Is this cheating for the Eat From The Pantry Challenge? ;) I used a one-day pass for Sam’s Club on New Year’s Eve to stock up on some items that are either always cheaper at Sam’s, or that I haven’t been able to stock up on elsewhere recently.
Here’s what I bought:
- Soy Sauce (1 Gallon) $8.48
- Mild Cheddar Cheese (5 lbs) $9.89
- Hershey’s Cocoa (23 oz) $6.17
- Fresh Garlic (2 lbs) $2.98
- Tomato Sauce x4 (106 oz) $2.88
- Pinto Beans (10 lbs) $5.37
- Pure Vanilla Extract (16 oz) $6.48
- Yeast (2 lbs) $3.88
- Onion Powder (21 oz) $3.88
- Peppercorns (10 oz) $4.38
- Maple Syrup (32 oz) $13.88
- Garlic Powder (21 oz) $3.87
- Chicken Base (16 oz) $3.47
- Diced Tomatoes x2 (100 oz) $3.38
- Whole Tomatoes (100 oz) $2.82
- All Purpose Flour (25 lbs) $6.23
Because I wasn’t a member, I paid a 10% upcharge of $10.01, which brought my total to $110.07. The price per “normal size” listed below does not include this surcharge. This is included in my December average of $114 per week!
Flour – worked out to $1.25 per 5 lbs. I prefer to stock up when it hits 5 lbs for $1 (a sale we had at Albertsons in November or December), but the budget was pretty tight and I wasn’t able to buy very much when it went on sale. I don’t think we’ll see the $1 price again until next winter, so I was willing to pay a little more than rock-bottom, because it’s probably going to be much cheaper than buying it anywhere else for awhile.
Canned Tomatoes – I’m not sure how good of a deal this was, at least for the tomato sauce. Diced tomatoes were the equivalent of paying about 51¢ for a 15 oz canned, whole tomatoes were about 42¢ per 15 oz can – those are good prices, but the tomato sauce was the equivalent of paying about 22¢ for an 8 oz can.
I can’t remember what Walmart’s every day price is for tomato sauce, but I’m thinking it’s pretty close to that, so I’m not sure it was worth having to buy a huge can in order to save a few pennies.
Cheddar Cheese – this price seems to fluctuate quite a bit at Sam’s. I paid about $1.98/lb, which is a good price, but it’s gone as low as $1.77-1.99 at Sunflower Market, and that price at Sunflower Market doesn’t even require coupons. It’s been as low as $1.70/lb at Sam’s, but again, it seems to fluctuate so it’s not a price you can count on.
While I think I got the lowest price on most items, I’m definitely still convinced that at least for my family, a Sam’s membership isn’t worth it. I plan on making a trip like this 2-3 times per year, and even if I spent $100 every time, that’s still only a $20-30 upcharge. Their cheapest membership is $40, so I’m still ahead paying the upcharge rather than buying a membership.
Many of these items will last me quite awhile, like the spices and yeast, so I definitely won’t be spending $100 every time I go – probably more like $60-70. Jeremy may buy some office supplies there, but not a huge dollar amount.
A few items that I know were a little cheaper at Sam’s but I passed up buying were Craisins (too expensive for our current budget!), rice (last I checked I could get pretty close to the same price at Asian Pacific Market), and maybe pasta. And popcorn, but I decided that even at about 13¢ per pound, I just don’t have room to store 50 lbs of popcorn!
I *almost* bought pasta, but all they carry is spaghetti, angel hair, and penne. It was 81-94¢ per pound, but I decided to wait for a sale at a different store. At some point, we should be able to get pasta (probably store brand) for about 75¢ per pound, with more varieties to choose from. (I’m not sure that Sam’s price on pasta would even beat Walmart’s every day price – anyone know?)
So, that’s my Sam’s strategy! If you don’t have a membership, you can do like I did and print this one-day pass to Sam’s Club and use it through February 13th. There is that 10% upcharge, but do the math and see if you’d pay more with the upcharge or a membership.
If you want to compare prices at Sam’s versus the weekly grocery ads, you can look up most items on their website. I do this quite often! We also had a great discussion about Sam’s versus Costco a few months ago that you may find interesting.
One place that Sam’s can really save you money is on nuts such as pecans, almonds, and walnuts. Last time I priced it, walnuts were nearly 3 times more expensive per pound at Walmart. I keep them in the freezer to prevent the oils in the nuts from going rancid. CFL bulbs and LED bulbs are also considerably less expensive at Sam’s compared to other stores.
Ooh, that’s true; I’d forgotten about nuts! Though, Sunflower Market does come pretty close to Sam’s Club on nuts… Just have to wait for them to go on sale.
Thanks for doing that comparison. We are members of sam’s mainly for the milk, eggs and cheese. Although all 3 are pretty expensive at Sam’s right now. I’ve seen 36 eggs at Sam’s for under $3 and 5 lbs of cheese for under $9. Milk is cheaper right now at the grocery stores.
We do get our popcorn at Sam’s. My husband eats so much popcorn that we go through it about twice a year.
We were there last week and were going to buy some potatos, but I just couldn’t bring myself to spend almost $4 for 10 lbs. Crazy! And to think before I found this blog, I did that regularly!
I noticed you bought Pinto Beans, I have yet to find a good recipe…can you share yours?? Thanks!!
Wow…that’s a great price on cheese!
Do you ever shop at Vitamin Cottage? Their prices on bulk goods are pretty great. I buy all my spices there. Can’t remember what I paid for my peppercorns but it was ridiculously cheap.
I *totally* forgot about Vitamin Cottage or Natural Grocers or whatever it’s called now! I need to check it out – I wanted to buy peppercorns at Whole Foods in their bulk section but they didn’t appear to have any.
On the pinto beans I get mine at that store down south pretty cheap. I can’t remember the name. Have you compared if so what have you found.
Bean recipe that I was raised on.
Wash you beans(just rinse off basically) boil until mash able by fork. This can take awhile. (crock pot on low for most of the day if you need to leave I don’t have times on this as I have only heard of it never used myself)
Then in frying pan cook 2 pieces of bacon cut up small pieces and some onion cook them till very very done then add in your beans. Drain the beans from the water first add in 1 – 2 cups at a time depends on your pan then mash. I use an electric hand blender the kind for drinks. Be sure to leave it a little lumpy you don’t want mash. :) Then let simmer and we add a couple of banana peppers cut up large for flavor and a jalapeno if we want some heat. Let simmer very low so the flavors combine. We also make Chicken Mole’ to go with it totally yummy. Now I did not say this was healthy but the bacon is what I substitute for what my great great Nana would add. Pork lard.
Christina, you probably got them at Rancho Liborio. They run them pretty regularly for 57¢/lb, so I paid like 4¢/lb less at Sam’s – big savings, huh? :)
I cook my own pinto beans in the crock pot. Just cook with water to cover on low for 6-8 hours, when their soft they are done. I do a big batch, use whatever I need that night and freeze the rest in freezer bags. Then when I need them just defrost in the microwave. This is much cheaper than buying the cans and healthier too.
This is basically what I do, too. I admit to preferring canned beans, but we have had NO sales on canned beans lately and they’re way cheaper to cook yourself anyway! I also use the slow cooker refried beans recipe here: http://thechoulife.wordpress.com/2009/08/25/quick-enchiladas-and-beans/
Last I checked, and it’s been a few months, the pasta prices at Walmart were cheaper than Sam’s. I stocked up when I saw that because I don’t have a Sam’s pass. Walmart has been upping their prices on a lot lately (some of their prices have doubled!!) so I don’t know if they’re still cheaper, but I would bet on the pasta they are. Sometimes I just use Sam’s online site to get their prices and compare.
we shop at sams for the bread flour which is cheaper there since I make all our bread from scratch. After making it at home I have a hard time paying for the good stuff in the store. I bought some of the good bread (only $1.00 a loaf) when my oven broke the week before Thanksgiving and ended up trowing away half a loaf because my kids would not eat it. lol.
Craisins are always way too expensive. Try the orange-cranberries at Sunflower. They’re sooo good. I’ll never buy Craisins again.
Unfortunately, every time I’ve checked, the price per pound at Sunflower (on sale) is still more expensive than the price per pound at Sam’s. I do prefer to buy them at Sunflower on occasion, though, just for portion control. :)
I’ve been hearing (not verified myself though) that at the first of this year, Sam’s raised their prices on diapers even further. That was a point of contention with me, because they “seemed” cheaper, until I waited for sales at KS and am in Huggies mailers along with some of the shortcuts.com coupons. If they’ve truly gone up in price at all, this is a huge drawback for some.