• Home
  • About Us
  • Work With Us
  • Social Media News
  • Privacy & Terms
  • Thunderbolt Social Media
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Dangerous Cupcake Lifestyle

  • Entertainment
  • Travel
  • Food & Wine
    • Cupcakes
  • Disney
  • Marvel Geek
  • Crafts, Cars & Cool Things
    • Crafts
    • Cars
    • Cool Things
    • Technology
  • Family & Life Over 45
You are here: Home / Lifestyle / Buying in Bulk Saves Money? Sure thing!

Buying in Bulk Saves Money? Sure thing!

May 1, 2013 By Donna Biroczky 1 Comment

Tweet
Share1
Pin
1 Shares

I am a CostCo fan. I love the fact we can find high-quality items for a lower price, with a good variety. (And the fact I can get a big discount on magazines, clothes and wine while shopping for food? Bonus!) We have been members at the executive level for a few years now, and without fail, our yearly benefits – the percentage of your purchase you get back – has always been pretty equal, so we renew for less than $10 each time. Combine that with the money we save on anything else we buy? So worth it!

Some people knock bulk-buying. I understand that some people over-buy but with discipline and a list, the average family can save a lot, so if you’re an over-buyer, that’s a ‘you’ problem, not a warehouse store problem! There, I said it out loud! (Money management tip #1: take responsibility for your spending. It really is all in your hands.)

We visited CostCo a few days ago with the intention of buying bacon, eggs, milk, cheese..the typical items we use consistently in our household. Going by unit price, we definitely save over buying these items in the local grocery store, and they don’t expire, go bad, or go to waste. CostCo does a fantastic job of offering things weekly that aren’t easily found elsewhere either, so shopping there for affordable meals for the family, along with some snacks, wardrobe items or just a quick lunch, is super-easy. (The entire meal’s worth of samples we get by the time we’ve left the store is a pretty sweet deal, too.)

This particular time, we added a few things to the list: beer, as their per-case price beats the local Total Wine, fresh broccoli (can’t be beat in the local produce section) and unique entrees to speed up dinner cooking without adding in preservatives and high-fructose corn syrup. My favorite was the chicken-mozzarella ravioli, on sale for $7.99 for two sections. Add in some batteries, a case of Kirkland’s Pacific Bold k-cups ($37.99 for 100 – and you Keurig fans know what a deal that is!) and some taquitos, and we headed for the checkout, dollars ahead of where we’d have been if we shopped elsewhere and knocking it out in one trip. Saved on the gas, too!

Today, we headed to the DMV bright and early, to get our driver’s licenses. Early as in 7:10 appointments. AM. AM, people..and I am not a “top of the morning, to you” kind of person, face-to-face, until I’ve had at least two cups of coffee. Drinking caffeine, then waiting in line at the DMV, or anywhere that people start lining up hours prior, is not pretty, so I plastered on my “I’m going to finally be a full California resident and have all this paperwork baloney behind me” face and got in the car, one-half of a cup of coffee later. Bah.

Then we ran a few errands, such as returning some prior work equipment, mailing back South Carolina license plates, and purchasing everying on a small-ish Target list. (Keyword: ish. That always leaves room for a few items you’ve had on a “when they go on sale” list in your head.) I will say, Target’s sales this week helped us fill some wardrobe gaps caused by packing everything you own in a 53′ trailer and then having it inaccessible for weeks on end. True to my word though, everything I bought was on sale, other than some shampoo and two toothbrushes.

After all that, I came home, did some bloggy affiliate work, and before I knew it, it was 6pm and there was no smell, or sound, of dinner in the kitchen. Heads were starting to turn as they looked around, then at each other, with that “I’m hungry. Are you? Why isn’t mom cooking?” look.

Sigh.

Now, remember, we’re temporarily living in the RV, aka small house on wheels. (I keep saying “We only have 400 sq. ft. to live in, guys, keep it neat” only to hear my husband remind me every.single.time “You’re lucky if it’s 200 sq. ft., you know that, right?”) It’s super-tight when you’re trying to cook and have three or four pots to go on the three-burner stove and two pans for the one-rack oven and nowhere to put hot things, and serving on plastic plates? <shudder> It’s even a bigger nightmare for a baker like me, but I digress…it’s not like I can even get to my Food Network servingware or build an additional countertop. I feel like I need to make this disclaimer before every food story, as my photos aren’t full of pretty and we’re eating on dollarware. Bear with me. (This has nothing to do with the lack-of-job situation and everything to do with the fact we couldn’t travel with glass plates and now they are inaccessible in our 53′ storage trailer, and I refuse to buy more for the interim.)

Out came the <fake…don’t judge> crab meat that was on sale at Ralph’s last week, two for $5.00. My mind was on crab cakes, the spicy, easy, ‘don’t fall apart on the griddle’ kind of crab cakes that are harder than they ought to be. I just have to say: SCORE. Recipe to follow.

As a side, I made kale chips, recipe courtesy of my oldest, a kale chip fanatic. (Clean them thoroughly, strip out the thick internal stems, tear in big-ish pieces. Yes, ‘ish’ again. Drizzle on some quality olive oil, sprinkle on salt, pepper and parmesan cheese, and bake for 5-6 minutes at 425 or so. Turn and do another 4-5 minutes, depending on your oven and requirements for crispiness. They also will continue to crisp as they sit on the tray after, cooling.)

20130429_193411

I also took some jalapeno-cheese rolls from Sprout’s and cut two of them in half. (I paid $2.99 a few days ago for a four-pack, and they will last for two meals.) Then, I roasted a pound or so of asparagus at 425 for about 15 minutes, also drizzled in olive oil, salt and pepper. (I prefer kosher or sea salt, but I couldn’t find either.)

20130429_193723

All together, quite the meal for a day where I didn’t have a lot of time, and everyone loved it!

20130429_195516

Now, for the recipe….

20130429_195311

Crab Cakes

Two packages crab meat (yes, I used fake)

½ cup chipotle-seasoned bread crumbs

1/3 cup mayonnaise

2 tbsp mustard

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 egg

3 scallions cut in tiny pieces

salt and pepper to taste

cayenne pepper

Mix everything together. Make them into patties, roll lightly in flour and fry them in quality oil. (I used canola.) I cooked them about 7-8 minutes on each side until they were browned.

Keep in mind, we are a large family, so CostCo has always been a way for us to cut back on toilet paper, bottled water (when we bought it) and milk costs. We also use CostCo for our cellphone and electronic purchases, as their concierge service is wonderful and many, many things have a double warranty, which comes in handy when you drop $1000 on a flat-screen TV or need a new laptop. (Or when you kill your printer and have to buy a new one; I found a $200 printer on sale for $149 there, and I love it.)

With diligence and planning, bulk-buying can save money. Just be sure you have reliable refrigerator and storage space…and some patience, those lines can get long enough to grab a piece of $1.49 pizza and eat it before you check out!

Tweet
Share1
Pin
1 Shares

Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: budget, costco, Saving Money, shopping

Previous Post: « Saving Money on Food Costs
Next Post: How to Cook in a Tiny Space: RV, Small Kitchen, It’s Possible »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Dee B

    May 1, 2013 at 12:41 am

    I give up..it’s late and I can’t get this post to edit properly. I shall try again later!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Follow Us

dangerous cupcake lifestyle club 33 profile
I’m Donna, Marvel geek and creator of Dangerous Cupcake, a Southern California lifestyle blog dedicated to moms who are refinding or reinventing themselves as their kids grow up.  As my four kids enter different stages of their lives, (like college or marriage or parenthood) I get to do the same, having fun, loving Disney, watching Marvel, and not letting my age define anything. Phase 2 of life is pretty amazing. Join me in changing focus and enjoying life during our next adventure, without totally starting over. However you do it, life is short, live a little dangerously.
Donna@DangerousCupcakeLifestyle.com

We are an Amazon affiliate, which means some Amazon links you click may be our affiliate links. In that case, we may make some money IF you purchase using those links or other affiliate links.
We appreciate you!

STUFF WE WRITE ABOUT

Footer

dangerouscupcakelifestyle

SoCal mom changing focus as the kids grow up!
Entertainment 📽 Food 🥘 Travel 🚘
Disney 🏰 Marvel ✴ Thor ⚡

Donna Biroczky
Instagram post 18111128377071988 This week's Spies in Disguise red carpet premiere was pretty rad. We saw the movie at the El Capitan, then partied with the cast at the Hollywood Roosevelt. Meeting Will Smith was a highlight, and he was so genuine and kind, as was Masi Oka. I even talked with Tom Holland for about six seconds! Thanks to Disney for the invite to another magical night!

#disneypartner #spiesindisguise @spiesindisguise #disney @disney #movie @elcapitanthtre #elcapitan #elcapitantheatre #hollywood #willsmith #masioka #tomholland #redcarpet #premiere #losangeles #hollywoodroosevelt #hollywoodboulevard #press #media
Instagram post 17905089130386487 Paying it forward takes on a whole new meaning when you are able to give charitable people a free ticket to a Grammy-nominated concert! That's exactly what Enterprise did last week when they paired up with OneRepublic for this year's Share the Code. Hit the Road. event. All the guests were recipients of a free code, selected in honor of their random acts of kindness, which allowed them to pass along the code to another three people doing good works in their community. The concert was a blast, and it was the most polite and fun group of concertgoers I've ever been a part of. Keep doing good and paying it forward, and maybe you'll be invited to next year's Share the Code event!

AD #SharetheCode @Enterprise @OneRepublic @PappyandHarriets #nationalkindnessday #bekind #onerepublic #music #concert
Instagram post 17907349897386355 If you're looking to go see Santa, Victoria Gardens has a festive setup that will put everyone into the holiday spirit. Don't miss the snow at 7pm and 8pm in Chaffey Square...and if you're lucky, you may catch Santa strolling through the flurries with you!

@victoriagardens #victoriagardens #ranchocucamonga #santa #christmas #christmastree #holidays #snow #shopping #shoplocal #shop #christmasshopping #ie #inlandempire #santaclaus #santaphotos #christmaslights
Instagram post 17999332039274878 My son took this photo of our gorgeous mountains over the weekend, when temps dropped just in time for a cold Thanksgiving. I think it's safe to say that winter came early.

@chephhstephh #snow #mountains #winter #cucamongapeak #ranchocucamonga #ie #inlandempire #sangabrielmountains #sanbernardinocounty #socal #california #foothills #hikeinlandempire #altaloma #thanksgiving
Instagram post 17876416210482576 I can't ever get enough of this view. I literally just stood there like a child, soaking in the Disney magic of every twinkling light. I'm so lucky to live close enough that Christmas in the parks is a part of every holiday season.

#disney #disneyparks #disneymagic #sleepingbeautycastle #castle #disneysmc #disneylove #disneyfan #disneymom #disneylife #disneychristmas #christmasatdisney #socal #socalmom #california #disneycalifornia #disneyland @disneyland #disneyfans #disneyatnight #christmas #christmaslights
Instagram post 17858001733606935 I used my Cricut EasyPress 2 last week for the first time to make my daughter a t-shirt for her wedding. With Cricut's Design Space, I chose a graphic of intertwined wedding rings and put their hashtag below. Projects like this are fast and easy with Cricut and now I can turn out gifts for my family and friends whenever I want to! If you're thinking about getting crafty for the holidays, now's the time! Lots of products will be on sale this week for Black Friday, so head over to my blog post for links to some great sales. See you in the craft aisle!

#sponsored @officialcricut #cricut #cricutcrafts #cricutcreated #tshirt #crafts #crafter #crafting #cricutmade #cricutexploreair2 #cricuteasypress2 #easypress2 #ironon #christmasgifts #wedding #bride #igcraft #designspace #GettingTiched
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Life is short, so it should never be boring. Dangerous Cupcake Lifestyle is all about enjoying life, finding yourself as your kids grow up and above all, keeping it real. Live dangerously. We'd love to hear from you -- let's work together!

Copyright © 2019 Dangerous Cupcake and Thunderbolt Social Media

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Necessary Always Enabled