s/o grocery budget: Sam's Club

[JessReplanted]

We are looking for ways to trim our grocery budget (although it's already quite bare-bones), specifically to reduce what we spend on non-food items.  Is it worth it to get a Sam's club membership for items like diapers & paper towels? Is the savings significant?

 

Thanks!

[bethben]

I go to Costco and find good savings.  I'm not sure if Sam's club has this, but I have Costco's executive membership along with signing up for their American Express Credit card.  Both give me cash back.  By the end of the year, I've paid for my membership plus some so to me, the membership is free.  We're pretty bare bones also and I have found the prices good at Costco on non-food items.

 

Beth

[almondbutterandjelly]

I have a membership to Sam's Club.  I do feel like it is worth it.  It used to be that their gas was so much cheaper than everybody else that it alone made it worth it.  Now I have a really cheap gas place near me.  Still, lots of stuff at Sam's is cheaper than the grocery store, and I figure the more I spend the more I save.  I like them for soy milk, most meat, cat litter (50 lb for 8.67 tidy cat multiple cats), clorox wipes, toilet paper, all sorts of stuff.  You do have to know your prices because some things are not a savings, but overall, we do a huge Sam's trip every month to the tune of two or three hundred dollars.  

[almondbutterandjelly]

Forgot to mention... boneless skinless chicken breasts are usually 1.88 a pound.  I get a 5 pound block of cheese for $15, which I slice up and freeze for use during the month.  Good prices on ground beef.  Pork chops were 2.68 a pound this month.  Lots of deals to be had.

[Tiramisu]

My feeling is that although not all of their stuff is cheaper, being able to buy in bulk conveniently reduces possibility of other shopping trips which saves gas and other unnecessary, spontaneous purchases.

[mommymilkies]

No, it's not for us.  I calculated up prices there vs. at Walmart and they were actually MORE expensive for a lot of things.  Plus, it's a 2 hour drive for me (but I only used it when we were otherwise nearby).  So for us, it was definitely not worth it as far as price savings.  I save more at Aldis and Costco.

[Denise in IN]

We save quite a bit at Sam's Club on gas, chicken, milk, eggs, cheese, and meat.  There are other items that I buy there, but those items are where I get the most savings.

[redsquirrel]

I considered it, but my local large grocery store is closer and it has some bulk items that are priced to compete with Sams Club. The quantity may be smaller, but the price per unit is the same and sometimes better.

 

Plus, we have a small house and I don't have the space for those bulk items.

 

If I needed diapers I might compare to a subscription service via Amazon prime. I find myself using that for quite a few pantry items.

[AimeeM]

We *love* Costco. We buy all non-food items (paper towels, toilet paper, diapers, wipes, etc). The savings is very significant.

 

We also buy all of our meat there. Ground beef, chicken breasts, whole chicken, pork, steaks, sausages, etc. Likewise, the eggs and butter are very cheap compared to most stores.

[almondbutterandjelly]

My nearest Aldi's is three hours away.  We have HEB, Walmart, Sprouts, and Sam's Club.  So for us, Sam's is definitely worth it.

[Lady Marmalade]

I save money shopping at Sam's Club mostly with the fresh foods.  Sam's has the best quality meat by us- with the exception of the local butchers ($$$).   I pay extra for the Plus membership that gets me in the door at 7am.  I love this, because this is when the reduced meats are abundant.    I also really appreciate their fresh fruits and vegetables in the winter.  

[Kim in Appalachia]

I have no idea about diapers, but yes, paper towels are a good deal (I buy the Sam's brand).  I always compare prices, and for us, Sam's makes a difference.  Cheese (we make our own pizza) is almost half the price that it costs at Walmart, milk is cheaper, rice, some of the produce (you really have to price check to see if it's worth it).  Fruit, for some reason, is usually not a better deal.  Meat is a bit better than grocery stores, and I've always been happy witht the quality.  Most paper products are a good deal too.  I find I make up the price of membership quickly.  I may be switching to Costco next year.  If you buy diapers, and you have a Costco around you may want to check into them.  They take coupons, so you can get even better savings. 

[Susan in TN]

I don't know if you have Aldi, but for some stuff it's cheaper than Sam's and no need to buy a membership and no need to buy a 30 pack to save a dollar.

I love Aldi! I also have a Sams Club nearby so I will shop there once every month or two. The things I find to be the best values are shredded cheese, paper plates, bathroom tissue, string cheese, hummus, lettuce, Fage Greek yogurt, 3-ring-binders, and heavy cream. We use a lot of these things, so it can be worth it.

[Mom-ninja.]

My mom goes to Costco, Aldi, and Sam's. She likes Costco best followed by Aldi. Sam's Club is not as good for savings in her opinion.

[LostSurprise]

I haven't been to a Costco.

 

While some things are cheaper at Sam's Club, most things are not. It's very easy to get caught up in the bulk purchasing and not notice that it's either evening out (some well priced items with some average or more spendy items) or that you're buying more across the board. We had a membership for a year or two. I noticed we spent more on groceries that year, even if popcorn or rice or yeast was cheaper there were thousands of things which were more expensive than Walmart grocery. It was harder to tell with the bulk pricing. Plus I wasn't shopping any less. I was shopping more. :P

 

Now if I want something (25lb bag of popcorn or something) I ask my sister to pick it up for me. 

[Slartibartfast]

I have a Costco membership.

 

I buy produce and meat there. Meat is much cheaper at Costco than at my regular grocery store. The hamburger meat and boneless skinless chicken breast are cheaper than my grocery stores even when they are on sale. I get other things there like olive oil, cheese, salsa, they have monthly sale books and those are usually great deals. Apples are not usually cheaper at Costco if they are on sale at my grocery store and I like having a variety of apples, not just one kind.

 

I buy the large bags of carrots, celery, and onions but then I chop those up,  make little mirepoix bags for soup, and stick them in the freezer. My family LLOOOVVEESS soup.

[Susan in TX]

Here diapers are cheaper at Walmart or Aldi than they are at Costco or Sam's Club.

 

Susan in TX

[Ann.without.an.e]

50% of us wear glasses and it is worth it to keep our membership just for glasses alone.  I can usually get really great glasses with non-glare, scratch resistant, etc for less than $100 a pair for the kids.  They last better than the glasses we paid 3 times the price for from an eye doctor.  They stand behind their warranty too.

 

 

I buy large bags of frozen strawberries

Large tubs of organic lettuce

graham crackers

rice

etc

[Joker]

We've done Sam's and BJ's in the past and we didn't save any money with either.

 

We have a Costco about 30-45 minutes away and I may look into after reading about the produce, meats, and glasses. Dh works 5 minutes from it so he could stop by on his way home and it wouldn't really be an inconvenience.

 

We are getting an Aldi's about 15 minutes away and I'm excited to try it out since I've never been in one.

[SKL]

It really depends on what you buy.  I think you would need to research it before buying.  I read that someone did a study on this and found the cost of a certain ordinary combination of groceries at Sam's Club was more expensive than it was at an average grocery chain.  The cheapest was WalMart.  This was years ago but probably the basic premise holds true:  just because they say it's a bargain doesn't mean it is.

[SKL]

I stopped shopping at Sam's because the temptation to buy unnecessary stuff outweighed the savings achieved on necessary stuff.

[Tammyla]

We will be letting our membership expire in October and won't bother renewing.  We've been members for years, but our savings there has gone down over the years.  (We also found a less expensive gas and that was our biggest savings there for years.)  

 

Now as far as savings go, I've compared and things like Dove Sensitive soap is about .50 cents savings compared to Target and Walmart.  I found the savings like that across the board if you compare, but the comparing is difficult with things like toilet paper because of the numerous different sizes of rolls etc.  Anyway, if I have a coupon and something is on sale at a regular store, it's almost always cheaper.

 

 

I don't buy meat or diapers so, ymmv

 

I will miss their $1.00 hot soft pretzels.

[Lucy the Valiant]

Our Sam's membership pays for itself in tires.

 

We also intentionally let our membership run out every time (do a stock-up run first), and then wait 2-3 months before renewing. It's not a savings, exactly, but over 5 years, we've only paid 4 memberships, kwim?

 

Some things are cheaper there, and some are not; for us (because of the tires), it's worth it.

[Slartibartfast]

I think what is cheaper just depends on what one buys.

IME the produce and meat are cheaper but sometimes a local grocery store will have roasts on sale for cheaper than Costco. I rarely buy convenience food from Costco, I do buy Trader Joes convenience foods occasionally.

 

Their OTC allergy meds are great. I buy the allegra when it is on sale. I think I paid $17 for 150 last I bought them. The other OTC allergy meds are even cheaper, I just prefer allegra.