Buying in Bulk

As I said in my Thursday Thirteen this week, I am going to be posting individually about my top 13 tips to save money. First, though let me give you a bit of background information.

I was not always frugal. Growing up, when I had money, it would burn a hole in my pocket, I would itch to spend it. I was always coming up with what I wanted next, what I wanted to save for next and so on. In college, I couldn't really afford to spend alot of money, however, my husband, then fiance, would spoil me and buy me almost whatever I wanted. I have never really cared about name brands, but just had a lot of stuff. Then when we got married, we would spend almost all that we made.

I can honestly not tell you what we spent it on. Going out, hanging with friends, I am really not  sure. I remember thinking that if we only made X number of dollars, then we would be set. Boy do I wish that I knew then what I know now! I used to think that people who looked like they had money, had the money. They dressed nicely, drove nice cars and lived in nice houses. It took me a while,  but I finally reallized that those people did have something, debt and worry.

I don't know many people that have it all, if any. They give up something along the way to attain what is important. What is important to one person is not to another.

In my journey into being a wise steward of my money, I have tried many things, some have worked and some have not. I remember talking to my friend Ellen a couple of years ago when I was pregnant with my third. We were talking about how they could afford for her to stay home with her kids. She told me all that she did, the coupon clipping, looking at the sales flier, price matching, store hopping. I remember thinking, there is no way I have time to do that.

Well, I was full time then and slowly I began thinking if I could find a way to save some money, or simply not spend so much, that would help in my goal to go part time. So I started slowly.

This is something that took some trial and error. There are some things you can buy in bulk that simply you won't use it up before it goes bad.  But if you can afford to buy in bulk, it is a great idea.

Some things that I buy in bulk are yeast, baking powder, coacoa, rice, flour and sugar. Also I buy large bags of dog and cat food. We have 2 cats and 2 large dogs, so the food definitely gets eaten. I also do a ton of baking. I make my own muffins, cookies, cakes, some breads and pizza dough. So I go through a lot of baking supplies. I have found that in my area, it is certainly cheaper to buy these things in bulk.

Of course you have to have an area to store these things. Luckily I have a large pantry and the dog and cat food are stored in a tub(cat food) and galvanized garbage can(dog food). As for the flour and sugar, make sure you store them in a container, to avoid bugs.

So, these are some of the items that I buy in bulk, what do you buy in bulk?

Stay tuned next Friday when I talk about planning ahead and how it too can save you money.

This post links to Frugal Fridays and Super Saver Saturday.