Money Saving Q and A- Small vs Big Quantities

Q: Is it better to buy is smaller quantities?

A:  It is better to buy in smaller quantities in certain cases.  Many times the smaller sized product will be FREE after a coupon.  So get your hands on several coupons and get several freebies!  You just won't see a big change in your bill when your saving $.50 off a family size bottle of shampoo.   Pair a coupon with a smaller sized item on sale and you'll start to see big changes.  Products generally have a six to eight week sale pattern.  No reason to buy out the store!  Buy enough for your family to last until the next sale.   You will learn which products always release coupons and which items always go on sale.  On the other hand, when you only have a couple coupons (ex:high dollar Facebook printable coupon) on something you always buy but doesn't go on sale very often or rarely to never has a coupon, you should buy the bigger item.   For example, cereal always goes on sale and always has coupons!  I LOVE the regular Hidden Valley Ranch and have only come across a couple of coupons for it in the past year, so I used them on the bigger size.  This is something you will learn with time on the things you normally buy for your family.  It may also depend on your budget and what you have to "spend out pocket" at the time.

Here's an example I just did today:

Cereal (14 oz)$1.49

-$.55/1 coupon that doubled to $1 at my store

Final Price: $.49  ....I bought eight boxes and spent $3.92.

Cereal Family Size (24 oz) $5

-$.55/1 coupon that would double to $1 at my store

Final Price: $4  ....If I bought eight boxes, I would spend $32!   I'd also have 192 oz of cereal that could expire before my family could use it all.)

Breaking down the cost per unit... the small boxes come to $.03 per oz, where as the family size comes to $.06 per oz....twice as much per oz!

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this topic! Leave it in a comment!