Buying in bulk can be a smart way to lower your grocery bill, but bigger isn’t always better.
A large package usually looks like a bargain. The price per ounce is lower, the sale tag makes the savings look impressive, and buying one big package feels easier than buying several smaller ones.
But food only saves you money if you actually use it.
Some foods are simply poor candidates for bulk buying because they spoil quickly, lose quality, take up too much space or aren’t things you’re likely to finish.
If you’re trying to spend less on groceries, knowing what not to buy in bulk can be just as useful as knowing what to stock up on.
Fresh Berries
Berries can be expensive enough that a large package looks tempting when the price is good.
The problem is how quickly they can go bad.
If your household eats berries every day, buying a larger package may work.
If you don’t, you’re taking a pretty big risk.
It’s often better to buy an amount you know you’ll eat rather than throwing away half of a bargain.
Salad Greens
Large containers of salad greens are another common source of food waste.
They can take up plenty of refrigerator space, and once they start wilting, you may suddenly have a large amount of something nobody wants to eat.
If your household eats salad regularly, bulk may work.
Otherwise, smaller packages can be the better value.
Fresh Herbs
Fresh herbs are useful, but they’re usually not something most households need in large quantities.
Buying a huge bunch because it’s cheaper per ounce doesn’t help if you only need a few sprigs for one recipe.
Unless you regularly cook with a particular herb, buy what you need or look for longer-lasting alternatives.
Avocados
Avocados can be difficult to time even when you buy a few.
A large bag can leave you with several ripe at once.
If you’re lucky, you eat them all in time.
If not, you’re throwing away perfectly good food because you couldn’t use it quickly enough.
Buy larger quantities only if you know how quickly your household goes through them.
Bananas
Bananas are inexpensive, but that doesn’t mean buying a huge bunch is always smart.
They ripen quickly.
If your family eats them every morning, a large bunch may be fine.
If everyone forgets about them after a few days, you’re better off buying smaller quantities more frequently.
Fresh Bread
Large packages of fresh bread aren’t necessarily a bargain if your household can’t finish them.
Bread freezes well, so this is one food where bulk buying can work if you’re willing to freeze part of it.
If you aren’t going to freeze it or don’t have freezer space, buy what you can use.
Milk and Other Highly Perishable Dairy
Buying a larger container of milk can save money when your household uses it quickly.
But if you don’t go through it before it spoils, the savings disappear.
The same basic rule applies to other highly perishable dairy products.
Check how much your household normally uses before buying the largest size.
Soft Cheeses
Large containers of soft cheese can be risky if you only use small amounts.
Cream cheese, certain fresh cheeses and similar products don’t necessarily have the same staying power as hard cheeses.
If a recipe only calls for a little, don’t assume buying a giant package is automatically cheaper.
Yogurt
Multipacks can be useful for families who eat yogurt regularly.
But they’re a poor deal when half the flavors sit untouched.
This is especially true when buying variety packs simply because they’re cheaper per serving.
Buy the flavors people actually eat.
Fresh Meat Without a Freezer Plan
Large packages of meat can absolutely save money.
But only if you have a plan for them.
If you’re buying a family-size package and putting the entire thing in the refrigerator, you may end up racing the expiration date.
If you want to buy meat in bulk, divide it into meal-sized portions and freeze what you won’t use soon.
Without that plan, smaller packages may be safer.
Prepared Fresh Foods
Large containers of prepared salads, fresh dips, cut fruit and similar foods can be convenient.
They’re also often among the easiest foods to waste.
You may buy them with good intentions and then discover you’re eating leftovers before you get around to them.
If you don’t regularly finish these foods, don’t let the lower price per ounce convince you to buy more.
Specialty Produce
Certain fruits and vegetables may seem like great bulk purchases when they’re in season.
But if they’re not part of your normal routine, don’t buy a huge quantity just because the price is low.
A cheap vegetable you throw away is still wasted money.
Foods Your Household Has Never Tried
This is one of the biggest bulk-buying mistakes.
You see a new product.
It’s inexpensive.
The package is huge.
You figure you’ll probably like it.
Then you try it once and decide you don’t.
Now you have 12 more servings sitting in the pantry.
Try new foods in smaller quantities first.
If everyone likes them, you can buy more later.
Foods Only One Person Eats
If one person in your household loves something and everyone else ignores it, think twice before buying the largest package.
A family-size container doesn’t become a good deal simply because one person will eventually finish it.
Know who is actually going to eat the food.
Foods You Get Tired of Easily
Some foods are inexpensive and shelf-stable but still aren’t good bulk purchases.
Snacks are a good example.
You may love a particular cracker or cereal for a week.
Then you get tired of it.
If you bought six boxes, you’re now stuck with a lot of food you don’t really want.
Buy large quantities of foods that are reliably eaten—not foods you happen to be excited about this week.
Large Packages of Snacks
This deserves its own warning.
Snacks are easy to overbuy because bulk packaging can make the price per serving look excellent.
But snacks also tend to be impulse purchases.
If you wouldn’t normally buy three bags of chips, don’t buy three just because the third one is discounted.
The discount isn’t saving money if it makes you spend more than you planned.
Cereal You Don’t Eat Every Day
Cereal is another food where bulk can go either way.
If your household eats the same cereal constantly, stock up during good sales.
If cereal is something you eat occasionally, don’t buy a giant box simply because it’s cheaper per ounce.
It can go stale before you finish it.
Large Packages of Crackers
Crackers can lose their texture once opened.
If you don’t eat them quickly, a large package may not be much of a bargain.
This is particularly true if you’re buying several varieties at once.
One open package is easier to finish than four.
Specialty Sauces
A giant bottle of a sauce you use once in a while isn’t necessarily a good deal.
This includes things like specialty marinades, unusual dressings and sauces you only buy for one recipe.
Buy the smaller container until you know you’ll use it regularly.
Spices You Rarely Use
Bulk spices can have an attractive unit price.
But spices aren’t something you necessarily want to store indefinitely.
If you use a particular spice once every six months, the giant container isn’t helping your grocery budget.
Buy larger containers of the seasonings you use constantly.
Stick to smaller ones for everything else.
Baking Ingredients You Rarely Use
Baking ingredients can be tricky because many people buy them with plans to bake more than they actually do.
A huge bag of flour isn’t necessarily a problem if you bake every week.
But large quantities of specialty ingredients can become expensive pantry clutter.
Buy smaller amounts until you know they’ll become regular ingredients.
Nuts
Nuts can be expensive, which makes bulk prices tempting.
But they can also lose quality over time.
If you do buy them in larger quantities, make sure you’re you don’t eat them regularly, buying a giant container may not be worth it.
If you do buy them in larger quantities, make sure you’re storing them appropriately and using them within a reasonable period.
Coffee
Coffee is another product where your household’s consumption matters.
If you drink it every day, buying larger packages can make sense.
If you drink it occasionally, a giant container may sit around longer than you’d like.
Freshness matters too, so don’t buy more than you can reasonably use.
Foods With Short Best-By Windows
Pay attention to how quickly you’ll realistically use something.
Even if a food isn’t highly perishable, a short best-by window can make bulk buying less attractive.
This is particularly important when you’re buying several packages at once.
You don’t need to panic over dates, but you should know what you’re bringing home and how quickly you expect to use it.
Anything You Don’t Have Room to Store
Storage is part of the cost.
If buying a huge package means stuffing food into random cabinets, leaving it on the floor or cramming it into an already-full freezer, the bulk purchase may not be worth it.
A good deal shouldn’t create a storage problem you have to solve later.
Anything You Already Have Too Much Of
This sounds obvious, but it’s easy to miss when you’re looking at a sale.
Before buying another large package, check your pantry and freezer.
You may already have three boxes.
Buying three more doesn’t save you money.
It just moves the next purchase farther into the future while tying up money today.
Foods You Only Buy for One Recipe
If an ingredient only appears in one recipe you make occasionally, be careful with bulk sizes.
A large container of an ingredient you use twice a year isn’t necessarily a bargain.
Look for smaller packages or consider whether another ingredient you already own can work as a substitute.
Don’t Let Unit Price Make the Whole Decision
Unit price is important.
It tells you how much you’re paying for the actual amount of food.
But it isn’t the only thing that matters.
You also need to consider:
- How quickly you’ll use it
- How long it will last
- Whether you have storage space
- Whether your household actually likes it
- Whether you can freeze it
- Whether you would buy that quantity without the discount
A lower unit price doesn’t automatically make something a better purchase.
Bulk Buying Is Best for Predictable Foods
The safest bulk purchases tend to have a few things in common.
They’re foods you already buy.
You use them regularly.
They store well.
You have room for them.
And you know you’ll finish them.
That’s why things like rice, pasta, dried beans and certain canned goods are often easier to buy in bulk than fresh berries, specialty sauces or giant packages of snacks.
The Best Question to Ask Before Buying
Don’t ask:
“How much am I saving per ounce?”
Ask:
“How much of this am I actually going to use?”
That’s the number that matters.
If you’ll use the whole package, a lower unit price can be a real savings.
If you’ll use half and throw the rest away, the cheapest package wasn’t actually the cheapest purchase.
Bulk buying can absolutely lower your grocery bill.
You just have to be selective about what earns the extra space in your pantry, refrigerator and freezer.
Buy more of what you reliably use. Buy less of what you don’t.
That simple rule will prevent a lot of “great deals” from turning into food waste.