Only if you want to protect the planet and save money…

Seriously, buying products in bulk is one of the most “eco” ways to shops; it’s one of the best ways to save money, too. Why? For starters, larger sizes deliver the same amount of product using less energy and materials than the equivalent number of smaller packages.

Next time you go shopping, browse the snack aisle and compare the difference for yourself. When you buy one large box of cookies, all you pay for is the cookies and the one box. But if you buy a “snack pack” of ten or twelve small bags, you end up with all those individual bags, plus the display box they came in and the cellophane wrapped around them. That’s a lot of excess packaging!

All that extra wrapping costs you more money. At Peapod, an online grocery store, a 15 oz. box of Famous Amos Chocolate Chip cookies runs around $3.99 or $.27/ounce. The package of 12 snack bags costs $5.79 or $.34/ounce. If you need snacks for yourself or your kids, why not buy reusable containers you can easily refill with cookies from the larger bag? Bonus: The snack containers will do a better job of protecting the snacks from getting crushed in a lunch bag or backpack.

Wal-Mart claims that a family of four can save as much as $2,000 per year just buying in bulk. When you have the space, choose the largest available sizes of shampoo, laundry detergent, toilet tissue, light bulbs, blanks CDs, pencils and pens…you get the idea.

Here’s how I saved $20 buying bulk cat food.

Got any bulk bargains of your own to share? Let us know.

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