In personal finance circles, a debate rages on and on over whether buying in bulk is wasteful or extra efficient. The truth is that only your household can decide which applies to you. Contrary to popular belief, there is no right or wrong way to buy in bulk. We look forward to covering each of these specific viewpoints on the subject in the post below.
Convenience
Big box stores that offer wholesale prices on large quantities of goods make it appealing to simply pick up the largest possible package to stock up on items. This makes it unlikely you’ll run out of essential items anytime soon.
When you’re a busy professional trying to maintain a household bustling with activity while keeping some sense of your sanity, it’s best to limit surprise trips to the store. In a busy lifestyle, convenience and efficiency are lifesavers.
Necessity
Items you use every day tend to run out very quickly without adequate planning of reserves. Because of this, it’s natural to feel compelled to stock up before necessity strikes at the last minute. However, if you don’t stock up at a discounted price, your efforts to avoid a late night grocery run might cause you to overspend. If you find yourself in this situation, pick up one or two more than you need to be on the safe side but don’t go overboard.
When prices go down or items go on sale you can take that opportunity to replenish your stock. Being flexible will save you money in the long run.
Couponing
Avid couponers believe that if it isn’t free or nearly free after their coupon, you shouldn’t buy it under any circumstances. Then when the sale price matches to a high value coupon, that is the absolute best time to buy. Matching the right sale price to a high value coupon can double your savings and you can even get the item for free or pennies on the dollar. As though such a scenario weren’t juicy enough already, if you buy a large quantity of sweet coupons, you can buy in bulk without spending a single solitary dime!
The beauty of couponing is getting things for free or nearly free if possible. If your coupon stash is large enough to help you purchase items in bulk with little to no cost out-of-pocket, bulk buying makes a ton of sense. Make sure that you can use all of the items before the expiration date.
As we’ve shown here, there are many points of view to buying in bulk. While some people think it’s a wasteful practice, others feel that if they have the cash on hand to stock up for the sake of convenience, there’s no harm to it at all. Add in a little couponing and you may be able to stock up for months for no cost at all.
At the end of the day, the decision is yours and yours alone. If you are willing to take the time to match high value coupons to sales, then more power to you. If you are willing to spend some more money upfront in exchange for convenience later on down the line, it might bring you some peace of mind to your hectic life. If you only tend to make purchases based on necessity alone, a few smart bulk purchases might save you a late night run to the grocery store.
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