There's two great reasons to shop bulk. Price and quantity. See you can buy bulk like buying 6 chicken breasts in a Value Pack at significantly cheaper than buying them by the pair. Then there's the bulk food section where you can actually buy 1/4 C of this or that (again at usually significant savings). That's a great way to buy those little extra things for baking like craisins, flax, etc. Eventually as you use them more you may want to buy in larger quantities but the price per 100g of the bulk section is hard to beat!
Couple things I always buy large quantities of: chicken, ground beef, flour, sugar, and candy. Working on the last one! Flour and sugar don't have an expiry date (or not one that is really relevant) so I buy big bags and then I go through them. It's a funny mindset that when we only have a little bit of something we want to conserve it. When you have a giant 11lb bag of flour you're ok with using it up spur of the moment because you felt like whipping up some cookies. If you just buy a small amount for a certain purpose odds are you won't use it for anything else.
When I buy chicken I buy it in two ways. Sometimes (depending on budget) I'll buy a huge box of chicken breasts from Costco. It's about $25 and it lasts a while. The only two issues with buying it that way is that $25 is about half my weekly grocery budget so I have to make sure I plan ahead, and that it's already frozen. You can't (or you're not supposed to) refreeze chicken once it's been defrosted. That means no making stuffed chicken breasts and freezing, or tossing it in a container with some marinade for an easy dinner later. Those issues don't stop me though, a huge box of chicken for that price is still a great deal. The other way I'll buy chicken and ground beef is in the value packs.
Here's where taking a little bit of time can save you money. When I come home with the big packs I will divide them up. I roll the ground beef up, cover in saran and then toss them all in a large freezer ziploc. I divide the chicken, some in pairs and some singles. Sometimes I'll make some stuffed chicken and then freeze it, at the very least I'll toss it in a marinade (balsamic vinegar and dijon mustard with herbs is a great one!).
And the last thing I buy in bulk, candy. No seriously. Many grocery stores have snack food in the bulk section. From Jelly Bellies to chocolate covered pretzels. It's a great way to get yourself a little treat in the exact portion you want!
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