I sound very UnAmerican when I say I don’t buy in bulk. Isn’t that what we are supposed to do? Buy so we have everything we need when we need it. At one point in my life, I really did try to buy in bulk because everyone else was doing it. I assumed there was something wrong with me and if I would try hard enough, I would “get” it. I tried, but I never could wrap my head around it. I never could buy into the thought of more is better. Here are my reasons:
- You have to work hard to make sure you use all you bought. It takes discipline to make enough meals to consume 10 extra large size bottles of ketchup.
- You have to store all the extra in a way that it doesn’t get lost. If I have too much stuff, I can’t see what I have, therefore, I don’t use it. I don’t have that much storage space I want to allocate to future needs.
- I’m not sure the deals are all that great. I can usually find a good enough deal through the sales on what I need at my local grocery store. It might cost me a few pennies more, but if I’m not wasting it, I’m actually saving money.
- I live 3 minutes from a grocery store, Target, WalMart, Dollar Tree, Dollar General, CVS, all of which, on any given day of the week, have great deals on items I need. If you live an hour or two hours from your local store, I get it, you should be buying in bulk.
- My mind works best when surrounded by less. When I have to manage so much stuff, it clogs up my mind. Yes, you have to manage and think about all you have purchased. You are now the owner of it and are responsible for its life. You have to dust it, use it, consume it, throw it away, give it away; whatever happens to that thing is now up to you. I don’t want that much responsibility.
- When you go in those stores I believe you buy more than you need. You begin to get distracted by all the cool stuff and start justifying buying things you didn’t even know you needed or wanted when you walked in the door.
There you have it. Sorry, Sam’s and Costco, I prefer peace over possessions.