"Just buy in bulk." With what upfront cash, exactly? The bulk pack is cheaper per unit and also $47 and I have $31 until Friday. The math is correct. The math is also not applicable to my current situation.
"Just coupon." Yes, let me spend four hours a week clipping and organising so I can save $40 on things I would have bought anyway and $15 on things I absolutely would not have bought but now own six of. Net positive. Definitely.
"Just compare prices across stores." Lovely. I will now open five browser tabs, calculate cost per oz on twelve different pack sizes, maintain a spreadsheet, and do this every week while also having a life. Excellent plan.
The version that is actually usable: figure out the cheapest per-unit source for things you buy every month, do it once, update occasionally. That's it. It's not exciting advice. It is advice a real person can actually follow.
Money Saving Advice That Is Out of Touch With Real Life
byu/Ok_Detail_3987 inFrugal
Posted by Ok_Detail_3987
10 Comments
This is a great example of why it’s more expensive to be poor. It’s easier to save money when you have money and then it’s a somewhat never ending loop for both sides.
> “The Sam Vimes theory of socioeconomic unfairness, often called simply the [boots theory,](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boots_theory) is an economic theory that people in poverty have to buy cheap and subpar products that need to be replaced repeatedly, proving more expensive in the long run than more expensive items.”
Also, if a person has a vehicle, work in the gas price of the day. If they don’t, work in getting it all home on the bus.
Right? When I first met my now husband, I was a single mom of 3, no child support. He called me one day on his way home from work, and said he was stopping at the store and did I need anything. I asked for garbage bags, as I had just run out. He walked in with the huge box of garbage bags. I had only been able to buy the small, generic boxes of like 10, at a time.
Its such a small thing, but it really sticks in my head.
I learned later, that he would just go to the grocery store and buy whatever he wanted, without getting what was on sale, or what there was coupons for.
He no longer shops like that..lol. I had to give him a few lessons in frugality. But I still think about the big bix of garbage bags.
It doesn’t have to be that complicated or time-consuming to comparison shop for groceries and household supplies. Each week, we pull up the weekly ad for the three local grocery chains; pick the store with the best overall prices; meal plan; and make a grocery list. It takes all of 30 minutes per week. Through a combination of sale prices, redeeming rewards points, and clipping digital coupons that are available right on the store’s website, we will save a significant amount of money. The regular total price would be $84.56, but with $59.77 shaved off, it will only be $24.79. This week is a particularly good one for savings, but we consistently save to 25% to 40% each week with a trivial amount of effort.
My favorite is all the people talking about “just save up and buy a used Honda for $5k”. Used car prices jumped significantly after 2020 and are holding much higher. The used Hondas that are only $5k have 500k miles and need major repairs.
>”Just buy in bulk.” With what upfront cash, exactly? The bulk pack is cheaper per unit and also $47 and I have $31 until Friday. The math is correct. The math is also not applicable to my current situation.
Then you wait until it is applicable for your situation or you look for options which is applicable currently.
>”Just coupon.” Yes, let me spend four hours a week clipping and organising so I can save $40 on things I would have bought anyway and $15 on things I absolutely would not have bought but now own six of. Net positive. Definitely.
Or you could look at the weekly discount leaflets for stores near you and organise your shop around them?
>”Just compare prices across stores.” Lovely. I will now open five browser tabs, calculate cost per oz on twelve different pack sizes, maintain a spreadsheet, and do this every week while also having a life. Excellent plan.
Not sure where you are but supermarkets beside me have price per oz already calculated and written down. At the beginning it will take a bit of time but you create a list of your essentials or food which you normally base your meals around and then compare prices or just compare prices of the expensive items.
When people act like calling customer service to get a refund or reward is super easy and always works. You usually end up wasting your time
What’s crazy is the bulk pack isn’t always the best unit price either. I used to always assume it was. Now I check the Walmart app (typically where I’m buying from) for the cheapest price per whatever unit it’s measured in. And if I need the quantity of the bulk pack sometimes 2 of the smaller ones works out cheaper. Prices change all the time too, it’s a moving target to get the best deal. Or maybe the savings is minimal and you know you don’t need the extra stuff right now or as mentioned, just don’t have a few extra dollars.
There’s levels to these things. I think you might need r/povertyfinance as frugality just means being economically minded. Buying bulk (at least from the bulk section) is absolutely a solid frugal move, it just isn’t right for people who can’t front the cash.
Back in the day when I had to ration gas and bread, the poor tax got me. Once I started getting decent checks I started buying bulk and watching my finances stabilize.
It’s a tool amongst many.