52 Money Save Ways: Week 17: Buy The Smaller Bottle
Week 17 is here in our series of Money Save Ways Tips. If you are just joining us or have forgotten why it is called the money saved ways tips, it’s because the old way of doing things was the “Money Spend way”, so this way is the Money save way of doing it! If you are following along with the 52 week Money Challenge, make sure to place $17 in your savings, or $36 if you are doing it in reverse.
52 Money Save Ways: Week 17: Buy the Smaller Bottle
For years, retailers reeled us in with deals on bulk sizes or “family sizes”. They made us think that by getting the bigger amount, we were saving money. That’s when all these warehouse clubs started popping up, making it convenient to get your stuff all in one stop.
Did you know that you can actually save more money in the long run by purchasing smaller containers of many products? Of course, this isn’t always true across the board, but it is true on many things.
How do you know you are getting the best deal possible? Pay attention to the unit prices. If you look closely at any given store’s shelf price tag, you will see the price per unit. A unit can be ounces, pounds, and even per individual products in package (like a 6 pack of something). Compare the smaller sized bottles with the larger ones. Are you over-paying per unit by purchasing the larger sized packages and bottles? If your store doesn’t list the units, just take out that calculator on your phone and do the math. If there are 22 oz in the big box and 16 oz in the little one, divide the price of each by how many ounces are in the package.
This is not just for food either. This happens with laundry soap, dish detergent, diapers, toilet paper and so on. Make sure you check every time to make sure you are getting the best deal until you get a good idea on what kinds of items need to be bought in smaller packages.
If the idea of buying all these little containers bothers you either for storage purposes of you think, “Hey, sounds good, but I don’t want to make twice as many trips to the store”, don’t worry. This is easily solved by getting some storage containers or even keeping your old ones and just refilling. Make sure to recycle all those little bottles and boxes as much as you can, too.
Join me next week for another Money Save Ways Tip. If you missed prior weeks or want more info on the 52 Week Money Challenge, Check out these links!
- 52 Money Save Ways: Week 16: Teach Your Kids About Money
- 52 Money Save Ways: Week 15: Splurge When it Matters
- 52 Money Save Ways: Week 14: Wash Your Car At Home
- 52 Money Save Ways: Week 13: Meat-free Monday
- 52 Money Save Ways: Week 12: Create a Price book
- 52 Money Save Ways: Week 11: Avoid Fees
- 52 Money Save Ways: Week 10: Cut Your Own Hair
- 52 Money Save Ways: Week 9: Watch your Electricity
- 52 Money Save Ways: Week 8: Turn Off The Tv
- 52 Money Save Ways: Week 7: Drink More Water
- 52 Money Save Ways: Week 6: Maintain your car
- 52 Money Save Ways: Week 5: Reap the Rewards
- 52 Money Save Ways: Week 4: Practice the Waiting Game
- 52 Money Save Ways: Week 3: Buy Seasonings in Bulk
- 52 Money Save Ways: Week 2: Buy Your Clothes Used
- 52 Money Save Ways: Week 1: Make Lists
- 52 Week Money Challenge
- 52 Week Money Challenge Tracker (Printable and Electronic Versions)
Great tips. I love when stores have the unit price on the shelf tag, but if not I just use the calculator on my phone, too. I started the savings plan in reverse, thanks for reminding me to keep it up.
That is so true! Often times when I see a good deal–or what the advertising says is a good deal– I have to go back and calculate the unit price/oz to see if I’m getting my money’s worth and often times the smaller package is better.
What a great tip! I will definitely be going through your other tips in this series. Becoming a single mom and buying a house will mean I’ll definitely need to watch my spending and these tips are sure to hep me. Thanks!
Great tips, I am such a sucker for the bigger bottle!
These are excellent tips! Definitely got my gears spinning. We have learned to budget and spend wisely in our household, but finding other ways to continue or even improve.