Is Sam’s Club always a better option than a local grocery store like Kroger? Shopping different stores will bring different results, sometimes they can bring some great savings and other times not so much. There are a lot of people who LOVE shopping at Sam’s Club, Costco, and other warehouse clubs. When I use to be “rich”, I shopped at these stores monthly and spent over two hundred dollars each visit. I would buy all sorts of things from peanut butter to toilet paper to books. I estimate that I over spent $100 each time buying things that just didn’t need, or didn’t consumer before they expired.
I still use the Sam’s club to supplement our household needs but only for things that are a true value. My wife and I will never step foot into the store without a WRITTEN list. We can only buy what’s on the list. If we see items that we think are a good deal, we’ll write down the key stats (price and amount) for review later. Once we get home we’ll check out other stores for the same key stats. Using the information we can figure out the cost per unit. To figure out the cost per unit just divide the price by the unit of measure. We use the cost per unit to compare all prices on products.
Below is an example of an item that we’ve performed our analysis on in the past. I wanted to see if dishwasher tablets were a better deal at the warehouse stores.
The Cost
The comparison shows that Sam’s Club is cheaper. There is one thing to factor into the equation though, the price of membership. The membership cost is $50 per year. The savings at the warehouse club is $8.83. If you use the dishwasher every day you would need to purchase 3 containers (120 tablets each) a year. The $8.83 times 3 equals $26.49 in savings per year. That doesn’t quite pay for the cost of membership. I’m sure there are other purchases you make that can show savings like this one to offset the cost of membership.
Tips and Tricks
There is a secret to getting an even better price on dishwasher tablets. Coupons, Sam’s Club and Costco don’t take them, but grocery stores sure do. Yes, I’m a guy and I know how to use coupons. Using coupons has enabled me to get the cost per unit down to $0.10 per tablet. If you time everything correct you can stack the coupons with a sale at Kroger and get the cost per tablet down to $0.05. Not bad eh? Finish Dishwasher tablets have a $2.50 coupon that comes out every month. Kroger puts Finish Dishwasher tablets on sale once a month, usully $1 off. I just wait around for the “stars” to align and then make the purchase. Using this method I save $36.27 compared to the normal price at the warehouse store and $63.88 compared to the normal Kroger price. If you factor in the membership cost at the warehouse I save a lot more.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. With a little effort you can find a ton of these deals. I know people will say it’s just a waste of time but it has helped bring our grocery budget down to $80 per week for a family of four. There are articles out there that show you how to make your own dishwasher detergent. Homemade Dishwasher Detergent is written by the wonderful Frugalisto, Matt Jabs. Jolyn over at Budgets are the New Black also wrote a post, I made my own homemade laundry detergent! (and dishwasher detergent, too)”. I love these two articles. If you are the DIY-type, I HIGHLY recommend reading them.
What do you guys and gals think about looking at Cable vs. Netflix next week? Any other ideas??
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The key to finding deals, and making sure they really are good deals, is to keep a price book of the things you buy. This will allow you to tell when a sale is really a sale, and you will know when something is a steal. As you pointed out, just because something seems cheaper doest mean it is.
Kyle C.´s last blog ..When the Price is Right – Buy Generic
I have a price book and use it all the time. It was a pain to set up but worth it in the end. I’m kinda nerdy so I have most of it memorized and don’t need to take it with me to the store. Having a calculator with you can really help when comparing different size “sale” items too. Bigger isn’t always better.
Do you have any good links to how to make a price book? I looked for some but nothing worth including in the post.
Don’t forget your friendly neighborhood food coop! You can buy bulk rice, beans, etc. very inexpensively.
Very good point Georgette, I didn’t think about that. I’ll have to see if I have any in my area. I can’t think of any off hand.
I am addicted to Kroger! It is so easy for me to shop there that I find myself there numerous times a week. :/ We belong to Costco too, and I really like it!
Mrs. Money´s last blog ..How Does Redbox Make Money?
Kroger is the bomb. The Kroger card has saved me a ton. I’ve used Costco in the past but we switched to Sam’s because they have a knock off baby formula we used for our kids. We saved a ton by using it. So I do find value in both the warehouse store and the grocery store, as long as you don’t automatic buy without doing research.
I love this post. I have been wavering between getting a costco or sam’s club card. But living in a suburban area I have 10 grocery stores within 10 miles so finding deals and settling into the cheapest store long term is a lot easier. If I had a 1 grocery store and costco to choose from I would get a membership and choose to use it. But now, takes too much planning. I might once the kids are in school during the day and we are more financially secure. Then I will be buying more office things and electronics which sam’s and costco has great prices on.
Ted´s last blog ..Ipad and other wants
We only make the trek to the Sam’s once a month. We use it for diapers and dog food. I haven’t been able to find anything cheaper.
Yes, it is a lot of work to figure out the cheapest source for good, but I believe with a little practice it can be done very quickly and will yield some great savings. My In-laws have bought a ton of electronics at Costco and have saved quite a bit of cash.
Unfortunately for us, no Sam’s club or Kroger’s here in California. Just Wholefoods, or “Whole Paycheck” as they like to say since it costs so much for organic produce!
Good you are slashing that grocery budget down Jeff!
Financial Samurai´s last blog ..Getting Busy This Valentine’s Weekend! (Singles Especially)
Haha we have Whole Paycheck here too. Maybe once I’m a Baller I’ll be able to shop there. Well, maybe not. I not a Foodista so that just doesn’t matter much to me. Sorry you don’t have Kroger, you guys out there in California must be too good for Kroger (the poor man’s store)
Have fun on that trip you booked last night. Normally I would say you’re nuts, but you have the coin and life is about experiences.
Most things are a much better value at the grocery store (and drugstore) because a lot of times they end up being free or just pennies after a great sale stacked with coupons. Then there are items that never or rarely have coupons. Maple syrup, soy milk, quinoa, and nuts are cheaper at club stores(when they carry them, this varies a lot) just off the top of my head. Some of those you can get a great deal on at amazon.com. Other’s you can’t. My sam’s club membership was free to me this year so I don’t have to factor in the cost of that this time. If I am paying for the membership I prefer Costco(no B.J.’s near me). The savings on shelf stable organic vanilla soy milk make the cost worth it all by itself:)
Thanks Tosha,
I never thought about using Amazon for this stuff. There are bound to be some products that people really like and are always a huge saving. They won’t always be the same for everybody. I’m glad the Vanilla soy milk is such a good deal
Thanks for sharing your tips! I am a frugal myself, especially lately with the economy being so bad and my husband losing his job. Now, we have to be more careful than ever! So thanks for sharing the tips.
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Yeah this economy is not a friend to many. I’m sorry to here about your husband. What line of work is he looking to get back into? Being frugal during a time like this will really help out to make ends meet. I wish you the best of luck and I’ll keep the tips coming