an organized fashion in our 20cufoot upright freezer. We cut our grocery bills by over 1/2 by doing this. It required the big outlay, but it's more than worth it in the end.

We also get our big trash / garbage / and zipper bags there in bulk. However, we have found that taking storage into consideration is important. So those are the only things we regularly purchase there. And it is more than enough savings to justify the minimal membership cost ($35 in our area).

My DD has a Sam's membership, and we often shop together, I with her and she with me. That way we get the benefits of both places.

Cheerio!
Elizabeth

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*
~*~ Just remember... You gotta break some eggs to make a real mess on the neighbor's car! ~*~
~*~ From A Cynics Guide to Life ~*~
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[barbszy]

Elizabeth, we just joined Costco as our Sam's Club membership is expiring and we'd heard good things about Costco vs. Sam's.

I didn't know that they have sales on meats. Do they advertise those, or have you just been lucky in timing your shopping?

I don't generally buy many food items in the warehouse store. But I can't beat their price on dishwasher soap, paper goods for parties, and things like that. I get flour, yeast and other baking essentials and spices there too. They seem to devote a lot of shelf space to prepared foods, which I don't tend to buy anyplace.

[happy2bg33k]

We don't have a Costco near us and I really haven't heard much about it. How is it different than Sam's Club? Sam's Club has some good prices per pound on meat here and I've actually found that the WalMart Supercenter has comparable prices.

[cat lover]

Barbszy,I'd be interested in your opinion on Costco; there is one in Louisville and that is where we do most of our Sam's club shopping. One of my SIL joined the Costco and she thought they were higher in prices than the Sam's. Plus her membership cost $72.00! Sam's is $35.00.

[CrazyBMarie]

Well, I'd suggest for the initial outlay, start saving a few dollars every week. This will give you time to save up, as well as clear out your freezer lol! Plus, you can check around for the best deals. There's a butcher a few towns over from us that offers "packages" of assorted meats for really good prices--much better than the processing plant here in town. So we buy a few packages from there and we get a good 6 months of meat for approx. $230, assuming we have meat every day, which we don't so it lasts longer.

If storage is an issue, try buying a little at a time--like a big package of chicken one week, then ribs the next, ground meat after that, etc. Sometimes this is cheaper than buying in bulk all at once because you can stock up on sale items...plus you can see how much can really fit in your freezer! I can squeeze a month's worth of food in the one on the fridge--meat, frozen veggies, frozen breakfast stuff, and my ice. But that leaves no room at all for things like ice cream. And leftovers have to be used right away because there's no room to freeze them in there!(We do have a small chest freezer, but I'm assuming you don't.)

It is possible to buy in bulk, assuming it will save money--just maybe not as "in bulk" as someone else lol!

[barbszy]

It was either $45 or $50 for my Costco membership here. Sam's is the same price.
I've only gone there twice so far, but I looked at the prices of the things I usually buy and thought they were pretty much the same as Sam's.

[cat lover]

I am hoping for a one day pass to come along so I can check the Costco out in Louisville sometime. Think I'll alert my SIL to watch for that for me in Louisville, thanks!

[OSI]

Hi Ladies

I don't pop in here much but if you have a Gordon Food Service in your area, their membership is free and open to the public. They sell in bulk... I bought a 5 lb. can of tomato paste yesterday for $5.29 with that we'll make tomato juice just add equal amounts water to paste, we are on a sodium restricted diet and per serving it's only 20 mg of sodium but for those who are allowed the salt, just add salt to taste absolutely no difference in taste versus name brand tomato juice but huge huge savings in price comparison. We will also add water to make it tomato sauce for making spaghetti sauce or adding to chili.

Buying in bulk though it's a good idea to know your cost.. 1 thing that wouldn't have been frugal was a 2 lb. bag of liguine noodles $3.99 a lb. at the store generally is less than $2.00 per lb.

Anna

[cat lover]

I have seen the Gordon Food Service Stores in Louisville, but have neglected to go in one yet and give them a try. With prices being so crazy right now and not having access to ads it is hard for me to keep track of prices except fo the things I buy on a regular basis. But I'll tell the boys about them they might want to check into them, thanks!