If your budget allows, buying some ingredients in bulk can actually save you more money in the long run. Buying in bulk isn't hoarding. It's about saving money. Here's how to do it the smart way.
1 Note what ingredients you use a lot of.
Even before you step out of the house, you should already know what items and ingredients you use the most. For the typical Pinoy kitchen, that means soy sauce, vinegar, tomato sauce, and oil will be the main ingredients in many local recipes.
However, there may be other ingredients that you may want to buy in bulk even if you don't use it up fast. Ingredients that don't expire or have long expiry dates will always be best buys because these are also ingredients that are very basic. Water, flour, sugar, salt, and many canned goods will last in your kitchen with no worries about it expiring anytime soon. The key here is storage. When these ingredients are stored properly, where moisture can't affect the packaging, mold, rot, and insects are kept at bay, these will last for months and years.
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2 Stick to your shopping list but prepare your wallet.
Make a grocery list and stick to it, so you know exactly what you need to buy. The biggest mistake that people make when trying to grocery shop on a budget is getting distracted and deviating from your list of needs. While you can shop off the list to grab what you need that you forgot to put in the list, sticking to the list will keep you on track when it comes to your budget because shopping in bulk will definitely cost more than shopping for individual packs.
3 Bring a calculator aka your phone + power bank.
You might hate it but math will be your best friend when it comes to buying in bulk. This is because when it comes to comparing prices, you will need to know what the unit price or unit cost is per kilogram, gram, or milliliter.
Since not all packages weigh the same, this formula will tell you which is in fact the better buy. Here's how to do it:
- 1. Take note of the price and amount. For example, you are comparing two boxes of cheese. Cheese A costs P180 for a 226-gram box while Cheese B is P380 for a 500-gram box.
- 2. Use your calculator and divide the cost by the amount. In the example, you will divide 190 by 226 (0.84) and divide 380 by 500 (0.76).
- 3. The results will tell you that Cheese B is the better buy since per gram, it will only cost you 76 centavos compared to the 84 centavos you would pay for the 226-gram bar.
This is a supermarket math formula that you need to memorize, and this is how you can tell that you're in fact buying the better deal among all the other deals that is trying to fool you into thinking it's the better deal. The difference may be centavos but until you actually do the math, you won't know that you're actually saving pesos when you do.
4 Stick to your favorites.
No matter how much it will cost, it's okay to indulge and grab your favorite ingredients that is from your favorite brands. Grab a big bag of your favorites because no matter what, you will be using up these ingredients. This will always be a great deal since it won't ever go to waste.
How do you shop?
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