Saving Money
by Candes Meisenheimer

Money. It’s one of the top concerns for most American families. When you add autism into the mix it becomes a crisis. Therapies, treatments, homeopathic solutions, organic cooking, food substitutions, extraordinary educational needs, and medications: all of these things cost more than the average breadwinner can make.

Common interests groups can help alleviate the financial burden by spreading the cost over several families. One of the most basic money savers is bulk buying. Of course, when we think of ‘bulk buying’ the typical image that forms in our minds is the giant warehouse stores that sell mustard by the gallon. These are only tool for the bulk-buying club.

A bulk-buying club is simply a group of people who pool their resources and shopping in order to reap the benefits of case-lot and/or wholesale prices. A lot of families that have members living near by already do this, so why not save even more money by including your friends and neighbors? For a little extra effort and planning the average family can save hundreds of dollars each year buy splitting cases they otherwise wouldn’t have the money upfront to buy.

I’d love to buy my mustard by the gallon, and my 5yo mustard fanatic would love it too. But I don’t have the money to get the gallon sized up front and even if I did I don’t have any room in my refrigerator to put it. The solution? A few of my neighbors and I chipped in together on a set of generic plastic restaurant squeeze bottles from a culinary supply warehouse then chipped in on the monster mustard container. The investment ended up being the same price for each of us as a regular sized bottle of mustard, the difference is that we can refill the squeeze bottles and save that much more money next time.

Don’t need eight cans of green beans? Split the case with nice old lady across the street and just pay for four. Include the single guy down the block the newlyweds next to him and just pay for two. It’s that easy, and the same can be done with just about anything.

Bulk-buying clubs don’t have to be big formal affairs with records keepers and treasures. Just touch bases with your friends, family, and neighbors before heading out to the store. See if they need anything or if they’d like to come along. You can make a day of it or you can make it part of your regular shopping. Either way, it saves you money!

Next time: Part Two; Finding a Real Deal

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Candes Meisenheimer
APOV on Autism Editor in Chief
Candes can be contacted at candes@asdrendrewolf.org