Does buying in bulk really save you money?
In my last blog post Bulk Buying 101 pt. 1, we discussed ways you could free up your grocery budget, make extra money as well as what foods to consider buying in bulk.
\In this blog post, we will discuss the benefits of buying food in bulk, cost savings and where to buy food in bulk from.
Benefits of Bulk Buying:
If done correctly, you will save money buying in bulk. This may require a bit of leg work form you, but it is worth it.
My first piece of advice is you may need to shop around. Not all places that sell foods in bulk will have the best deals. It is worth your time to have several accounts with different stores to buy food from.
Keep a running list throughout the month of things you’d like to purchase, then check all the locations and compare prices & quality to get maximum savings.
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Buying food in large quantities gives you options. Having a small cache of food on the homestead prevents you from having to go to the grocery store frequently. Which saves you money on gas and prevents you from buying impulse items.
Also, on nights when you feel like there isn’t any food in your house, there really is. You just need to get creative with meals! You’ll save money by not running out to buy take out or fast food.
Cost Comparison
Let’s talk about real numbers, as I write this post in December of 2022 these are the typical prices of food from the grocery store v.s food bought in bulk.
Sugar
Walmart:
Organic, Raw Sugar Cane $10.28 for a 6 lb pouch
Price per pound $1.71
Organic, Sugar Cane $61.08 for a 50 lb bag
Price per pound: $1.22
Shipping $5.66
Total Savings: $24.42
Total Savings with Shipping Factored in: $18.76
On average my family uses one 50 lb bag of sugar a year for meals, this does not include canning season. I use a lot more sugar when making jams and jellies. So,in total over the course of one year I am spending about $0.17 per day for sugar to feed my family.
When you start to think of your food bills this way it’s easier to find places to cut costs and save money. Here is another cost breakdown:
Flour
Walmart:
King Arthur Flour Organic Unbleached All-Purpose Flour $7.33 for 5 lbs
Price per pound: $1.47
All Purpose Flour Unbleached, Organic $31.65 for 25 lbs
Price per pound: $1.27
Shipping: $2.69
Total Savings: $5.10
Total Savings with Shipping Factored in: $2.41
On average our family will use about 50 lbs of flour in 1-2 months but it really depends on how much I decide to bake from scratch. Regardless, we are eating about 300 lbs of flour in a year. Which could cost us around $379.80 per year or about $1.04 per day.
Let’s do one more cost analysis:
Maple Syrup
Walmart:
Organic, Pure Maple Syrup $6.82 for 8.5 fluid ounces
Price per Ounce: $0.80
Maple Syrup, Grade A Dark Robust, Organic $70.46 for 1 gallon
Price per Ounce: $0.55
Shipping Cost: $5.99
Total Savings: 31.94
Total Savings with Shipping Factored in: $25.95
On average our family uses about a gallon of Maple Syrup a month. I use it as a primary sweetener for most recipes. My husband and I also use it every morning in our coffee (which is delicious by the way). Some months if I don’t make too many pancakes and waffles for breakfast I can stretch out one gallon of maple syrup for two months instead of just one month.
Where to Shop:
Now that I have hopefully convinced you it is worth shopping in bulk let’s discuss some places you can order from.
Nationwide Locations
If you are just dipping your toes into changing your shopping habits the easiest places to begin to shop in bulk are SAM’s Club and COSTCO. You will have to pay a yearly membership fee to purchase from them (or pay additional fees at check out for not having a membership). Or, see if you have a friend or family that will take you shopping once every few months.
When we first started buying in bulk, SAM’s club was my first store I shopped at. I would buy conventional bags of sugar and flour. This was a great start for me to learn how to manage large quantities of food well without a huge commitment to buying Co-Op or super pricey ingredients.
If you have an Azure Standard drop off location in your area they are a fantastic resource with great prices for bulk buying.
Local Options
Another option is to find local Amish Stores in your area. They typically sell large bags of flour and sugar as well as gallons of maple syrup.
When I compared our local Amish Shop, I actually saved $20 on a gallon of maple syrup compared to Azure Standard. This is why shopping around is really important to your bottom line.
One last option is to find local food disruptors near you and see if you can set up a business account with them. One local supplier to the East Coast is Frankferd Farms .
To help save you money on shipping you could organize your own buying co-op and share the savings with friends and family. In conclusion, anywhere you can cut out the middleman, aka grocery stores, you will save some money when purchasing food.
In the next post I share some additional tips and tricks on storage solutions before you hit “ship” on your first order.