Question Of The Day, Sunday, December 24, 2017

[micknsnicks2mom]

good morning!

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas Eve!!



lately i've been wondering about the way people (in general) buy things. so for today's Question of the Day......



Do you buy more than one of items when they're on sale, buy larger packages when the price per is lower that way, buy in bulk sometimes? (can be food items, or any other items)



i'll start!

i definitely do, when it's something that i use on a regular basis/that i use a lot of! for me, that also means that i must be able to store it properly, until i've used it all.

something i've bought in bulk recently is cat litter. we go through quite a bit of that every month! and even just moving it indoors (after the Fedex dude drops it off at my back door) during the hot weather months as well as during the 'frozen tundra' months here, that's quite a chore. so i decided to plan it out so i buy cat litter in larger quantity twice yearly -- during the spring and fall, when it's more comfortable weather to move it and there's no winter snow/ice/slush to deal with. i store it in my enclosed porch, and just bring in a new box as needed.

i also buy quite a few food items in bulk. bread flour, baking chips, sugar, farina (like cream of wheat), #10 cans of fruit/veggies, and spices (i store these in canning jars, with oxygen absorbers to seal the jars) are some of the foods i buy in bulk.


how about you?

 

[di and bob]

Of course I buy more when it is on sale! I am pretty thrifty, cheap I think they used to call it. Bird seed especially, the one my birds don't kick out onto the ground, and that attracts a huge amount of cardinals, finches, and woodpeckers, is the only one I buy in huge amounts when it is on sale. (and listen to my husband grumble.) It is at Menards and regularly is 24.99 for 40 lbs. They have it on sale once in awhile for 19.99 then give a 5 dollar rebate on top of that, so 14.99/bag. I buy 5 or 6 bags then, and keep it in metal garbage cans. Same with cat food and litter I buy it by the case and without my husband!
About the only thing I have learned over the years not to buy in bulk is frozen products or meat.I get tired of throwing freezer burnt stuff out. I buy all my meat fresh at our local grocer in town. I do buy hamburger in bulk because we travel 50 miles to get the best at a little grocer in an even littler town, we go through a lot of that so it is OK to freeze.

 

[verna davies]

The only things I seem to buy on offer are cat litter and cat food. With three cats I go through a lot of both.

 

[jcat]

Merry Christmas! I do a lot of shopping online and buy several things in bulk to avoid shipping costs and/or get a lower price. The biggie is cat food - a 12-week supply for one cat.

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

Of course I buy more when it is on sale! I am pretty thrifty, cheap I think they used to call it. Bird seed especially, the one my birds don't kick out onto the ground, and that attracts a huge amount of cardinals, finches, and woodpeckers, is the only one I buy in huge amounts when it is on sale. (and listen to my husband grumble.) It is at Menards and regularly is 24.99 for 40 lbs. They have it on sale once in awhile for 19.99 then give a 5 dollar rebate on top of that, so 14.99/bag. I buy 5 or 6 bags then, and keep it in metal garbage cans. Same with cat food and litter I buy it by the case and without my husband!
About the only thing I have learned over the years not to buy in bulk is frozen products or meat.I get tired of throwing freezer burnt stuff out. I buy all my meat fresh at our local grocer in town. I do buy hamburger in bulk because we travel 50 miles to get the best at a little grocer in an even littler town, we go through a lot of that so it is OK to freeze.

yes, you're thrifty, frugal!!!

that's a most excellent sale price with rebate for the bird seed!! that's a savings of about...$70, if you buy six 40lb bags!

hmmm...i buy meat in bulk. i vacuum seal it and then freeze it, though. have you tried vacuum sealing the meat? i make a yearly meat and poultry purchase. i haven't had freezer burn before.

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

The only things I seem to buy on offer are cat litter and cat food. With three cats I go through a lot of both.

ahhh, you buy cat litter and cat food 'on offer'!!! most definitely great to buy more of!!

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

Merry Christmas! I do a lot of shopping online and buy several things in bulk to avoid shipping costs and/or get a lower price. The biggie is cat food - a 12-week supply for one cat.

thank you!

you buy several things in bulk online, to avoid shipping costs and/or get a lower price!!! very nice!!

that sounds like being a smart shopper!! and isn't it nice not to have to think about buying/ordering quite as often too?

 

[maggiedemi]

I actually prefer smaller sizes. I love sample size of anything, because I like to try new things. I just bought some loose tea samples. The only thing I really buy in bulk is cat litter, I always get at least two 40 pound boxes. And I always look for deals on everything, whether it be sale, coupon, or free shipping.

 

[neely]

I can't believe I'm admitting this but I buy toilet paper in bulk, always have a steady supply of it. I remember my mom keeping ahead because the winters can get rather harsh and she didn't want to run out.

 

[maggiedemi]

Oh yeah, I forgot about toilet paper. You almost have to buy that in bulk.

 

[dustydiamond1]

Happy Christmas Eve everyone
I don't order much online, I keep an eye on the local sales and compare prices.

 

[Margret]

Yes, whenever I find sales I buy as much as I can afford to. I don't buy very much online though, except ebooks. I do all my online purchases with a debit card, and when it runs low it costs $3 to put more money on it. Which is something I really should be doing today, come to think of it.

Margret

 

[Max's Human]

No but one year I bought an ANDREA BOCELLI Christmas CD for me and loved it so much, I Ended up buying a total of 7 of them! I do not consider myself a fan of OPERA but that music gives me REAL JOY! The folks I gave the CDs to all say the same, pure joy! I think it helps because its a change from my mom's PAT BOONE'S music that she played uearly when we were kids!

 

[muffy]

I can't believe I'm admitting this but I buy toilet paper in bulk, always have a steady supply of it. I remember my mom keeping ahead because the winters can get rather harsh and she didn't want to run out.

I live in the DC area and whenever they call for a big snow storm here we all run to the store to load up TP, bread and milk. With me I load up on cat food, TP and diet coke.

Yes, I but a lot of something that is on sale that I like. I shop at BJ Wholesale and buy a lot of stuff in bulk. Not because it is cheap but because it is convenient.I really need to start checking the prices online.

 

[raysmyheart]

I don't really buy anything in much of a quantity. I am fortunate to have a market on the way home from work and buy just what I need. If anything, I will buy more than one Starbucks bagged coffee when the price is lowered. The news of a snowstorm, however, will make me nervous, so I may stock up a little. I always stay somewhat ahead on cat food for my little one.

 

[Mother Dragon]

I always buy the fattest rolls and biggest packages of toilet paper and paper towels. And I usually buy two at a time. We have perpetually runny noses, so we'll buy Puffs in big quantities, 18-24 boxes at once. We get Coke and Dr. Pepper when it's on sale for $3/12 pack. We'll buy 12-18 cartons. And in November and December, when it's on sale, I buy about 40-50 pounds of butter and freeze it for the rest of the year. It keeps very well. I only use butter, never margarine.

We buy meat in large packages at Costco. We have a FoodSaver, so we split them up into meal-size portions and freeze them. It saves a lot of money. I also stock up on chicken breasts when they're on sale; bone-in for $1/lb. and B/S for about $2.47. The FoodSaver is worth every penny and then some.

 

[denice]

I buy some things in bulk. I always buy things like toilet paper and paper towels in bulk. Since I started buying food and litter from Chewy I buy in larger quantities so I can get free shipping. The only freezer I have is the one on top of the refrigerator so I can't buy much in the way of meat in bulk. When there is a good sale I do buy the family pack even though it is usually just me and divide it up into individual portions and freeze. During the winter the supermarket I go to has the buy one get one free with chuck roast often. I will usually buy either 2 or 4 and freeze. I am limited in how much I can do that though.

 

[Winchester]

We buy bulk when there's a good sale on something. With five cats (and a Beast) in the house, we go through 28 cans of cat food every week. And then there's the renal canned food for Ms. Pepe and the special dry food for The Beast and it all goes quickly.

Several months ago, our local grocery store had a sale on King Arthur flour, 5 pounds for $2. I bought 12 bags, stuck them in the really large ziploc bags and put them in the freezer; I just opened my last bag. I do that for all my baking products. Toilet paper, paper towels are all bought when they're on sale and I have good coupons for them.

We have two freezers: an upright (that belonged to my parents) and a chest freezer. When meat and poultry are on sale, we buy enough to see us through for a while. We use the food saver and then freeze the items. And then when they're starting to overflow, I start taking months where I only use what's in the freezer and buy no meat or poultry at all (unless a sale is so good that I can't afford not to).

We've been known to head down to the store when there's a sale on our favorite jeans and we'll each buy several pairs of jeans. I've bought the same sweater in different colors if it's on sale and I really like the style. We also go to shopping outlets from time to time, although most of the outlets are not really good for saving much anymore. You used to be able to really save at outlets, but not much anymore.

I am a coupon cutter. Yes, it can take some work sometimes, but it's worth it in the end.

 

[Willowy]

I can't believe I'm admitting this but I buy toilet paper in bulk, always have a steady supply of it. I remember my mom keeping ahead because the winters can get rather harsh and she didn't want to run out.

My mom, when she was a teenager, had an incident in which she was babysitting 3 little kids while their parents went to the city to do their big shopping. They had no paper products in the house at all---no toilet paper, no paper towels, no wet wipes, no disposable diapers, nothing. That's why they were going shopping . And then there was a surprise blizzard and they got stuck in the city overnight, so my mom had to stay with the kids until the roads were cleared and the parents could get back. 3 toddlers, with no paper products in the house, all day and all night . So she developed a bit of anxiety on the subject, and we never ever once ran out of toilet paper when I was a kid, lol. And I think I inherited her anxiety about it, because I also stock up on toilet paper. I think I have 6 Costco 36-packs of toilet paper in the storage area :/. I'm trying to cut back. The mice will sometimes get into the package (I don't let the cats into the storage area for safety reasons, so unfortunately the mice get too brave) so I'm trying to keep it down to 2 spare packs that I can fit in a tote to keep the mice out. But then it goes on sale again and I'm like Hmmm. . .

I do buy in bulk, probably too much. I generally buy packaged items so they don't go bad, but I still have too much! My friend says she thinks I could live for 3 years off the spare food I have all over, haha. I don't think it's that much; probably closer to 6 months. But still too much. I love Costco.

I do have a lot of cat stuff too. I currently have 22 40-pound boxes of Arm & Hammer litter, 8 bags of Purina Beyond kibble, and about 20 cases of canned Friskies in the storage area, but since I use so much of it, it doesn't sit around like the rest of the stuff I buy. I use about 1 bag of kibble, 3 boxes of litter, and 3 cases of canned food every week so that's only about 2 month's worth .

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

I actually prefer smaller sizes. I love sample size of anything, because I like to try new things. I just bought some loose tea samples. The only thing I really buy in bulk is cat litter, I always get at least two 40 pound boxes. And I always look for deals on everything, whether it be sale, coupon, or free shipping.

you love sample size things, because you like to try new things!! that sounds great!

you keep your eye out for deals, and always buy at least two 40lb boxes of cat litter!!! very nice!!