My roommates and I save $300 a month on bulk grocery shopping

My roommates and I started bulking around 2018, but my bulking journey started even earlier. A few years ago, I worked for a nonprofit organization, and during my time there, I started a program where we give food to families in bulk. This experience really sparked my interest in implementing bulk food distribution in my own home.

We may have different titles, but we are all creative

I’m a creative with a somewhat split life between the food service industry and the art world. I work as a Chicago serverwhere I was born and raised and still live. In 2023, I graduated with a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

The two roommates are fellow creators and we knew each other before we moved in together. One of my roommates is a fashion designer and I actually have a family connection with my other roommate who is a makeup artist. We’ve known each other since we were teenagers.

Being creative, sometimes we don’t always have the money to compensate each other financially. I might log into my account and find it negative. To promote a safer environment at home, over the years we have switched to a barter system. The barter system not only makes sense for us, but it also helps us avoid creating food waste, which we all face.

We all contribute to our bulk food sharing routine

We all participate in our bulk shopping and share the routine and shop at a few different stores, so there’s variety in what we bring to the space. One of my roommates, a fashion designer, juices, so he buys a lot of bulk products at stores like Costco or even wholesale restaurant stores to which he has access. Many times, he makes juices for the whole house, but sometimes, he makes specialized juices just for him.

My other roommate, a makeup artist, gets bottled water and cereal from Trader Joe’s, Pete’s Market, or sometimes even the pantry. I’m the meat buyer for the house and tend to shop at more than one regular grocery store.

My last bulk grocery trip was to Jewel-Osco. Honestly, I think they created their app in part because of me. They always provide feedback related to their customers’ experience. In the past, the app didn’t include accurate information about what items certain locations had in stock. Fortunately, the app has become much easier to use compared to how it used to be, which is especially important to me since I don’t drive and don’t have time to browse the store at my leisure.

Sometimes I use the app for pickup orders, or if I’m in the store, I can search the app for blueberries and see the different types of blueberries and the deals they have, so I know exactly what kind to get. Last time I used the app I saw they had great deals on filet mignon. It was reduced from $11 to $5 per pound. There was also an additional discount on meats of about 30% – I walked away with six steaks for about $30.

Since we started buying in bulk and splitting our groceries, we save between $260 and $300 a month.

Depending on how much we save in a month, some of our bulk shopping money will go towards our collective household bills. For example, if I make a bulk meat purchase and end up saving $60, I’ll take that $60 and consider it free money that will go towards our bills.

Our system has changed as we’ve figured out what works best for us

Early on, we tried different methods of sharing our food and paying each other to figure out what worked best for us. Sometimes we send each other money directly, but often we’ll also do things like compensate each other with products of an equal amount. For example, I really like passion fruit, and sometimes it can cost $3 a piece, so if my roommate who likes enjoy the juiceshe wants to give me the passion fruit in exchange for the steak I just bought, that would be fine.

Although we primarily use the barter system, we still make food purchases that are specifically for our personal use, unless we check in with each other first. Between our constant communication and learning more about each other’s habits over the years, we are able to identify quite easily when certain items are not for our bartering system.

For example, sometimes I’ll make truffle dishes, and my truffle products are off-limits in the first place. My other roommate, the makeup artist, buys items specifically prebiotics and probiotics to help with occasional stomach problems. In other words, when we open the fridge and see truffles or a probiotic drink, we all know who it’s for.

I realize that our system would not work for everyone or every household. Some prefer to navigate life as an individual, and some like to work with others, but only if there are very clear rules. It all comes down to your group’s core values. Our core values ​​are about supporting our community and making sure we all have the resources we need, and that’s what we try to model in our home.