Sams/Costco

brandichamberlain · June 2012

Does anyone here have memberships to these places? I am trying to figure out if our savings will be worth the membership fees. We only have access to Sam's but I think Costco has the same type of policy. We don't have a large freezer, so I would probably only be able to use them for non-perishable items and for limited amounts of meats/vegetables. Would this type of shopping be worth the $40 fee each year?

anna.oskar · June 2012

Totally worth it.

I save tons of money just on meats, paper products like TP, hygeine products, cat food and litter alone.

Plus, I eat enough free samples in a year to easily equal the cost

EDIT; Also, my contact lenses are $30 a pack cheaper there than anywhere else in town.

EDIT.2: Our Sam's is lovely, well staffed, clean, and cheery

Girlie1030 · June 2012

Hygiene and OTC meds alone are worth it. And like Skidmark said, discount on gas as well.

dmiller9274 · June 2012

We have a membership to Sam's but will likely be switching to, or adding Costco just for the savings in diapers.

We probably only go to Sams about every 6ish weeks. Sometimes more, sometimes less. I can say that we've more than paid for our membership in water softener salt, kitty litter and cat food alone. They also always have random deals on clothes, electronics, cleaning products, etc. I say it's totally worth it.

cheeseandrice · June 2012

I freaking love Costco. I've never been to Sam's, but I'm assuming they're similar... do they have a gas station for members? Check out their prices for awhile and see how much you can save there. (If you want to be lazy, I love http://gasbuddy.com/- they have an app too, that's way easier to read than the website.) Our Costco is routinely $0.10- $0.40/gallon less than other gas stations nearby.

You'd be surprised at the money you'll save on produce too. And the quality (at least at Costco) is way better than grocery stores. We can buy a dozen apples or a bag of grapes and they can easily last a week and a half. So, even though we're buying in bulk, it lasts longer so we don't have to toss anything.

Meat is awesome too. We buy 6 pounds of ground beef at a time. It really doesn't take up that much room in the freezer. (It's raw when we buy it- I portion it out into Ziploc freezer bags as a pound each. Just grab one whenever we need it and thaw during the day.) The chicken boobs have always been good too- the ones at Costco are separated- two breasts/package, so super easy to freeze and thaw as needed.

We've also gotten vitamins and toothbrushes there, etc. Pop, bottled water, V8 juice, etc. OH! I got my contacts from there last time. They're $160 usually (or $125 on campus)... they were $90 at Costco.

brandichamberlain · June 2012

I currently buy a family pack of meat each week (one week beef, one week pork, one week chicken, etc..) so if I can save on that even more than I do now, that would be great. I would also purchase my non-perishable items. We are trying to make better choices so we are cutting out a lot of the frozen items also, allowing us to freeze more healthy options. Also, with FI eating 4000-5000 calories a day, we go through a ton of food.

maratea · June 2012

I looooooooove Sams Club. We have a medium-size food supply in our basement and we bought everything in bulk from Sams. Plus I'm pretty sure I've eaten $40 worth of free food samples at Sams this year.

ErinG93 · June 2012

Worth it. I have a Costco membership through work, but I like to stock up on meat in particular. I really like that Costco has chicken breast that come in packages of two all connected. Ok, that doesn't make sense, but you will see if you go to Costco. I like Costco socks too. If you can get dog food, hygiene prodcuts, meat, and boxed stuff there it's so worth it.

Girlie1030 · June 2012

Oh, but don't be surprised when you find you can't get out of there for less than $200.

cheeseandrice · June 2012

Clearly I love Costco

I'll also note the toiletry stuff. I did one huge trip last fall and spent way too much money on bulk detergent, Clorox wipes, paper towels, shower gel, lotion, toothbrushes, razors, etc. We still haven't used up some of that stuff.

brandichamberlain · June 2012

Wow- thanks.

Steph- we do the same thing with freezing meats. That would be great if I could find the chicken options like that, too.

I think I'll head over there in a little bit and sign up!

brandichamberlain · June 2012

Ooooh and if I show my college ID I get a $15 gift card. Score!

[Deleted User] · June 2012

We had a membership to BJ's, which is like Costco. It was great, and, I won't lie, the free samples are totally worth the trip out there.

cheeseandrice · June 2012

Also- you can probably get a day pass to go check it out. That's what we did at Costco- went in, walked around and looked at prices before deciding to buy the membership.

KateJ10 · June 2012

ha I think I am one of the only people that didn't think it was worth it. Maybe I would now? but I got a membership to Costco a couple years ago, and I ended up hardly using it because there wouldn't be much to buy that I would be able to go through before it went bad.

I ended up cancelling and getting my membership money back because it wasn't worth it.

We live extremely close to a sam's club now so maybe I would consider signing up again because of the convenience factor? I don't know.

Belle0720 · June 2012

I don't know anything about Sam's but I love Costco!

There is definitely stuff there that you can save money on: toiletries, appliances, meat, mattresses, garbage cans lol, all sorts of stuff. And the fact that it's all in one place is extremely convenient. Plus, they will let you return virtually anything. Like even flowers, or a TV that you don't have a receipt for, or an engagement ring(a friend of mine did this over a year after her H bought it).

The only thing I don't recommend buying here is fruit....it either takes forever to ripen or it's bad in a couple of days.

The food samples are awwwesome and it's probably the cheapest place to go for lunch.

shaydenise · June 2012

We have a Sam's membership and it's totally worth it. Paper towels, toilet paper, bulk OTC meds, meat, and dog food make it worth it. And holiday grocery shopping when you're hosting. We're making a big trip this weekend to get things we've run out of actually.

Besides the cost savings, I love not have to buy all that stuff all the freaking time. Seriously, I haven't bought paper products since before Christmas. ha ha

lbarr088 · June 2012

Lol at jcb's comment and Steph's chicken boobs : FI and I are in the same boat about BJs Club. I get a discounted membership 40 through work. With the two of us I can't really justify it besides stocking up on meat now that we have a full sized fridge/freezer. We also have limited storage.

shaydenise · June 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_samscostco?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:62fa7734-f035-4f38-bf97-be20e011ffc8Post:84edf777-4c5c-4d12-b145-784ecba7895a">Re: Sams/Costco</a>:
[QUOTE]Oh, and Costco cakes are freaking delicious. They're also good for fresh flowers and gardening supplies. Y'all are making me want to go to Costco right now.
Posted by jcbsjr[/QUOTE]

<div>This reminded me, patio furniture and other seasonal things (holiday decorations, gardening stuff, etc.) can be way cheaper.</div>

katiewhompus · June 2012

I like Costco for their meat and their hard goods. Things like olive oil, parmesan cheese, chicken broth we go through a lot and get it for a much better price. Their meat prices are also awesome, and we just freeze it all into individual/meal size portions when we get home.

Like Dot says, you can make a killing around Christmas time at Costco. Books, toys, wrapping paper, etc. are often much cheaper. I also buy a lot of baby clothes, socks, etc. there for a better price. You can also occasionally get a great deal on random stuff, like patio furniture, car seats, cookware...

Nebb · June 2012

I love costco and its more expensive here, I think. We pay 65 a year for a joint account. We usually don't get most of the produce carrots yes, but things that go bad faster like berries, no. I will ONLY buy meat there, propane is cheaper, tires are cheaper, meds are cheaper, toiletries, sauces, non perishables, and their seafood is great! I will never not have a costco membership.

Nebb · June 2012

And their bagles are amazing! So fresh and delicious.

ahhhitsshannyn · June 2012

I buy my chicken, lettuce (we go through a ton- and it lasts a while too), spinach, snacks (chips/popcorn), spices, paper products, cheese, bread, and soap at costco. We go every three-ish weeks, depending on when we run out of food.

The produce and chicken are great quality there, we buy the kirkland brand frozen chicken breasts and they are individually frozen in little packages so it is super convenient.

Gas is usually a couple cents cheaper, not a huge savings, but some places charge a $.35 fee or something to use debit and costco doesn't, so you save money there.

Right now we have the $50 membership split between my mom and I, but I was actually thinking about getting the $100 membership since you get something like 2% back per year. I would have to see if it would be worth it to us, but we seem to go there a lot and spend a lot. It's really easy to go overboard there!

DodgersBride · June 2012

I have shopped at both costco and sams. Currently we only have a Costco Membership which cost me $55 a year. We don't go that often but when we do we save a ton. I also like that they send coupons and most are taken off without having to have coupon. We normally buy TP, paper towels, bottle water, tide and bread every time we go. Then we shop for what need at the time. They have a great booze selection.

You don't need a membership to eat there but I like going for lunch $5 for FI and to eat. That is great.

ahhhitsshannyn · June 2012

Oh yeah they do have a ton of booze for good prices too. Also I know in CA you can buy alcohal without having a membership. Some sort of catch about the liquor licence, like you cannot deny people their beer or something like that. I would call your local Costco to see if it is like that everywhere though.

brandichamberlain · June 2012

Wow, thanks for all the tips.

I ran over there and got my membership and gift card. I walked around a bit since I didn't have time to really shop and some things will definitely save money and some won't. I forgot that they don't supply bags so I need to get some tote bags and go shop soon.

erbear84 · June 2012

I have a membership to both that I share with my mom. FI and I like Costco better. He uses Mucinex daily and it's cheaper, as is the allergy medicine I use (generic Zyrtec), gummy vitamins FI uses, my generic lactaid (Costco's brand is AWESOME), and FI's K-cups.

Sams/Costco

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