That really is a good idea! I'm always in that situation. I've got lots of friends that live by themselves. We could do a bit of coordinating and split bulky items.

I have an awesome arrangement with my next-door neighbor/best friend... We buy a lot of long-lasting/frozen/non-perishable items from BJ's Wholesale in bulk and split them... toilet paper, paper towels, granola bars, chicken tenderloins, string cheese, etc... it's a pretty great system. :)

That's a great idea to share like that I never thought about that. I just don't our society sometimes, we all are about global warming and less is more and green but we end up paying so much if we don't by in bulk?!

Watch out though, I noticed the w*mart is charges more per unit for a lot of "family" sized stuff!

My parents and I do this sometimes on anything that we would both use and also costs the same to just a little more to get it in bulk. It works since we live close by and can keep up with what each other needs.

why stop with light bulbs? whole foods/co-ops/health food stores all give a 10% discount on bulk purchase items...like 50lb bags of flour. cuts down on the packaging and saves you money (and trips to the store). divvy it up amongst friends!

Sort of, but not really. My relatives who live in the big houses (2500 sf plus) often tell me how much they save buying bulk TP and light bulbs and how I'm paying a premium for buying less. They do "stock up and store". However, they have big houses, big cars, etc. So if you totaled up our monthly bills, I am still paying about 1/3 of what they pay, buying just what I need. Sometimes I do stock up (it's handy to have cat litter and TP), but other times I have to realize that my lifestyle choices (walking over car, 950 sq townhouse over 2500 sq house, volunteering for fun instead of buying stuff, no cable, etc) mean that I more than save enough money in other places.

It's interesting that no family member could ever "share" their BJs membership with me. They always "needed it all" and they could never "find the time" to meet up with me. (To be fair, I DO work odd hours.) It seems that the more you have, the more you "need".

Lightbulbs are not the end of the world, so don't feel bad about the bulbs. If you can find someone to share with, then share. But it's also a nice thing to realize that if you have just 2 lamps, it will be cheaper overall than having 10 lamps. Your world is probably still bright enough.

My final word on the subject: I did try "stocking up" once, and it's a pain in the bum when you move! Knowing we are moving in a year, we are actively NOT stocking anything we don't want to move!

When you said "paying more for smaller, more efficient, or lower-quantity items", I think you might have meant higher-quality, right? Or maybe I'm just reading it incorrectly.

Ignore that last comment, I think I was reading it wrong...

Recently widowed, I too notice that. I pay almost as much for a 1/2 dozen eggs as the price for a full dozen - which I don't need. Same with milk - I only need a quart, but end up with a gallon because of pricing.

I do have to admit that I'll find a place to store a few lightbulbs since mine always seem to go out at the most inconvenient times.

My parents live about 2 hours away, but we visit each other regularly, about once a month. Our sharing has gone so far as a phone call across the state that goes something like "Oh my gosh! Simply Orange is on sale here for $1.99! Should I pick you up two since we're coming to visit next weekend?" I think the sharing has improved our relationship by leaps, simply because we think more often of the other person's needs. Another positive result of splitting bulk.

I love Costo. Twice as much for 1/2 to 1/3 less than the price for has as much.

But I can spend $200 and come home with what feels like 1/2 as much potential for variety than when you shop at the grocery store. So how do I decide what's worth buying in bulk?

First, I don't hit Costco when the cupboards are bare. Costco is strictly for bulking up the larder, otherwise you're going to be eating a lot of the same meal every day for two or three weeks.

We have the space for storing light bulbs and paper product, but what about the rest of the good deals? My buying criteria includes items that keep well and that we use frequently. On the other hand, two gallon-sized jars of olives may cost 75% less at Costco and I may serve some at a party, but honestly they are not "fine" Kalamata or Nicoisse isse olives, so that kind of purchase just isn't a great deal.

I avoid anything that can't be frozen or stored, or won't keep for a month. Cream cheese is a great example of a dairy product that we do use a lot of and will keep for a month as we nibble away at a block of it; milk and eggs, on the other hand just don't keep long enough for use to use.

My very favorite Costco bargains:

--Organic chicken in 2-breast-freezable pouches, 3 pouches per pack.
--Dozen fresh baked bagels
--Cream cheese
--Sparkling water
--Pre-cooked Chicken sausages (for camping)
--Blocks of parmesean cheese (shred in processor at home)
--dog food (Iams!!)
--King crab legs (sold on Saturday only here in UT)
--Trash bags
--organic herb and baby lettuce salad greens
--socks

I will NOT, however, ever shop at Sam's Club or Walmart.

My friend's family buys her a Costco membership, so she shares with most of her friends, and we do the same thing -splitting the gigantic bags of spinach, taking one each of a 2 pack of bottles of ibuprofin, etc.

Some things are worth stocking up on. TP will never go out of style, and I always buy a case or two of wine when we hit Costco.

As a young woman living alone, I've had to stare down the milk and cheese problem, particularly since I try to buy organic. A quart of organic milk is only about 50 cents cheaper than the half gallon. But I'm not going to drink the whole half gallon, no matter what. Even though it bothers me to feel like I'm getting ripped off, each ounce of milk consumed ends up costing the same, so I'd rather spend more for less and not waste.

I've had numerous conversations with a friend of mine about living alone, in small quarters, and paying for it dearly. Unfortunately, she lives in another region of the country, otherwise we'd split-n-save.

It's almost like I'm being penalized for being single and living on my own. I don't need a dozen eggs at one time, or a gallon of milk, or even a 12 pack of toilet paper.

I'll often hit the salad bar instead of the produce aisle if I'm making a stir-fry or a personal pizza because I want a variety of vegetables for one dish, but don't want the rest to go to waste. My bill ends up being so much more. (I don't get the opportunity to cook at home very often, otherwise I'd just use the remaining produce for another meal.)

For those with milk and cheese conundrums, did you know you can freeze both? They will lose something in texture but not in taste, so they're better to add to cooking than to use straight after they've been frozen. Milk freezes well in an ice cube tray and then keep the cubes in a baggie to defrost in the fridge for baking. Cheese does best grated and then frozen, defrost to add to a casserole or quiche. Not that you want tons of milk or cheese in the freezer either, but once in a while, you could buy the bigger size and store some.

I am lucky in that I have a bulk import food place and you CAN buy spices in small qualitities, ie, a small scoopful will only cost you around 50-60 cents, rather than the $3 for a 3oz bottle and I often get 3 refills out of that 65 cent purchase of say, Oregano, I buy Parmisan and other cheeses I eat a lot of there as it's often much less than at the grocery store. I can get a 1 Lb wedge of the Argetine Parm for around $8 and at my local store, a small wedge that is just a few Oz costs at min, $5, if not more.

I find that for toilet paper and that kind of stuff, Costco can't be beat and I can, when I have funds when in there will buy wine on occasion (larger bottles of the better than Vendage for roughly the same price for Vendage at my store on sale, which is $7 for a 750L bottle), but you have to have room for that kind of bulk buying so when on sale at my local store, I can get a 10 pak of TP on sale and it'll last me a while before I have to purchase more and that's key here, when you can, on the things you use a lot, buy that in bulk for it may mean not having to stock up as often, and yes, I do live alone, in a 600Sq Ft 1 bedroom apt.

I will try to get tomato paste, tomato sauce and canned tomatoes as they all work for spaghetti sauce, but there again, I can only do a regular batch at a time as I have a small freezer. The one other penalty is that when you don't have much freezer space, buying stuff daily or nearly daily is often necessary.

As for light bulbs, I always try to keep more than one or 2 of them around because they often DO burn out at the most inopportune times.

I hate to be the one to keep this active, but I just noticed exactly how many lightbulbs the person was complaining about. Who can't store two extra light bulbs? I've seen tiny places on here, but in all of them two extra light bulbs wouldn't have caused such a huge impact.