Time for the weekly chat thread, where you’re free to talk about anything that’s on your mind (nicely, of course!). Share your menu plans, recipes, recipe requests, budgets, questions, rants, raves… Whatever!
With the new Costco on Nevada opening up next week, I thought I’d ask what you think of warehouse clubs. Do you have a Sam’s or Costco membership? Which one? What do you find is a good deal there? Are you purchasing more or less there since you started couponing?
Please share your thoughts in the comments!
Has anyone with a Sam’s Club membership signed up for their savings program? I don’t know what they are calling it, but the guy told me that it was $50/year (that was my prorated amount) and that they guaranteed that you would save $200/year or you would receive a refund for the enrollment. The $50 was in addition to your Sam’s Club annual membership fee.
I’ve never heard of this, Michelle! What’s the standard for how much you save? Are they comparing to a specific stores prices, or average retail prices?
The $200 savings for the plus membership is for eValues savings, which are basically coupons loaded onto your Sam’s card, if I understand correctly. So, you are guaranteed to save $200 more than you would normally save at Sam’s.
Sam’s tells me that I saved over $600 last year by purchasing with them (with my regular membership), which is ridiculous. They must be calculating it from regular grocery store prices, but even still it seems high to me. I figure I save about $30+/year on milk, but that is based on the next lowest grocery store price, not the “average” price.
Ooh, that sounds interesting! I wonder what type of e-coupons they give you. Maybe I’ll do some research and found out if no one else know.
I am a member of Sam’s Club. I always buy my milk and cheese there. Milk is currently $1.58′gal, which is $0.30 cheaper than anywhere else I’ve seen recently. And a 5 lb block of cheese is $8.72 or something like that. I also get eggs there at around $2.76 or so, for 36 eggs, unless they are cheaper at the grocery store. I figure it’s worth my membership fee just for what I save on milk and cheese every year.
I am getting less at Sam’s since I started couponing and watching the grocery sales. I used to think their price on potatos was awesome, but now I can get it much cheaper with a sale.
I have also wondered about the Sam’s Club Plus membership. I believe it’s $100. (A regular membership is $40.) I have heard about the deal where you are guaranteed to save $200/year, but I can’t find anything about it on their website. I would love to hear if anyone has had any experience with it. Especially, what happens if you don’t save $200, do you go back to a regular membership the next year? Or can you stay a plus member and get the same “save $200 or it’s free” deal the following year? I highly doubt they could save me $200, but a free membership would be nice.
I am definitely going to be checking out the new Costco when it opens next week. My inlaws are members there and they like it. I would love hearing anyone’s opinions on Sams vs. Costco.
The guy that I talked to at the store about this said that if you didn’t save $200 during the year, that they would refund you the cost of the “Plus” membership. I am guesssing it’s around $60/year.
As for the coupons they load, one of the examples they used was saving $2.00 on Quilted Northern TP.
I used to have a Sam’s membership, but last year I switched to Costco because its right by the house. For me the extra $10 a year for the membership is worth it because its so easy to get to compared to the Sam’s (from my house). The best deals for us at Sam’s were the pig ear treats for the dogs and the baby wipes. I actually stocked up on the wipes before my membership expired because they are the best!
I tend to run in to Costco for quick trips more often, rather than the big expensive monthly trip. We love the margarita pizza for $9.99 so we pick it up on Friday evenings fairly often. The photo christmas cards are the best deal around, much cheaper than Walgreens and better quality. Next week we are buying an LCD TV there, much better deal then Best Buy and Sears.
I have been a Costco member since college and my parents have been since before I can remember, and we love it! (Of course, my husband and I are both from the Northwest) Last year, we determined that we save the amount of the membership just on the Pace Picante sauce and Tillamook cheese we buy. I’ve only seen a lower price on either of those somewhere else one time. We also were able to get a good deal on tires, a sewing machine, and some other big ticket items and Christmas gifts. In addition, the Costco American Express is highly rated for the cash back you can earn, and we love that. By putting our expenses on it and paying it off each month, we made a few hundred dollars each of the last two years without paying one cent of interest.
I have Sam’s Club and I do the same amount of shopping as I did before couponing. I have a spreadsheet of the items I buy, what it cost and the break down of either lb, oz or ea. This way I know if something goes on sale with our without a coupon if it will beat Sam’s or not. I find that some items are just cheaper to buy in bulk.
I have a Sam’s membership- but don’t use it often. I got it because diapers (Pampers) are way cheaper there, but my baby girl just started moving into size 1 @ 9 weeks. The Sam’s around here only has the 1/2 boxes. We are moving in 2 months too, so no room to stock anything right now either. I find much better deals couponing usually (thanks to Carrie and another site!).
I have BOTH memberships. I have a business membership at SAMS and I really love the ability of shopping at 7:30am, but the quality of Costcos meat and vegies is amazing. During the summer they had the best strawberris and the clam was 4lbs? I think I paid just over $5 and was able to make 24 jars of strawberry jam for gifts for only $10. Sams has prices that are slightly better, I think I would compare it to Target and Walmart. I am going to drop one this year, probably Costco, only because Sams has better hours.
Does anyone use Upromise? I just signed up and wonder how good it really is. Safeway, King Soopers, and Albies all participate, so I hope it is good!
We signed up years ago with UPromise. I know some have had successes but we (and my parents) could never get their cards to link up for the savings and we tried going through them, through the stores, nothing worked. We gave up. I think as well, now that I’ve researched more, it has some VERY strict limitations on withdraw.
We have had a UPromise mastercard and have been registered at all the grocery stores since 2002. The mastercard gives us 1% back on all purchases (which we pay off each month) and banks them for us. This is where a majority of our $ for college come from. Since my husband travels extensively, and rents many cars, we use Avis and our upromise card and get 3-5% back (depending on promotions). If you open a 529 college saving plan (collegeinvest.org) you will be able to deduct the amount you contribute to it from you Colorado lincome tax and you can have UPromise deposit your earnings with them directly into the 529 account. We have saved enough to pay for her books and part of her tuition.
We use Sams for very specific purchases. I buy walnuts, milk (occasionally), Acai Juice, and dog treats. I occasionally buy paper products there primarily for the convenience of having a huge stock on hand… but only when I don’t have a coupon!
We have been members of Costco forever and love it!
The amount we have saved on formula pays for the membership 100 times over. Whats nice about their “Kirkland” brand is that it usually is made by the same companies, like their Kirkland coffee beans are roasted by Starbucks, etc.
Their price on milk is great, and the quality of their meat and produce is awesome.
Also, the 2% back with the Amex card is totally worth it if you shop their alot
I’ll chime in! We used to have a Sam’s membership and used it to buy cheese, extra-virgin olive oil, white rice, spices, vanilla, raisins, Craisins, and probably a couple of other things I’m forgetting.
We let our membership expire a few months ago – just couldn’t justify the renewal cost all at once. I can now buy olive oil, craisins, and raisins for about the same price or just a tad more at Sunflower Market (on sale). You can buy white rice for about the same price at an Asian market. And, I found out (after asking a friend to pick some up for me) that they no longer carry the blocks of fresh Parmesan cheese – only Parmigiano Reggiano, which is really good, but a lot more expensive.
You still can’t *usually* beat their prices on off-brand cheddar and mozzarella cheese, though I never did like it when they started carrying *only* mild cheddar and not sharp in the off-brand.
At some point I may check out Costco simply because of the cheese issue, but other than that, I can almost always get stuff cheaper on sale at other stores.
Oh yeah, and I just had a GREAT experience price-matching at Walmart! I wanted to PM the Rancho Liborio price for avocados and when I went to checkout, I told her I needed to pricematch them and she already knew what price I was price-matching. The rest of you must have been in there, too! :)
carrie- do all stores price match? and, do you just bring the ad with you when you are checking out and ask to price match?
Walmart does, and Target just started a few weeks ago. You can just bring the ad with you, it’s pretty easy! I’ve never done it at Target, though – I’ve heard you have to take the ad to customer service.
I priced matched at Target on Union and Powers last week on the Skippy peanut butter. Walgreens had it for 1.66 each and it was/is?? 2.04 at Target. It was a painful transaction. I had the Target coupons for the 1.00 off and two .40c coupons from the sunday coupons (IDK which insert they were in), I told the cashier I wanted to pm and he said it has to be done at the customer service desk. So, I gave my coupons and paid for everything, went to CS and told them what I wanted. They had to call in someone else to come help, and I ended up with a 3.00 coupon voucher that said something about sorry for the inconvience that was caused to me because they were unable to figure out how much I was to get back. I was told this was a new policy and they hadn’t figured out how to do it yet. The coupons I used caused confusion. It would be much simpler if they just did a price adjustment at the registers.
maybe I’ll avoid pm-ing at target for a bit. does ksoopers?
There are just three in our family, so I haven’t ever done the membership places. My in-laws and my parents have Sam’s cards, so I’ve been in that store with them, and I just didn’t see that much that we’d buy in large enough quantity to justify the membership cost. I always hear about the cheese deals, but I manage to get cheese for 1.98 a pound or less. This summer I was combining Target coupons and Kraft coupons and paying something like 8 cents for 8 ounce shreds or blocks. We are just now using up the last of those.
We garden, a small orchard, and we have our own hens. We belong to a really cool co-op where I can get my grains too, so there’s just not that much we need from the store. Lately I’ve been bartering homegrown vegetables (carrots, onions, potatoes, turnips ,etc.) and eggs with a neighbor for antelope and venison. If I could find a way to grow chocolate, pepsi and doritos, we’d be set!
Laura, I think your chocolate, Pepsi, and Doritos comment may be the FUNNIEST thing I have heard all day!
You know, Carrie – I’ve tried making home-made soda. The stuff made with champagne yeast is awful – in my opinion – and if you use seltzer and homemade syrup, it’s not that cost effective (and I can’t make cola anyway).
I’ve read enough online about failed attempts at homemade chocolate to know I’m not going there, and since I’m not the Dorito person – oh well! Thing is, when you grow most of your groceries, the stuff you buy at the store makes you look like a junk food addict!
-Laura at
http://www.tenthingsfarm.blogspot.com
I am looking for a grain co-op. Do you have a phone number or e-mail to get in touch with them?
Sorry I’m late responding to this, Ruth – I just saw it! We have a website:
http://www.providentpeople.net
Hope that helps!
Thank you so much. I’m planning on raising some meat and egg chickens this spring and I’m looking for a good source of healthy grains.
HI Ruth,
There is a Grain Co-op just East of Colorado Springs. It is located in Calhan. The name is Calhan Co-op but they have grains of every kind there. Hope this helps!
We like our Sams club membership for building a stockpile of bigger sizes in things like canned pears, corn, and green beans. When we checked, Costco either didn’t carry them in the bigger sizes we wanted, or it was far cheaper at Sams. I also get my vanilla, flour and yeast there. We have only had it for a few months, and we were replacing flooring with laminate from Sams when we got it. We’ll re-evaluate when we’re up to renew.
Has anyone found a great deal on trick or treat candy? I have the coupons for Nestle and Hershey’s and have seen the ads at KS and Safeway but still am not sure about what the best deal is. I also have some RR to use at Walgreens… should I use that to buy candy? Any suggestions are appreciated!
I have been wanting to get our candy too – before it is out at all the stores. But I also want to get the best deal. So I’ll see what people say. I need to go back to the KS post and see what they have going.
I went to KS yesterday with my coupons for Nestle and Wanka candy. With their sale the Wanka bags of Nerds were free and the Nestle bags were .50c. I felt that I did pretty good! Now we have 4 bags of candy ready for next Friday.
If you have RR for walgreens I’d use the $1 nestle’ coupons there to get the small bags (on sale for $2 each) for $1 of RR money. The $2 nestle’ coupons are for a bigger bag – don’t know if they sell that or what price it is, so check on that too. :)
I’d love to know where people are buying candy too! I’m about ready to just get some because I haven’t seen any good deals.
Re: warehouse clubs…I too am using them less now that I have time to really use coupons and sales to get good deals. We’re members of Costco and their prices on most things are not a good deal at all. It kills me when people shop there and think they are getting these great deals. BUT, I like that there are lots of things that I can almost always count on being cheaper there – like cheese, vanilla, bananas, formula, and hydrocortisone. They also have the best laundry detergent for my sensitive skinned boys (free and clear and extra concentrated so it lasts forEVER). And random stuff – they have incredible prices on rugs, the Kirkland brand of underwear is my husband’s favorite, and they carry big packs of Champion socks, which are (according to said husband) the best socks EVER. He goes on and on about these socks, seriously.
I also like that they put out coupons every 6 weeks or so. A lot of them just bring their normal price down to a good sale price at a grocery store, but some of them are truly awesome – like this month they have a coupon for $2 off a 72 ounce bag of Nestle chips, which brings the price down to 5.99 – great price if you are out of those darn .50 coupons (which I am)!!
Do you have to bring in the ads for Walmart to do the price match? Do you think they would take a printed ad from online?
I was at walmart the other day and the cashier told me I didn’t need to ever bring in an ad, just tell her the price. that scares me a little bit, though. I still bring it in. Maybe she was just an extra nice cashier.
I have brought in the printed page from KS or Safeway (like the one where you mark what you want and a grocery list from their website and then print it) and Walmart has price matched off that. Might depend on your cashier though what they will take.
Last time I asked to price match it took a long time for the cashier to scour through the ad I had and check each item over. One of the items was bacon and the Safeway add was for 1 oz more than the one they had a Walmart so she wouldn’t honor it. I think it really depends on who you get!
I have found that when I *don’t* bring the ad’s in, they don’t have them at the registers to price match and won’t do it. I shop at the Woodmen/Powers Walmart.
I belong to Costco (I share the membership with my mom) and shop there 6x/year. I’ve found it is more expensive to shop there for most food esp now that I am couponing. I shop mostly for clothes and household stuff. My husband likes their Kirkland jeans, they fit and wear really well, their Court Classic tennis shoes. Random stuff I’ve bought that I think I got a good deal on: speedo swimsuits for $20, swim goggles, huggable hangers, vitamins for kids and adults, dixie cups, cashews, trail mix, preschool learning workbooks, kids Kirkland organic cotton pjs, Coleman all natural hotdogs, mickey mouse chicken nuggets.
It’s nice to have the membership, but I do end up buying stuff I didn’t plan on sometimes. If I had to pay the membership fee, I don’t know if I’d do it, but I like having the membership.
The men’s socks and Kirkland tee shirts wear great also… they last forever. They sometimes have name brand such as Hurley, ONeil, etc. that my guys like – the women’s underwear & socks are good too. I’ve bought many many pjs & robes – all very good quality.
DItto on the men’s jeans – the size selection isn’t great (my husband is a 31 x 34 – which they never carry) but I get the 32 x 34 & tell him to wear a belt !
I’m a member at Sam’s and have been for over 10 yrs. Last year, when I went to renew with the paperwork they sent, I rec’d a $10 gift certificate making my $35/yr membership down to $25. I can easily recoup a $2.10 savings in milk alone every month (as we drink 10+ gal). I find savings in their eggs, milk, cheese, onions, carrots, bananas, lettuce, bread flour, yeast, gas and etc. I didn’t buy into their $50 upgrade because I don’t buy brand name stuff there – more expensive… I don’t think I’d save any more. And, I can see if you were a small family, it might not be as beneficial. I love their click’n'pull! With click’n'pull I can check prices online and I’m not dragging my five kids all around the store as I order and Sam’s puts it in a shopping cart for me. Even with all the coupons, I’m still a steadfast Sam’s shopper. :0)
What kind of a membership do you have? I could have sworn my membership was $40, but I would much prefer to pay $35.
You know, I don’t know why, but I’m 90% sure that’s how much I paid? I could be wrong! :0)… Even if it was $40, it would change the savings by .40 per month. I think I save so much more than that!
We are from California and have always shopped at Costco – if you get their Executive Membership you earn cash back which ultimately pays for your membership. The prices on most things are good, sometimes Walmart has better prices, but I will say that the QUALITY of the things at Costco are truly good (I’m a little picky in that regard).
So, do I think they are worth it? Yes.
Do any of you have a spread sheet for prices that you would be willing to share?
For the Sam’s Club shoppers, do you buy your laundry detergent there or do you find it cheaper somewhere else?
Michelle, I’ve never mainted a price sheet myself, but the AWESOME thing about Sam’s is that their prices are online because of their click-n-pull feature. So, when I had a membership, I often went to samsclub.com to check prices when I was unsure if a sale at a different store was a good deal.
I still use their site to be a gauge for prices even though our membership has expired!
I downloaded a price list off of pinchingyourpennies.com on the right click on PYP’s Price Book – new features and down at the bottom it has master price list to download or one blank to print for yourself to fill in. I just deleted some of those I didn’t need, and added others. Each week when I buy stuff I just add it in to know what I paid for it where.
Natalie, thank you SO much! I have been looking for something like that for several months. :)
Hi – I am really new to trying to cut coupons, compare prices, etc. I went to that site to download the price list…. but I really have no idea what I am look at – I have the form, but what does it mean??! help please
If you downloaded the right thing it should be a spreadsheet with yellow/white lines. It lists the item to purchase then the price that would be ***, ****, *****. The five star is the price to shoot for and one to stock up on. If your price at the store is a 3star, then don’t stock up and buy if you need it. Did you download the right form? What does it look like?
The other thing I like about Costco is their cakes and pies. Their custom cakes are wonderful. Priced very reasonably and they taste great.
Ditto! You can’t make your own – giant – pumpkin pie for $5.99 – and it tastes GREAT
I have a membership at both club stores. I keep Sam’s because that is what is closer and get my coffee, honey wheat pretzels and brown sugar there. They also have a rockin price on canned pumpkin right now. I only go there about once a month. I shop Costco for a lot of other things because I prefer organic varieties of a lot of stuff and Costco just has a better selection of those products. I get my dog food, cheese, laundry detergent, frozen fruit, string cheese, sour cream, canned fruit, fruit leathers, wild salmon, organic ground beef, ground bison, orange juice, some vitamins and pure maple syrup. Since I go to both stores, I know the prices and Costco is just better!
I’ve mentioned this before in one of my postings, so sorry if it’s redundant! First thing I want to mention is that I read an article about a month ago that says warehouse shoppers usually have a waste rate of 25%!!! If you are throwing ANYTHING out because you have too much, that needs to figure into your cost effectiveness.
My big ticket items are diapers, pop, cigarettes (I know, I know, I’m taking Chantix this very moment!) and chips chips chips, we’re sandwich eaters. I enrolled in the Huggies and Pampers mailers. With a small sale, an e-coupon and a manu coupon, I save 5 cents per diaper buying from KS versus Sam’s. I actually DID a spreadsheet… well, took one from my business and just changed the outcomes in Excel. With a huge sale, I can save as much as 10 cents a diaper and once, I got several packs of diapers FREE.
For pop, I realized at Sam’s the cheapest per ounce was the big bottles, but I usually ended up having some waste because the bottles are larger. For cans, I just wait for a 3/9, 3/10 or 4/11 sale and stock up. Sam’s doesn’t come close on those.
Chips don’t cut it at all, even the gas station can come by the same price often and if there’s a Lay’s deal, nope.
Milk, 20 cents for about 6 gallons a month, for $1.80 doesn’t cover the gas for a round trip almost!
Paper products, I’ve almost gotten for free, and several times I get Bounty for free. Paper plates doesn’t come close. TP IS better at Sam’s though. But only by about $2 per month.
Overall, when adding in the cost of membership (I don’t count gas savings, shopping at KS exclusively has netted me a savings of around $50 a month on gas with their points being multiplied now) if you take a trip once a month, add a $3 surcharge to each bill. Once every two months, add $6.
Now if you account even 10% waste into an average.. say $200 trip to Sam’s every other month, you lose $20 from buying too much. That adds up to wasting $120 a year. Do that every month and you are looking at $240 a year, PLUS the $40 cost of membership, or $280. Roughly tossing $24 away every month.
I shop at Costco about once a month- mostly for cheese, romaine lettuce (6 heads for $2.99-ish), baby bell peppers, banannas, berries (if not on sale somewhere else), and frozen organic green beans and organic corn. I also buy reduced calorie bread and tortillias (the packages last about 2 months in the freezer). I rarely buy meat- I buy at KS on manager’s markdown. I also don’t usually buy can goods unless I am making a big batch of something and can use a huge can- it often is a good deal that way. I do feel I save money on these items, generally. If something I bought starts to do bad before I have a chance to eat it- I put it in the freezer and use it later so I don’t have much waste. We often make a event of the day and have a $1.50 hotdog/drink combo and share a $1.65 huge softserve frozen yogurt. The pizza is also very yummy and a decent price (9.99) for the size and quickness. Rotissarie chicken is often a good deal as well (they are usually pretty big).
I haven’t shopped at Sam’s in a long time, but I remember the issue I had back then was that they didn’t carry much off brand selection- only brand names, and I didn’t think the brand name in bulk was cheaper than off-brand in a normal store.
HOWEVER, I do spend more than I intend because I seem to be more tempted to buy stuff I don’t need more than usual in the store.
We were members of Costco mainly because of the price of contact lenses. Last year I compared prices between a few sources (local doctor, 1-800 contacts, etc) and Costco beat them significantly. The savings pays for my membership plus some. And if we are ever in a position to buy a bigger LCD, we’ll definitely look into Costco. My husband likes to track prices and Costco, again, had the lowest price available.
Folks, you can recoup your membership in just two bags of Doritos, a cream pie, and 2 tires. It’s that easy!
Seriously, I’ve been a Costco member since the early 90′s and Sams for about 8 years. They both have their pros/cons. Each individual will have different buying patterns, product preferences, etc.
Overall, if I only could choose one…it would be Costco. Their private label “Kirkland Signature” products really do blow away most major labels at sometime signifcant savings. Sam’s private stuff just doesn’t do it for me. Costco just seems to have higher quality on many food items. However, like I said I shop at both regularly.
Recently my wife has been using couponsense and we’re now saving 50-60% REGULARLY at Albertsons, KS, or Safeway. We go where the deals are. We have 4 kids, so this program has been a HUGE help. Last Friday at Albertson’s on Dublin, the bill was $284 and after all the coupons/sale items it came up to $134. THAT’S SERIOUS CASH! With that, we can then go to Costco for a treat.
Oh yea, Sam’s pizza court has better pizza and still a better return policy. They actually double refund you on food items…it’s weird, but you get double your money back if you ever return something bad. I only had to use it once, on some green bananas that never turned yellow!
LOVE YOU COSTCO.
Chris & family