Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The biggest thing with large warehouse stores is you have to know your prices. We have a costco membership and it is totally worth it, but we are very selective with what we buy. Some things are a GREAT bargain there, but many are priced higher than a regular grocery store. As long as you know what kind of prices are good deals and what kinds are NOT a deal, then the membership will definitely be worth it.
You know since there is just the two of us I dont see where there would be much savings ? I mean we really dont use that much toliet paper or paper towels to make a difference . I am the only one that drinks coffee and my husband drinks a ton of pop . I think the pop maybe alone would be our more costly exspense in the grocery store . I usually use a target supercenter and they are great and they usually have a few things on sale too . But we dont store hop meaning we dont go to one store for one item and then another store for another cause then what you are saving you are really spending in gas .
I got a membership. I go once a month with $100 and stock up.
I found coffee, case of soup, spices, toilet paper and other individually packaged goods to be worth it.
I found a case of Kraft Mac & Cheese this month that came to $.45 per box rather than $.67 per box in my regular supermarket.
You do need to know your prices though before you go. Some items are more than your local supermarket so it's not a deal while others are when bought in bulk.
I did the 10 week trial membership last year to see if it was worth it and found it was.
Yes I can easily save more than the $45 yearly membership just by shopping there once per month.
I think it really depends on the number of people you are shopping for and how good you are at knowing porices. I use to shop there but now that there are only two of us i don't. I also found that when you look at the prices of some goods there are cheaper places to buy. I especailly notice that in hardware type good' ;tolos ;auto items that Sam's is often higher than wal-mart. Its in the foods that you acn save especallly on bulk items.The prices and the 20 mile drive does not make it work my buying there.You also need to compare discount store to them not a food store that is always higher on these items.Which is why I never shop at grocery only stores for anyhting but groceries unless it a special and i know its a good price.
I like WalMart for medicine and beauty products (except soap, which we get at Costco). WalMart is good for cards, automotive products (windshield wipers, etc.) garden products, and anything I need to buy in small quantities. Our local WalMart also has incredible bedding plants at a great price, but not all WalMarts do.
We go to Costco for most other things. Buy in bulk, separate immediately when you get home (so we're not tempted to make supersized meals). Costco membership definitely pays for itself, especially the tires and gas. If you wait for the coupon, tires are a great deal there. I try to use the coupons as much as possible.
We got the 2% back deal this year. I think it costs $30 to start it, but after a year you get back 2% of what you spent that year. This year we got back about $75, so it was worthwhile.
The biggest thing with large warehouse stores is you have to know your prices. We have a costco membership and it is totally worth it, but we are very selective with what we buy. Some things are a GREAT bargain there, but many are priced higher than a regular grocery store. As long as you know what kind of prices are good deals and what kinds are NOT a deal, then the membership will definitely be worth it.
Good point. Coca Cola, for example, is not a good buy at Costco.
We cannot eat enough Cheerios quick enough to buy the super mega mammoth monster box, etc, maybe if I ran a day-care or motel....
LOL, this brought up a funny memory. I bought the mammoth Cheerios box a few years ago. You should have heard all the hoots and howls when the kids saw the size of the box. But guess what, now we're all addicted! We eat Cheerios almost every morning, and when I go to Costco I end up buying 2-3 of those boxes at a time!
(And if you think one mammoth box of Cheerios looks silly, try lining up 3 of them on your pantry shelf. The graphic design on the boxes interlink, so when you line up a bunch of boxes it really looks humongous.)
I'm single and only buy food for myself, and I think the membership pays for itself in 3-4 months. I just have to remember to do the following:
1. Buy only non-perishables, or food that can be frozen.
2. Don't buy snacks.
1 is kind of obvious, I don't go through fresh veggies fast enough for them not to spoil. 2 is due to the fact that I will eat more snacks that way, it won't save me money then.
There are no Walmarts nearby, the closest is in Mountain View about 15 miles south. The nearby grocery stores are Lunardi's, Safeway, Nob Hill, Lucky, Whole Foods, and Draeger's, and the Walmart in Mountain View doesn't sell groceries, Costco is the least expensive of those by far. The tuna costs about 80% more at Safeway, which is the generic supermarket here, also the cheapest of the grocery stores. I've been to a Walmart in Texas that sold groceries, and that was much cheaper than Safeway here, but I can't tell you how much of that was regional price changes, and I didn't calculate the per unit costs to compare to Costco.
Worth it? ? only if you know your prices~ After checking the only thing that I couldn't get for less by shopping was gasoline~ maybe worth it if I lived in another area
costco or sams club vs. regular stores
...
Gasoline sams club savings of $.10/ gallon
Worth it? ? only if you know your prices~ After checking the only thing that I couldn't get for less by shopping was gasoline~ maybe worth it if I lived in another area
You hit the nail on the head. We've got one and frankly, the only thing that seems to make it worth it is the savings on Gas. We can usually buy the same items at GFS for the same or less than Sams and it's a lot closer. Gas on the other hand is always cheapest at Sams. We're not sure this year if we'll keep our membershipt at Sams or just let it laspe and buy gift cards at Wal-Mart for gas (.03c a gallon off).
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
