Buying larger quantities can sometimes save us money..or does it?

When you cash in on the deals with foods and other consumables, do you actually use more? How comfortable are we with how much we have. Do we eat more chips because we have a giant bag, do we use more toilet paper because the cabinet is stuffed with them?

Check your useage and tell us what you think!

I think it depends if you have a trigger food..like if you have chips in the house you will not stop eating them until they are gone.   I think it depends if I have pop in the house our student would go nuts drinking it even if it meant his health would suffer...he is better now so I hide pop.  

I think buying anything that you don't really need is a problem if it is two or hundred!  or more then you can use before expiring. guilty here so now no case lots sales for me!

 

Brandy:

do we use more toilet paper because the cabinet is stuffed with them?

I never thought of that, LOL.

For us, it's not about the "bulk" but about the cost. I know I watch my use more for expensive things than less expensive things. Not sure why as it costs money all the same.

I agree with the snack foods. If we have snacks in the house, we eat them. If I don't have pretzels, chips, goldfish, crackers, granola bars...well, we really tend to choose different (healthier) things for snacks. It's not about the quantity or bulk, it's actually having that type of food in our house.

I buy big bags of rice and a huge bag of frozen chicken breats. I don't think we eat more or larger servings of rice or chicken just because we have it in bulk. If I buy a case of soda, I still only drink 3 a week. It's just cheaper to get the case on sale than buying 3 individual cans a week.

So for my family buying in bulk does not mean bulk consumption. I think, LOL.

I tend to only buy meats, rice,veggies, beans, peanuts, tortilla chips and tp in bulk. I don't think we eat more of these items just because they are in the house. I try to keep some snacks in the house(small bags) but they usually go stale and I end up throwing it out unless it is icecream and my guys devour it. My son likes to snack on peanuts, sunflower seeds, those kinds of things. My husband grabs fruit, yogurt and peanuts for his snacks. When my daughter was home she snacked constantly (and never gains an ounce) and we had to buy them in bulk to save money.

I think we only consume more in the junk food. If we have alot then we will feel ok with eating. If there is only a little then we tend to conserve.

My children (teenagers) definitely use more of an item if the house is full of it.

In order to make bulk bying profitable, I have to store away the things and portion out the usual daily/weekly amount so that my children can take what they really need.

 With food no I can't do that on but food for the critters fred the freeloading beagle and the low ridder cocoa yes their food and treats also thier little bit of ear medicane to clean their ears and shampoo for them and me that is a yes and papper products like napkins and tp papper and papper towls that I do bulk up on I got a guest bedroom who in the heck sees that just me or cheapchic or maybe parents that is it saves on me and the puppies.

Eek...heavens no. especially if I get a case of TP or Kleenex....I have it figured out already how long it should last...given even a stretch of a cold or stomack flu.....

foods like rice, oats, flours, popcorn......they are stored in 4 gallon food safe buckets in a 'preppers' area of the basement. They need to be rotated so they just don't sit there waiting for an emergency, but they shouldn't be used more than needed or wasted because we have a bulk quantity.I know people yet today that don't rotate their beans, rice, dry milk etc buckets because it is not something they typically use. That seems wasteful in a a way.

When we moved into our other home in 2003 there were 15 - 55 gallon drums of dried foods, most of it stale but good enough for animal food...left over from 1998 purchasing and the Y2K scare. I am still using dehydrated onions from those drums, however, so they lasted a very long time....and i still have alot left for future use!!

There is very distinct psychological effect when buying bulk: if the package/container you are using has a lot left in it (which you can see when you use it), you will tend to think "got lots" and use more of it. If you see less, then you're like, "Oh no, not much left" and tend to conserve it more. That is why many people will repackage bulk items. I do this with our Palmolive dish soap (DH is brand loyal). I buy the big "refill" container, and put it into a smaller recycled dispenser. It looks "mostly empty" most of the time, so my dish washing helpers (no dishwasher machine!) tend to use less of it. Just to make sure, I have discussed with them how to not be wasteful with it. Other things I DON'T do that with, they just disappear!

MarthaMFI:

I think it depends if you have a trigger food..like if you have chips in the house you will not stop eating them until they are gone.

 

With food I have to agree with Martha it depends on if it's something that is loved a lot or not. In the past when I've stocked up on something planning for it to last a year only to have it eaten in either a few months or weeks:

I bought a  case of burritos for dh only to have him eat them all in 3 wks when I asked him to slow down he looked at me and asked "You bought them for me to eat didn't you?" I explained to him that they were to last a year he shrugged and kept on eating them. When he ran out I didn't bother to replace them.

Ds#1 used to love hotdogs one year when I was doing my meat stock up I bought 2 cases of hot dogs to last us an entire year. He hit a big growth spurt that year and ate the entire years supply of hot dogs in 3 mos then stopped eating hot dogs all together. Since that time he can't stand them.

 

If I break bulk buys down to meal sized packages they last longer. If I buy a case of chicken nuggets through the co-op at church and just leave it in the box the family thinks it's an endless box and grabs some every time they want a snack. If I put them in ziplock baggies with so many per package and toss out the box they tend to last longer. 

mamasjob:

Brandy:

do we use more toilet paper because the cabinet is stuffed with them?

I never thought of that, LOL.

 

Cinnamonhuskies:

Eek...heavens no. especially if I get a case of TP or Kleenex....I have it figured out already how long it should last...given even a stretch of a cold or stomack flu.....

 Ok with this issue two words:

stomach flu

or

food poisioning

Either way I'd rather be safe than sorry with tp and cleaners.