We’re constantly buying things to get by our daily lives.
This ranges from things we need like food and groceries to things we want like clothes and accessories.
There are different strategies to save money on these transactions depending on what we’re buying.
For example, buying fresh produce later in the day or buying clothes that are out of season.
But there’s one way to save money on almost anything, regardless of what you’re buying – by buying in bulk.
Most stores give discounts whenever you buy things in larger quantities.
Think about all the ‘1 for $5, 2 for $9’ types of promotions you see at supermarkets or retail stores.
Sometimes, these discounts even scale with the volume of your purchase where the more you buy, the more savings you get.
Some stores or suppliers also offer wholesale prices if you buy in larger quantities than the average person.
So if there are things that you find yourself buying constantly, you may want to consider buying them in bulk next time to save money.
As you might expect, this strategy is more effective for certain types of items and less effective for others.
Things that don’t expire are generally safe/good to buy in bulk because they have long shelf lives, so you don’t have to worry about them going bad before you’re able to finish using them.
Examples include:
- shaver/razor blades
- toothbrushes
- tissue/toilet paper
- household cleaning items
On the flip side, things that have a short shelf life are things that you should avoid or be cautious about when buying in bulk, such as:
- fresh produce
- dairy products
In between these 2 extremes are things that will eventually expire or go bad, but have a reasonably long shelf life of months or years.
When buying such items in bulk, you need to make sure to check the manufacturing and/or expiry dates.
This will give you an idea of how much time you’ll have to consume the product and whether it makes sense to buy in bulk or not.
These include:
- food and beverages
- cosmetics (skincare/makeup products)
- toiletries (toothpaste, shampoo/soap)
- anything that you consume/apply on your body
While buying in bulk can result in savings, remember to only do so for things that you really need/will definitely use.
Otherwise, you’ll just end up stockpiling a whole lot of useless things and end up wasting money instead!