What Do You Bulk Buy to Save Money?

What are some common household items do you buy in bulk to save money?

I'll share my list:

  • toothpaste (2-year shelf-life)
  • toilet paper (even pre-covid lol)
  • rice (I have ~7x10kg bags of rice in the pantry)
  • sauce (soy sauce, fish sauce, tomato sauce - then refill the smaller sauce bottles)

What do you bulk buy at your household?

Comments

  • Apples… x4 young kids!

    • +11

      You are doing well stocking up on kids… and apples.

      • +2

        careful, kids have a "best before" date

  • +4

    McD and KFC deals, freeze them.

  • +1

    Oat milk

  • 12 month $300 boost pre paid cards.

    • Do you port out and in or have you had success getting them to sort it via chat?

  • +2

    Cereal - e.g 1.7kg boxes of Sultana Bran

    Finish Dishwashing tablets - generally buy a year's worth

    Quilton 3 ply - 3-4 months worth from Amazon

    Omo Laundry Powder

    • I stocked up on lots of cereal and then stopped eating it. Now it's well past the best before date, wondering how that would affect it?

    • 1.7kg boxes of Sultana Bran

      Costco eh? :)

  • Tissues and paper towels. Wet wipes.

  • +1

    rice (I have ~7x10kg bags of rice in the pantry)

    Pantry moth risk


    White or brown?

    White low in nutrients/high GI.

    Brown has some arsenic risk from way it's grown - note to par boil, etc. to reduce amount.

  • Almost anything at the right price though my go to bulk items are beef 🥩, toilet tissue, shampoo, soap and laundry detergent.

  • +1

    Meat - steak especially when cheap and freeze it. Good for 3months.

    • Do you vacuum seal it?

  • +1

    rice (I have ~7x10kg bags of rice in the pantry)

    Uncle roger, is that you?

    • +2

      Haiyaa

    • Don't make me put my foot down from chair!

  • +2

    Meat. I get all mine from meatonline.com.au.

    minimum order is ~45-60Kgs, no problem for a chest freezer.

    • +2

      @ChickenTalon - Never heard of meatonline.com.au, how do you find their prices and quality? - Thx

      • +1

        It’s a very mixed bag. Prices are excellent but they do fluctuate quite a bit.

        Their pre-cut steaks are shit in my experience and I never buy them anymore. Couldn’t have cut them that badly if I’d tried but the actual meat was excellent. So you need to do your own cutting from the primals.

        The specials are usually for a reason. Shit quality portioning (see above) or very short dates. I bought some absolute bargain Wagyu eye fillet MBS8-9 and it was excellent quality, it had been processed back in 2019! But it had been stored frozen and was excellent.

        • The 4 star Scotch Fillet @ $24/kg looks tempting but I don't need 60kgs in order to get free delivery! lol

          • @JimB: If you have other things to order it's not so bad. e.g. the bacon is a 5kg carton. But yes, the minimum amounts are quite large. I'm a carnivore so I get through it quickly.

            Or you could try splitting cases with friends and family. I do this sometimes.

            • @ChickenTalon: Wait so you are spending like $24 x 60 each time?

              So $1200-1500 on steaks!? How long does that last?

              • @Telios: Well, I eat about 600-900g p/day of beef, plus what the family eats. I'd say we do an order every 2-3 months. But sometimes I might order a few things for family and friends and we'll split cartons between us.

        • Thank you, sounds like you know your meats.

          I'm guessing you stock up when prices are low?

          I personally like pork belly, COSTCO used to sell it for 12kg with the rind now gone up to 15kg.

          Out of curiosity, they say meat will last 6 months frozen, some even up to 12 months. Did you buy the Wagyu striploin this year or last year?

          Thank you in advance

          • @Yiannakis50: I don't really know my meats, just what I like to eat. I eat very simply by dry brining and then cooking on the BBQ or Sous vide -> pan sear. I don't do sauces, marinades etc. I am getting slightly better at cutting my own steaks, but they're still nothing like the evenness of a good butcher.

            Meat is fine frozen for a very long time if there is no/little temperature changes and it's vac sealed. You wouldn't want to be moving it from fridge to freezer constantly.

            I bought the wagyu striploin in dec 2020, with a slaughter date in dec 2019. Must have been kept very cold in an industrial freezer as it was perfect.

    • +1

      Also curious.

      Minimum order or minimum order for free delivery?

      3 cartons for free delivery in my area.

      Can't view products/prices without signing up.

      • +1

        You can log in as a guest after selecting your state.

  • +7

    Anything HALF PRICE

    Buy enough to see me through to the next HALF PRICE sale

    • is the next sale predictable?

      • If you're talking about junk food, I'd say "half price specials" are on pretty regularly.

      • Mostly. Spice tailor curry pastes are about 8 weeks apart. Weetbix every 3 months. I'm sure if I cared enough I could do a spreadsheet but I always buy excess and then next time buy less to balance out.

    • But the next "half price" becomes a higher price, just with a sticker label: "1/2 price".

  • +1

    Cheap clearance items from Super Cheap Auto and sell them on eBay for profittttsssssssss

    • +2

      Hahahahaha you sound familiar

      • +1

        I think he devised an algorithm to find "bargains" aka price errors

  • +1

    Nivea Deodorant.

  • After best before.

  • hotpot meat (and other meat) in bulk from foodbomb

  • Laundry detergent.

  • pretty much anything that is 1/2 price or better that has a long shelf life or can be frozen, regulars are:
    Smith's Chips
    Arnott's Shapes
    Chocolate bar minis
    Finish Dishwasher Tablets
    Frozen Foods, chips, ice creams, pizza, chicken nuggets
    Meat that as been discounted

    Then other stuff that I tend to add to an online shop if I need to make up the difference for minimums
    Bottled Water
    UHT Milk
    Wine
    Canned Tomato
    Ibuprofen
    Panadol

    • …dont forget your 70kg rice stash!

  • 48 Bamboo Toothbrushes from Aliexpress cost me like $20 or something. 3 pack of Colgate toothbrushes from the supermarket probably costs around $7

    • +4

      The supermarket ones might not be assembled by slaves in a deathcamp from carcinogenic materials. Maybe.

    • I tried a bamboo toothbrush from Coles so maybe not like yours. Good for making your gums bleed

  • +1

    How has no one said Enloops yet? I'm disappointed in all of you.

    But yeah usually the following:
    TP
    Paper towels
    Toothpaste
    Mouthwash
    Water (bottles or cartons)
    Cheese
    Some meds and other health related stuff where its a good deal.
    Sometimes meat or food that can be vacuum packed and used later on after a soft freeze or to be cooked up and packed for simple quick throw together meals when you couldn't be that bothered.
    Occasionally some clothes (jeans or t-shirts) where bulk savings apply, usually when buying overseas not in Aus.
    Motor oil and filters when on sale (I service a couple of my own cars).

    • +1

      Enloops? are they like fruit loops? But yeah I give it to you. Why no mention of EnEloops?!

      • +1

        The shame of missing that second E. But yeah, BUY BUY BUY (only when on sale)

  • Toilet papers, paper towels & tissue boxes. Order through Amazon - saves me the going back and forth to the supermarkets.

  • +1

    Alcohol. 20% off? Buy, buy, buy! I also throw booze on my Woolies home deliveries to bring my delivery fee down.

    Speaking of my problem habit, I get Amazon to drop off all my mixer (free delivery with Prime). Better price than the supermarkets and I don't have to leave the house (not that I could, anyway - I'm always drunk!).

    • …yeah the cheap booze deals here are useful . so much so that its annoying when you do have to pay full price

  • +2

    Baby wipes. There is never too much.

    • Surely at some point your baby is no longer a baby, and no longer needs wiping?

      • well true but that's a significant period of time where ass-wiping is needed which was my point about baby wipes being never too much.

  • +2

    I buy heaps of pasta sauce and underestimate the use by date.

  • +1

    the bro's at costco love buying anything in bulk

  • +1

    Mayvers peanut butter
    Ostelin vitamin D3 tablets
    Samyang spicy ramen (bought 2x 5 packs for $5 each a couple of weeks back - expiry is 12/21, they go for $7.50 each at the Asian grocery)
    Oral B floss action brush heads 4-8pk (when they're equivalent to $4-4.50 for each brush head)
    Sensodyne toothpaste (last bought 5 in early February for $5.60/each)

  • Toilet paper.

  • Car cleaning products (5L Bowden's bottles, haven't got to the 20L stage yet!)

    Paracetamol, Hayfever medication
    Cooking oil, sauces
    Baby wipes, nappies, nappy bags (stocked up on these when my kid was about 3-4 months old, she's nearly 3 years now and I've still got more than half lol)
    Toilet paper, paper towel, glad wrap, foil
    Deodorant, toothpaste, mouth wash
    Sausages, mince
    General cleaning products when they're half price

    I don't like freezing steak if I don't have to but will happily put a side of lamb in the chest freezer for some reason

    Does bagged ice count? I always get 4 x 4kg bags from an ice supplier as it's $2.50/bag rather than 1 bag from the local servo even though I only need 1-1.5 to fill my Esky

    • Sausages? Won't they go off after after a week?

      • +1

        chest freezer

      • I assumed everyone saying they bulk buy meat was putting it in a chest freezer?

        I got one free a few years ago, been the best thing for buying in bulk

  • +3

    Malt & hops.

    Add yeast, water, energy and time = beer. Much savings to be had. I can make about $1,000 worth of beer for $100. Can't sell it though, that would be illegal. So this strategy, only leads to savings, not to direct profit.

    • +3

      oh poor you…all that virtually free beer you have to drink all by yourself… :P

  • Sacred Grounds coffee from Woolworths. Normally $10 a bag, sometimes they do 3 for $.19.90 so I buy 6 bags :)

  • +3

    We buy Pu 239 (weapons grade plutonium )in bulk if it is on special at bunnings or costco.

    • +2

      I usually get my plutonium from the Libyans…

  • Mince meat. Especially when you can get it really cheap from the Asian butchers.

    • I like that you said "meat" and not "beef"

      • Ffs douche. No wait, a douche is useful.

  • Nut milk, coconut water, rice, toilet paper (always do, even pre COVID), half price frozen salmon and shrimp.

  • +1

    Indomie Mie Goreng.

  • +1

    Milk - keep about 30 long life milks in the cupboard so I don't have to worry about picking it up routinely at the shops.

    Eggs - most people don't realise this but you can freeze eggs - I freeze my eggs, helps for reproductive planning

    Car tyres - Whenever they do a 3 for 4 promotion, I always pick up a set. Storage can be a bit tricky, but you can rent them out to racetracks to use for their tyre walls for instant ROI/stonks

  • Extra large condoms

  • Milk cartons
    Soap/detergents

  • Most of the things mentioned + nappies, formula, baby wipes.

  • toothpaste while visiting or transiting singapore from mustafa shopping center.

    down under a tube costs about $11. at mustafa 2 tube pack $3.50 all year around.

  • Cleaning products
    - disinfectant / spray & wipe / microfibre cloths
    Toiletries
    - TP (waaay before covid)
    - Toothpaste
    - Shampoo / Conditioner
    - Tissue Boxes
    Food
    - Rice
    - Sauces / Sugars

  • Up & Go's.

    They were recently half price (so $5 instead of $10 for a 6 pack).
    The kids smash through these, and they have a long life it's now early May and most packs I bought had mid to late Jan used by.

    I keep a massive supply in the laundry of different flavours, and saved nearly $200. Quite a few packs, but with 3 kids they'll go in 4 months easy.

    I buy a lot of these long used by date items and basically have a 2nd pantry in the laundry. Yeast, Tomato Sauce, Peanut Butter, Jams, some cereals. Buy them all at half price and store them.

  • I'm hoping that NPA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Note_Printing_Australia#:~:tex….
    will have a sale…

  • Dark chocolate! Lasts a looooong time

  • +1

    Soft drink, dog food, toilet paper (not when there's a shortage), hand soap, washing detergent, tissues, gluten free food (stuff that lasts a year or more) for my son when it's on special (medical reasons), stationery supplies like reams of printer paper and exercise books when they go on special, gadgets if they're crazy cheap - I won't ever need another cheap usb mouse or keyboard. Basically if it's cheap, it's something I know will get used and it keeps for a long time, it's fair game.

    • Is there anyone who buys gluten free for non-medical reasons?

      • The Woolworths cookies are delicious. Their savoury buscuits, on the other hand, "taste like sadness" as one Facebook user put it. There is some nice gluten free stuff. You just need to find it. Though if I didn't need to, I wouldn't go out of my way to buy it, because it's expensive.

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