10 Things to Buy in Bulk

After covering 15 things not to buy in bulk, I thought it was only fair to list 10 things to buy in bulk. Here's the list from MSN Money:

1. Cooking oil
2. Toothbrushes
3. Cereal
4. Antiseptic wipes
5. Vitamins
6. Soup
7. Dog food
8. Beer
9. Tuna
10. Diapers

Before I comment on these, let me point out that both the "do not buy in bulk" and "do buy in bulk" lists were from MSN Money -- the former from their Smart Spending blog and the latter from the main site. In addition, there were three items that made both lists. How does that happen? How can something be both a "do not buy" and a "do buy". They need better coordination of their recommendations.

Anyway, in case you're wondering, here are the three items on both lists:

• Vitamins
• Diapers
• Cereal

Now, here's what we do on the "do buy" list:

1. Cooking oil -- We don't use that much of it, though my wife does buy in larger sizes when we get it (but not the super-large sizes you find at Costco.)

2. Toothbrushes -- The last time I purchased a toothbrush was a couple decades ago. Don't people get them free at the dentist every six months?

3. Cereal -- We buy when they are on sale at the grocery store (usually with a coupon too.) Every once in awhile we get a box at Costco, but they generally don't have the best selection of cereals.

4. Antiseptic wipes -- Don't use them.

5. Vitamins -- We buy in bulk whenever we can. Costco runs coupons on the Kirkland brand of vitamins rather frequently, so that gives us some extra savings.

6. Soup -- Yep, we buy a ton of soup at Costco.

7. Dog food -- We don't have a dog. Dodged that bullet a couple years ago. ;-)

8. Beer -- We don't drink beer.

9. Tuna -- Yes, a GREAT bring-your-lunch-to-work staple. We buy a good amount of canned tuna in bulk and I eat it regularly for lunch.

10. Diapers -- No need for diapers, thank goodness.

Other items we buy regularly in bulk:

• Parmesan cheese
• Salsa
• Frozen broccoli, green beans, and fruit
• Canned pineapple

How about you? What do you buy in bulk?

Comments

[laura@mtp]

We buy rice, pasta and baked beans in tomato sauce

[ronald rule]

I buy beer in bulk.

[Lynn]

We buy the following items in bulk: feminine pads/tampons ("bulk" for these items is usually just a twin pack at Sam's Club but its cheaper than buying them individually elsewhere), toilet paper, paper towels, bath soap, dish detergent, laundry detergent & softner, toothpaste, razor blades, shaving cream, deodorant and olive oil.

[Mark B.]

Beer in bulk? Not sure I have seen that, I have never seen more than a 24-pack, is that considered bulk? LOL.

[Rex Huston]

yeah beer and alcohol are by far the best deals at costco. Most quality beers like my personal fave fat tire are around $.75 a bottle. You cant beat that at the grocery store even when there are on sale.

[Old Limey]

Since electronic toothbrushes (I happen to like the Sonicare) do a far superior job of cleaning teeth I think it's crazy to buy cheap toothbrushes in bulk. Anyway, my dentist always offers a free toothbrush after each visit which I politely decline anyway.
I don't buy anything in bulk unless you consider Costco's minimum packaged quantity to be bulk.

[Robert M]

Instead of cereal, I recommend buying rolled oats in 25lb bags (Cash & Carry for around $11). Five minutes on the stove and you have a very inexpensive hot meal of oatmeal. We add frozen blueberries from Costco for flavor, sweetener and antioxidants. :)

Things we buy in bulk at Costco:
Minute Rice
Bisquick
Cat Litter
Cat Food
Bagged Broccoli
Fish oil & supplements

[Squirrelers]

Good comment by Robert M - try oatmeal.

I like to buy Oatmeal in volume. If you buy the quick cooking kind, you can cook it in 1.5 minutes, and be ready to go. I add blueberries (a great deal if you buy fresh from Costo, though frozen are cheaper) and ground flaxseed. It makes for a very inexpensive and healthy breakfast.

[Jani]

for any of these items, it is NOT logical, whether to buy or NOT to buy in bulk...

Retailers want you to buy everything in bulk, so you will consume more...Ask any smoker, s/he will smoke more when s/he have whole carton of cigarette

Thumb rule should be, as long as item in not perishable and available at bottom rock price, nothing wrong to buy in bulk (if your cards are not maxed out, else no point to save buying bulk and paying more interest on card amount)

[Anon]

The only place I've ever seen bulk soup is in an in-supermarket deli, and the pricing didn't appear to be a great deal if your soup budget consists of store-brand canned tomato and chicken noodle.

[FMF]

Anon --

We get it by the case at Costco.

[jon]

Be careful about buying oil in bulk if you do not use very much. Oil can go rancid and is known to turn into a cancer causing substance after an extended period of time.

[CordovaJim]

Detergent,eggs,and fruit from Costco.

[BD]

TOOTHBRUSHES? Um, NO.

Case in point:
8 Pack of Colgate Toothbrushes @ Costo: $9.99 = $1.25 a toothbrush
2 Pack of (the exact same) Colgate Toothbrushes @ The Dollar Store: $1.00 = 50 cents a toothbrush

Obviously the bulk pack of 8 is a super-crummy deal.
And technically, using the same toothbrush for 6 months is bad for your teeth. After a few months, the bristles break down and aren't as effective, which can lead to cavities. I'd rather buy a 50 cent toothbrush every 3 months, than try to score a free one twice a year, and up with a substantially higher dental bill.

Beer would seem cheaper if people didn't buy it at all. It's hardly something that you need in bulk, unless you're throwing a party (and even then, I wouldn't have it at my party). Same with Antiseptic wipes. It's a luxury I don't waste money on.

Can't say anything about Dog food or Diapers..never bought them.

Cereal and Tuna are things I might buy in bulk if I needed to.

I buy toilet paper and paper towels in bulk (the Generic kind).

[KH]

Re: bulk toothbrushes---you have to take a good look at them! I bought a 12 pack of toothbrushes one time at Sams. Later, I was telling my kids "no, they did not brush their teeth" even when they'd told me they already had (they still had visible food particles on their teeth!).

After watching them brush in front of me it wasn't any better. I took a look at the toothbrushes---they had far fewer bristles than the non-cheap type that looked the same and were the same brand, and the bristles they did have were at all different levels so no matter what the kids did they weren't really able to really brush much of their teeth surfaces. Maybe they work better on big adult mouths?

So I now put toothbrushes on my growing list of "things to never buy from a discount store despite their name brand, because they're still just shoddy imitations and not what you really want".

I tossed the whole pack of discount toothbrushes and now I only buy the high quality ones in the right size for the kids (and for me, the soft bristles that I prefer). Mostly from the grocery store. I seriously don't worry about going broke spending a few dollars more on toothbrushes.

[KH]

Diapers: When my kids (twins!) were in diapers, diapers were cheaper at Toys R Us sold ***by far** than at either WalMart or Sam's club or anywhere else. I think diapers are a way for ToysRUs to get you in the store.

Baby formula: cheapest at Walmart. Again, cheaper by far, and since everyone knew this their stock was rotated and always fresh (although they did limit the number of cans you could buy at one time). Some stores would have cheaper formula but I found in those cases to just check the expiration dates--it was usually expired. I caught half a dozen stores in my smallish town trying to sell expired formula--what rats.

[Budgeting in the Fun Stuff]

1. Cooking oil - Nope...we only go through one regular sized container every year or so unless I'm on a brownie binge...

2. Toothbrushes - I get mine from the dentist too. I did buy a 4 pack from the $1 store last year for the guest bathroom though...

3. Cereal - We buy Honey Nut Cheerios in bulk from Sam's...they are my crack...

4. Antiseptic wipes - Nope.

5. Vitamins - We should, but we hardly ever remember to actually take our vitamins so I only buy a bottle every once in a while....

6. Soup - Nope.

7. Dog food - I guess...is a two month supply considered "bulk"?

8. Beer - We don't drink beer either.

9. Tuna - Nope.

10. Diapers - Nope.

We also buy meat, tp, paper towels, trash bags, Claritin, Tylenol Cold & Sinus, shampoo, Q-tips, and hygiene products in bulk.

[Rich Avery]

Like Robert M., we buy rolled oats in 25 pound bags, along with hard and soft wheat berries.

We buy honey by the 5-gallon pail from a farmer, because we use it as a natural sweetener in recipes, and eat a lot of it on toast.

We buy maple syrup by the gallon from a farmer. And we usually by 5-6 dozen eggs from an Amish farmer once a month.

We buy a lot of stuff at Costco too, including paper products.

[Georgia]

From the $1 store I get toothbrushes (w/battery), trash bags w/handles, and often, dish detergent. I have around 30 bottles of dish detergent, which I dilute with water, half & half. Works great. I also make my own laundry detergent & it is very, very affordable. (I got my recipe from The Simple Dollar by Trent Hamm.

I buy my supplements from Andrew Lessman on HSN. They are great and can be gotten with sales, free shipping, etc. Just bought 6 months worth of some for 20% off. They are never near the expiration date when I get them.

I buy in bulk - feminine pads, toilet paper, and cereal when on sale.

I do not buy deoderant at all. I use apple cidar vinegar and it is absolutely the best. At 73, I am glad to give up that gunk they call deoderant. I am very inactive, so the vinegar I put on with a small recycled cloth is usually able to last 2 days. It leaves a slight appley smell.

I also buy white vinegar in bulk, somewhat. I have on hand at least 10-12 gallons of vinegar. I use it for so many things-bug spray, hair rinse, rinse for dishes, softener for clothes, bathroom cleaner, and so on.Our local grocery store has been selling their off brand for $1.98-1.99 a gallon. The last I saw at Walmart, their generic brand was $2.38. I mentioned that to a Walmart stocker and he was going to tell them, so they could adjust the price if they wanted to. (Another Roll-back.) Since it is cheaper at home & I don't have to drive 25 miles to a Walmart, I pick up a gallon most everytime I go to the store.

[Georgia]

I forgot to say that I tried diluting shampoo half & half and it doesn't work. My hair dresser says that shampoo, except for the very expensive kind, have water as their first ingredient and it makes your shampoo come out with the consistency of plain water. It works in cleaning, but it is a mess to try to apply to your hair in the shower.