I can say in one word what led us to warehouse club shopping - diapers. Even with one, but even more so with two, diapers can be a big drain on the family budget and our answer was to buy in bulk. We are through that stage now, but have retained our membership - especially as a Costco has just moved in a mile from our house.
There is both an art and a science to buying at a warehouse club and I felt inspired to share.
The Over-buy: I have done this more than once. A great example is buying q-tips. I once bought these at the club and they lasted like three years. They may cost like .001 more each at Target but do you really want a three year supply?
The Time Savings: Sometimes you buy in bulk just to save time - it does not matter about the cost saving all that much, but it is nice not to need to remember to buy something at another store 3X more often. A good example of this is the crackers multi-box pack. We do not eat crackers all that much, but when you need them they are always on hand because you have the five boxes in a box pack. So, you never need to think of getting crackers at the grocery store.
The Cost of Money: An important issue in buying at the warehouse club is the cost of money. Do you save money if you save 3% on a years worth of razor blades or could you earn more invested in the stock market - OK not the stock market, how about a CD?
The Cost Savings: Enough said, stuff is usually cheaper at the warehouse club.
The Forgot You Had it Buy: I did this recently. We refill our dish washing liquid from a giant warehouse bottle into an antique bottle by the sink. I thought we needed more - NOT. Now I have a 14 month supply of two jumbo bottles under the sink.
The Silly Factor: You see something, you buy it and you really never needed it. If you do that at a warehouse club you have probably tested this at a much bigger level than needed. Ouch!
Now let's think we are in that TV series "Numbers" and do an algorithm, factoring everything above into making an informed buying choice. Can you do that for me?
Totally impossible, right? Now I am trying to make a practical application, or even a spiritual application. Not coming up with anything. Perhaps, we should say that some stuff is just too complex to get right all the time and you just have to do your best!