The Art of Bulk Buying
By Matt - Tuesday, April 8th, 2008
If you look at anything and practice it enough it almost becomes an art form. This is very true when it comes to playing the piano or painting but I believe it’s true for most things. A perfect example in the personal finance world is buying in bulk. If you buy a product in bulk you can significantly reduce your cost per item which can save you a lot of money in the long run. Unfortunately if you’re not careful in buying in bulk you can end up loosing more money than you’re saving.
Your lifestyle or at the very least your knowledge of your lifestyle and habits can really make or break your bulk buying. Personally every time I try to take advantage of buying in bulk I end up in the same spot I started or I’ve lost money. The question that comes to mind is what am I doing wrong? The simple answer is nothing. My lifestyle isn’t geared towards bulk buying. I don’t have a regimented diet nor do I use any singular product in mass quantities on a regular basis.
The Art Form
Buying bulk means you need to buy a lot of a product or products at once and take advantage of the price reduction. The concept is very simple and it’s the basis of how retail stores make money by buying at wholesale prices. The goal here is to know that you’ll need a lot of a single product. People who have a large family can very easily take advantage of this since they’ll go through food and the necessities at a much faster pace. For me the only items that I can safely buy in bulk are toilet paper, soap and batteries because none of these items go bad.
I believe that to master buying bulk you need to plan ahead carefully to take advantage of the savings. You have to know what you’re likely to use and adjust your habits to ensure nothing perishable goes bad. When it comes to some foods they can be frozen but I’m not disciplined enough in my eating habits to effectively take advantage of this. Another great way to take advantage of buying bulk is to do so as a group of people. This goes back to my point about planning.
People who are able to save hundreds of dollars a month at stores like Costco amaze me since they have in my opinion great planning abilities (or very regimented lives). Unfortunately if you’re not careful and don’t actually use the products you can end up loosing a lot of money buying bulk and throwing out a lot of stuff. Stores like Costco love customers like me, I clearly understand the value of the purchase but by not using it the per item costs goes up drastically. Part of the art of buying bulk in my opinion is knowing when not to do it.
Buying in bulk can save you lots of money if and only if you can take advantage of the volumes.
This entry is filed under Budgeting and Planning, Saving Ideas.
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