How often do you go to the grocery store? How much are you spending per trip? If you’re not planning your grocery bills, you could be wasting hundreds of pounds a month. Do you know off the top of your head how much food your family eats? If not, keeping track of it and starting to buy in bulk might be a great way for you to save on both money and time. With a bit of planning at the start of every week, you could be taking advantage of supermarket promotions.
How?
When you buy in bulk you usually get a bulk discount. This is the most obvious benefit of buying large amounts of food. The downside, of course, is that you’re stuck with more food than you can eat all at once. Before you start buying in bulk, make room. Do you have any empty cupboards or extra room in the pent shed? Anywhere is fine as long as it’s out of sight. Make a list of things your family eats on a fairly regular basis, these are the things you should be looking out for when you buy in bulk. Then, start scouring the internet for coupons and good promotions for multiple items. Remember that you may need to ask for some extra muscle to help you load up the car.
What?
Choose foods that will last indefinitely or almost indefinitely. Canned and dry foods are the best choices. Canned food has been known to last over a decade if kept properly, but are difficult to store and can get rather expensive. Dry foods such as beans, rice, and pasta can last a long time if properly stored and are amongst the cheapest, most nutritious foods. A store of canned and dry foods can be a lifesaver in an emergency as well.
What about perishables?
Fruits and vegetables are the most delicious fresh, so avoid them in bulk unless they are frozen. As an exception, root vegetables like potatoes tend to keep longer and can be stored in a pent shed or other dark places. Buying meat in bulk, though, is a great idea. As long as you have Ziploc bags and a permanent marker, meat is effortlessly stored in your freezer. Divide up a large package of meat from the supermarket into serving size bags and date them. Use them in order, before they spoil, and you’ll have saved however much buying the big pack saves you.
Overall, buying in bulk saves you both time and money. Planning a meal schedule might seem too time-consuming, but spending the extra time driving to and from the grocery store most likely takes up even more time. It’s nice to be able to walk to the pent shed and find enough food to cook an entire meal for your family on a snowy day. Not having to shop for groceries all the time also frees you up to try different recipes and improve your cooking so you don’t have to order in again.
Jamie Finch finds that buying in bulk can help him save a lot of money while also being very convenient. He uses his pent sheds from I like sheds to keep his freezer in which he stores a lot of his food.