It feels a little funny writing about toilet paper, but I’ve discovered something that I just have to share: You can actually save money by switching from store-brand toilet paper to a quality name brand – even without coupons.
For months, we used the Target brand toilet paper because it was cheaper. After some quick calculations, it was about $0.076 cheaper per 100 sheets or about $5.47 cheaper than a package of Charmin Ultra Strong that would have the same number of sheets.
| Brand | Price | Rolls | Sheets | Per sheet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charmin Ultra Strong | $12.24 | 24 | 200 | $0.00255 |
| Target | $12.89 | 24 | 300 | $0.00179 |
But after being frustrated by torn sheets while wiping and paper particles “left behind”, I decided to give the better paper a chance.
Immediately I noticed that I needed less paper per bathroom visit. Where I used to take 4 sheets at a time, I only needed 2 sheets with the Charmin Ultra Strong. That drove me to run a few calculations on the actual cost of toilet paper:
| Brand | Per sheet | Sheets per use | Price per use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charmin | $0.00255 | 2 | $0.0051 |
| Target | $0.00179 | 4 | $0.00716 |
While I originally purchased the store brand to save money, it actually did the opposite. The Charmin was more per sheet, but by using half as many sheets at each use, I actually saved $0.002 over the Target brand each time I pulled from the roll.
Calculating unit cost is a great way to determine your savings, but it doesn’t always tell you the full story. While I thought I was saving, I was actually wiping away my hard-earned cash. It’s a little hard to do up-front, but make sure to calculate your actual cost-per-use to find where the real savings lie.
Photo by: TheGiantVermin
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“I was actually wiping away my hard-earned cash” HA!
In my opinion there are a number of times when quality pays for itself.
I’m very pleased that you caught that. :)
I’ll have to look into this. The hard part would be not using the same # of squares by habit. But I know when I grew up with nicer toilet paper, I used less per sitting.
“But after being frustrated by torn sheets while wiping and paper particles “left behind”, I decided to give the better paper a chance.”
SICK! ;-)
Hey! Thanks for using my image.
I think it’s really smart to consider the actual cost of using a product (i.e. are you getting your money’s worth?). But for my “end” of things, I also like to consider the environmental costs of a product (since sometime you pay for stuff in more ways than one). As such, there’s been some debate lately that the high-quality, soft paper comes at a big environmental cost.
For about two years I’ve been consciously going out of my way to buy toilet paper that uses recycled paper fibers (the type of paper that’s going to be significantly less fluffy) even it it ends up costing more. Personally, I feel it’s important to consider all of the costs behind using a product (not just cents in your pocket).
I thought everyone knew this! If I’m able, I always buy a huge pack of the name-brand toilet paper from Costco. It costs like $20+ for a 24 pack, but the last time I got it, it lasted my roommate and I months and months.
Funny stuff- but true! I have never been able to skimp in the toilet paper department. I actually have a “bathroom related” post I am working on for later this week- will have to link to your article.
My husband has just plain refused to ever use anything but Charmin so I’ve never been able to make this kind of comparison. But I did read a consumer article that compared the different TPs and seemed to find the Costco store brand and other less “fluffy” nice to your behind brands was better for septic systems.
I showed this article to my husband and it made no impact. Charmin will continue to be the paper of choice in our household.
Charmin Ultra Strong is the *only* toilet paper I will buy. I *definitely* use less of it and it holds up so well!!!
Dude, you are a genius. Freakin’ dying with laughter over here :)
LOLOLOLOL!
Semi-Demi-Exboyfriend used to insist on buying the cheapest toilet paper he could find. Then he would bellyache because I used so much of it! Which is one reason he’s SDXB instead of BF or DH. Is that a lost opportunity cost? ;-)