Buying in bulk - is it worth it?

Buying in bulk will save you big bucks in the long run.

Right?

Costco, or warehouse stores like it have been telling consumers that by shopping at their stores and buying larger quantities of food in one go will help your bottom line, budget-wise. As a seasoned budgeter who spends her time clipping coupons and price-matching flyers, I can honestly say it depends on how you go about it. I recently made a trip to Costco with my husband and decided to break down the costs of each item and compare the savings.

On this trip, we spent $102 (before taxes). Below I have marked out the Costco price, the average local grocery store price and the difference between the two.

1. Granny Smith Apples – Costco - $8.99 for 6lbs

        Local Grocery Store – avg $6.50 for 4 lbs
   
        Savings = $0.12 per pound
   

2. Name Brand Cereal – Costco - $8.99 for 1.4 kg

                  Local grocery Store – avg. $6.50 for 700g
   
        Savings = $4.01 on equal amounts (1.4 kg) of cereal
   

3. Dempster’s 100% Whole Wheat Bread – Costco - $5.99 for 3 loaves

        Local Grocery Stores – avg. $2.50 pr loaf (or more)
   
        Savings - $0.50 per loaf, $1.50 total
   

4. Pre-bagged Salad – Costco - $3.59 for 1 supermarket-sized bag

        Local Grocery Store – avg. $3.99 per bag
   
        Savings - $0.40 per bag
   

5. Organic Strawberries – Costco - $5.99 for 2 lbs

        Local Grocery Store – avg. $5.00 per lb
   
        Savings - $4.01 on equal amounts (2 lbs) of strawberries
   

6. Vegan Protein Powder – Costco - $29.99 for 1 tub (34 servings)

        Local Grocery Store – avg. $45.00 per 1 tub (34 servings)
   
        Savings - $15.01 for 1 tub
   

7. Nature Valley Granola Bars – Costco - $11.99 for 36 bars

        Local Grocery Store – avg. $2.50 for 6 bars
   
        Savings - $3.01 for equal number (36) of bars
   

8. Optico Professional Glasses Wipes – Costco - $11.79 for 144 wipes

        On Amazon – avg. $28.97 for 144 wipes
   
        Savings - $17.18 for 144 wipes
   

9. Costco Store Brand (Kirkland) shampoo – Costco - $14.99 for 2 1.5L bottles (salon grade)

        Salon Grade Shampoo – avg.. 23.00 per 1.5L
   
        Savings - $31.01 on equal amounts (3L total) Shampoo
   

Total Saved on this trip - $76.31

The savings look great, right?

Well, they definitely are if you're going to use all of the product (this will be covered in a later post). We have spent a lot of time going through both Costco and the grocery stores comparing prices, keeping track of sales, and carefully deciding what we should buy where. The fact is, there are a lot of things we won't buy at Costco. Meat, for instance - We have generally found that we can find meat on sale for better prices at the grocery stores. We don't eat a ton of meat and the bulk amounts don't make sense for us.

Make sure to do your research and don't just take the warehouse stores at their word. There are a lot of phenomenal deals to be found in bulk - if you do it right.

Do you have any favourite warehouse finds you would like to share? Leave them in the comments below!

~A