Buying in Bulk

An article in last week's PI offered tips for saving money on your grocery bill by shopping like the pros. Among other things, the author recommended purchasing in bulk. She did caution against buying more than you can eat before it rots or sprouts, but there are also other reasons why it's not always a good idea to shop in bulk.

The phrase "shopping in bulk" can mean either buying food from bulk bins, or buying in quantity so you can get a discount. Buying from the bulk bins is a great way to shop. The prices are great, you don't throw away wasteful packaging, and you can buy just as much as you need.

Buying in quantity in order to get a discount can be a good strategy for ingredients that you use regularly but it can be tricky, in fact, I often see professional chefs and entrepreneurs making foolish choices about when to buy in bulk.

Before you buy something in bulk, ask yourself how much of that item you typically use, and how long it will take you to go through the quantity you're considering. As the author of the article advised, don't buy more than you can use before it goes bad. Even items like dried beans, which we think of as having long shelf lives, can take a lot longer to cook if they've sat on the shelf for too long.

Is this an item you want to have on hand all the time? I buy a couple of chocolate bars every week and I'd certainly save money on each individual chocolate bar if I bought a case of them, but I don't want to have that much chocolate on hand because then I'd surely eat more than I should.

How much space do you have? It doesn't make sense to buy a case of something if it's going to take up so much of your storage space that you don't have room for other things you need.

Is this the best use of your money right now? If you buy that case of juice that's going to take 3 months to drink, will you still have cash on hand to pay your electric bill?

The prevailing wisdom in the grocery business is that it's best to keep less inventory on hand and turn it over as quickly as possible. Inventory is clutter, and it ties up resources that you might need for other purposes.