One of the rules I try to remember when bargain shopping mania overtakes me -- don't buy more of a perishable food than I really need, even if the larger size is less expensive per unit.
At Walmart this morning, I was buying whipping cream for making pumpkin eggnog and for topping pie later this month. I was going back and forth on whether to buy the larger quart size or the smaller pint size.
The quart was less expensive per ounce than the pint. I remembered my rule. I ended up buying the pint. And here's why. When I buy something perishable in a larger size than I really need, I end up trying to find ways to use the excess before it goes bad. That sounds like a good thing, right, that I'm using every last bit up? The truth is, if I was only planning on using 8-10 ounces of whipping cream for a batch of eggnog and another 4-6 ounces to top Thanksgiving pie slices, then the foods I'd make with the excess would be more rich foods than we really needed. All because I wanted to use it all up while saving money on unit cost.
So while my family would have been happy to eat the extra goodies I would make with leftover whipping cream, and while I would be happy to not waste anything, we really wouldn't need that many special foods. And excess rich food seems a bit of a waste to me.
So in this sense, paying more per ounce, but buying less (which is actually the amount I needed), is actually a better deal for my household.
