How often do you shop in bulk?

This discussion has prompted me to put Sam's Club on my errand list for Monday. We probably won't buy anything. Honestly the only thing I have found at any great savings at Sam's is yeast. If you bake breads, you can get some yeast at a great price. I really haven't found anything else for less than at my regular grocery store. My mom gave me her 2nd membership a while back and I've gone a few times. Mostly, my kids like to go in for the free samples...makes a good snack around lunchtime. Maybe I'll find something I can't resist if I go in on Monday:) As for buying in bulk: Paper towels I usually get at Target when they put them on sale, I get a lot of really good deals there, in their clearance sections. I stock up on other things when they go on sale at the grocery store, usually Kroger. I don't buy very much at Wal-Mart, their prices don't seem any better to me than other places--you get longer lines and poorer service for the same prices. My husband recently bought 1/2 a cow, so I guess we're good for about a year as far as beef goes, lol

I don't have a Sam's Club near me anymore but I used to go there and ended up spending more than I wanted to each time. I don't remember any really great deals there either. What I've been doing lately is watching the sales and stocking up when a good one comes along. The local grocery store in my town has been having some pretty good 2 for the price of 1 sales for the past few weeks and a lot of 5 for $5 deals that are also good. I also take advantage of buying meat in bulk when I can.

Hello Cynddvs, We've been shopping at Sam's for about eight years. At least every other week, if not weekly. We buy our garbage bags, laundry (they carry "All Free & Clear" & "OxyClean" at lower prices than anywhere else in town), cleaning (Simple Green) and paper products -- to save money, bulk is definitely the way to go on toilet tissue & paper towels. We also regularly get Hubby's favorite specialty coffee beans, a particular goat cheese that we cannot find anywhere else, canned Tuna & Salmon for lunches (bulk wrapping generally protects the cans from denting & therefore possible bottulism contamination), as well as Hubby's sugar free soda, fruit juices, unsalted mixed nuts, butter, condiments (mustard, ketchup) etc... Sam's offers the lowest prices around on many, many products. We don't buy any pre-processed package foods there or elsewhere. But, if someone did, like Hamburger Helper or other such pre-packaged foods, the bulk pricing makes a real difference. Like anywhere, the produce at Sam's can be 'iffy'. One has to examine the produce carefully. Though, we've had great luck with their 'in season' fruits, and refrigerated, fresh veggies like broccoli florets. And yes, we do buy our chicken from Sam's. As for beef, we tend to go right to the source -- we buy a half cow annually from an organic, rancher friend, then have it cut according to preference by a local, certified butcher. In doing so, we pay less than $3.00 per pound for guaranteed untainted roasts and steaks -- including porterhouse & t-bones, as well as cuts to grind for freshly ground beef. The difference in taste between store bought, and ranch grazed beef is truly remarkable. So, I doubt that we'll ever go back to buying beef in the store. To do so would be alot more expensive, and would be less flavorful. I guess it's safe to say that we've comfortably adapted to bulk buying. It gives us the opportunity to buy the products we like and trust, at a noticable cost savings. Though, it can sure be a problem finding a place to store everything!

When we were a family of five we definitely saved money buying in bulk at Sam's Club. As our kids got older and moved out, we didn't need as much. Especially since our family is just 3 of us now. I realized a couple years ago, I was ending up spending MORE because I was buying so much in bulk. We would eat everything or it would go bad before we could. Some things could be frozen and eaten later, but it just got to where the hassle was not worth it. These days I shop at just one grocery store and I'm spending alot less. I miss some of the things I used to get exclusively at Sam's Club, but not that I spent more.

I go to Sam's Club, BJ's or Costco when I can get a free pass. I spent for the full membership one year and barely used it. Most of the bulk stuff is just way too much food for us. But I love all the housewares and books you can get at those places. I actulaly have a free BJ's 60 day pass I'll go use soon.

I have gone to Costco which is a bulk buying store but I don't go anymore. The reason I don't go anymore is because every time I go I spend way too much money on things I wouldn't normally buy if I went to a normal grocery store. I buy way too much and never come out of there with less than $400 worth of stuff. So I just don't bother to go anymore since I can't resist buying the things I wouldn't normally buy. For my meats I go to coop because they will cut it to my specifications. I don't think they will do that at Costco.

i always try to shop in bulk as the bill will turn out to be cheaper for me and my hubby and we will be able to save some money... yes, i know that at first we will feel that it is a pain to pay more... but in the long run, it will be cheaper for us... so we try to stock up as much as we can when there are things on sale... but on a reasonable amount... not excessively... i stock up only during sale and when the items not on sale, i won't stock up... take care and have a nice day...

we did not tryd that kind of shoping yet.

I have a membership at a wholesale club and that is where I mostly buy my non-perishables. Things like diapers, tissues, napkins, spices, batteries. They are always a great deal and I know they won't expire before I need them. They also have great deals sometimes on toys, clothes and books, outdoor furniture, appliances. The amount I save on diapers alone is worth the membership fee. Everything else is just icing on the cake. I go about once a month at the most, but I buy enough to make it worth the trip. Holidays are great because I can buy wrapping paper and seasonal items pretty inexpensively.

I have never even been in a Sams club. I have never bought anything in bulk not even meat. I buy just what I need so I know I will use it and it won't go to waste.

Oh about once a month for me too. Me and my partner really love to shop in bulk at least once a month so we don't have to keep making too many small trips. We go in together and get two big trolleys and just hit it hard. I think you save on fuel that way too because I find I don't really need to shop for much throughout the month. I only need to go in for the fresh stuff and that is about it. I really do like it and sometimes in some cases you can save more money depending on the item and how big you can buy the pack.

The only thing I buy in bulk is Aubiose. It's a horse bedding, but I use it for the hamster (and the rats when I still had them). I order it online and have it delivered to my door (and have the nice delivery man carry it up the stairs!). It comes in a 20kg bale and lasts me months. I can't really afford to buy other things in bulk, and without a car I couldn't manage it anyway. I do buy two 10kg bags of dog food every month and a half or so, one for my flat and one for at my mom's house. We push it home from the supermarket on my nephew's stroller.

In the past, I shopped quite a bit at Sam's and saved tons of money in the process. I do have an extremely large family for this day and age though, including 5 kids. The last time I went to Sam's which was just a few months ago, prices had gone sky high, and it was no longer quite the deal that it used to be. Now I have to watch everything and make sure it really is a cost saving move. I do shop at our local butcher quite often. They are only open for the summer months, but I can pick up twice as much meat for less money than at Sams or our grocery store. I will spend the summer stocking the freezer for the winter months when they aren't open. I spend much more time these days in our local dollar stores. It seems that I spend less money there, get more food and manage to stock the cupboards with a better supply then from anywhere else.

One of the best place to buy in bulk (if you don't mind waiting to get it) is amazon.com. I've bought my daughter some food and stuff off there in bulk, and I got it within a week. The prices are good too!

I just live by myself and I thought that I'd never would want or need a club membership to any store. But, for some reason, I wanted to join Sam's Club and I actually use it a lot. I eat a lot of vegetables and I found that I could buy them, frozen, in bulk and they would last me months. Also, milk and bananas were so cheap that I figured just buying those alone would save me enough money for the membership every year. While I found a better place for fresh vegetables, I still go to Sam's Club to get my meats, bananas, spinach, milk, frozen vegetables, cereal (oatmeal) and a few other things. All this for just one person, too.

its up to you. Im not sure if they have the best deals.