Do you find you save money on groceries shopping at sams club or costco??

[dgthree]

Going Tuesday; will report back!

The AMC Theater Gold Tickets are one of my favorite Costco purchases. You get two tickets for $16.99, and they are valid for all movies, even on opening day. Sometimes they go even lower, and then I usually stock up, keeping the passes in the glove compartment of my car so I always have them handy.

The only downside is that the AMC (by me at least) won't apply the tickets to your Stubs account any more, so you don't get credit for the purchase.

 

[ChristineNic]

I take Zyrtec for allergies. A bottle of the Kirkland Signature Generic at Costco is $15.99 for 365 pills. CVS Generic verision is $61.99 for 365 pills.

Name brand Zyrtec from CVS is $39.99 for 70 pills.

I also like Costo's selection of protein bars and vitamins.

 

[pryncess527]

We shop at BJs instead of Costco or Sams Club, but I know I save money with my membership.

We save a ton on milk, butter, eggs, cheese, & coca-cola and all non-perishable items. Plus I just love buying things like toilet paper and trash bags in bulk so that we don't run out as often.

We go through so much Nes-Quik powder I think savings on that pay for our membership alone.

 

[flamingglobessigmund]

Costco saves us s little bit on gas, bacon, cheese, butter, milk, pancake mix, chicken broth & gravy mix in canisters, Starbucks beans, rice, canned salmon, Lays potato chips. Just got great deals on strawberries & blueberries that taste great in that Krusteaz pancake mix.

I'm really proud of myself for not impulsively buying some things during my last trip. That's the hard part for me shopping at Costco.

 

[AJ1983]

For me, the Costco membership is worth it just for the pet supplies. We spend about $250/month there on the animals, for dog food, dog treats (including a 2kg jar pf peanut butter), cat food and kitty litter. Aside from that, we also buy toilet paper, paper towel, deodorant, body wash, razors, soap, milk, bread, cheeses and meats. We do end up spending more than we'd like on junk food items, I will admit!

 

[*Flower*]

I don't know if you'd consider this being budget minded, but I just paid off our cruise with my Costco Amex and will get 2% back on that.
Between our savings with our Costco Amex and the Costco Exec card- our membership is covered.
And as others have said- their gas prices are great! And I get all of my vitamins there. I now have problems with hard pills or large pills due to illness, and they actually carry gummy vitamins, calcium and fiber 'gels' for adults. They're saving me from choking on the hard pills.

Also, SC just had their 'tax free' weekend, and I told DH to make sure that he had enough underwear, shoes etc. All tax free, and the prices were great to boot!

 

[CuteAndFluffy]

I've had a Sam's Club membership that I let lapse. I mainly used it for snacks & a mattress, but didn't do much shopping. Not worth it.

Costco is a different story. In a town 45 minutes away, a Costco opened. It's been totally worth the drive! I've cut my grocery bill in HALF. Now, I'll admit that part of that is just changing the way I shop, but Costco has been a big part of that. We don't eat a lot of premade stuff, so I can't speak to prices on those things, but for us it's been a money saver.

I go once every two weeks, spend under $150 dollars, and get most of what we need. I'll usually make a fruit/veggie/bread run locally about a week later. They don't' carry absolutely everything I need, but I get most of my staples there.

We often get (WITH CASH!!! It's easy to overspend with a debit card. Bring $20 more than you think you need and try to keep it intact by putting it somewhere inconvenient)

Grass fed/Organic ground beef
Organic Chicken thighs & breasts
Pork Tenderloin
Eggs
Cheese (the shredded Mexican style blend, a block of good cheddar)
Hummus
Kirkland Peanut Butter
Mountain High yogurt
Coffee (Just tried one called "Joe" that was good and 1/2 the price of the Starbucks I had been buying)
Veggies--Broccoli/spinach/snow peas/cukes/brussels sprouts/carrots/frozen kale
Fruit--Whatever looks good and looks like it will last
Squeeze applesauce
Chia Seeds & Hemp Seeds
Nuts (though they're priced about the same as elsewhere...)

After that there is usually room for an extra or two, like:
Kirkland Vodka (VERY good quality)
Kirkland Bourbon (not my favorite--I can get Evan Williams locally cheaper for more)
Kirkland Fruit and Nut bars (THE BEST!--I'm pretty sure they're KIND bars for 1/2 the price)
Annies Bunnies
Freeze Dried fruit
Mexican Coke
Carrot Cake (NOM)
Volpi Salami (so good!)

I'm not a fan of the hot dogs or the polish sausage, but the hand dipped ice cream bars are amazing.

As long as I go in with a list and the willpower to stick to it, I do just fine. If I went in with the attitude of "Let's see what they've got today..." I'd be HOSED.

 

[GadgetTheInventor]

We only have a Sam's Club membership to buy their Girahdelli chocolate at Christmas. The membership basically pays for itself that way.

Costco is a great deal for us because of their organic offerings. I also like the fact that they pay living wages with benefits to their employees.

I do a lot of cooking/baking and love the value on their nuts, cheese, salt, yeast, canned chicken, oats, honey, sugar, coconut oil, organic peanut butter, organic strawberry jelly, etc. They have a lot of healthy convenience items too like whole wheat pasta, whole wheat raisin bread, whole wheat tortillas, organic boxed tomatoes soup, etc.

Now that Azure Standard has reached our neck of the woods, we are slowly switching to many of their products just because the level of organic quality is better. Costco still has a better price on nuts though and that alone can pay for the membership.

Kroger is still nice to stock up on toilet paper, tissues, paper towels, canned fruit, shredded coconut, and other items that go on sale every 4 months or a year for things like canned pumpkin.

 

[maplevale]

Gift Cards - Ours often has $100 gift cards for $80 (some local restaurants). I have done that for Christmas gifts.

I don't know if we save much - we did the executive membership and got 2% back and it paid for our executive for the next year. We did have diapers, wipes, formula and a big play set that year!

The big thing we find is Fruit/Veggies and meat are a much better quality then our local discount grocers and are much cheaper then our higher end grocery store. Eggs, Milk and Cheese are cheaper then others unless it's great sale.

 

[Legendteri]

I don't know if we necessarily save money shopping at Costco, but I think the value is better as compared to Aldi.

For example, the diapers at Costco and Aldi are around the same price, but I have had a lot of problems with the Aldi diapers leaking and I didn't have that problem with the Costco diapers. In addition, the bread at Costco and Aldi is around the same price, but again, the quality of the bread at Costco is better.

In my opinion, if you are looking for the cheapest of the cheap, then Costco probably isn't for you. However, if your are frugal and looking for a good value, then Costco is your store. Again, it isn't always the cheapest, but it is a better overall value.

 

[hoosiergirl7]

Yes but you have to be disciplined like others have said. I go in there for specific items such as meat, bread, cheese (I grate it in my food processor - a 2lb chunk is roughly $5 and goes farther than buying bagged cheese at the store for $3/each), eggs, tomato sauce on a fairly regular basis at Sam's Club. Other things I buy are: Ranch dressing mix (Hidden Valley Ranch powder) since I make my own with Greek Yogurt and it's way cheaper to buy in bulk than buy individual packets at the grocery store for almost $3 each. My kids like turkey bacon and I can get 3lbs of French toast sticks for $5 something. A small box at the store costs nearly $3. Things I don't buy at Sam's paper products - toilet paper, tissues and paper towels (I can usually find better deals with coupons elsewhere), soda, cereal, laundry detergent, and some health and beauty supplies.

I go in with a list and only occasionally deviate from it. Especially if I see a good deal on something that I know I will use or totally forgot I needed. It happened yesterday when I didn't go through my lazy susan and my DH reminded me that the kids were totally out of jelly for their PB.

I supplement with regular grocery store trips on things like milk, fresh fruits and veggies and the things that I refuse to buy at Sam's because I know I can get a better deal elsewhere.

 

[mrsp1030]

Yes. Especially when you stock up when they have the awesome coupons!

 

[Teresa Pitman]

I got to Costco every couple of months and I think it is worth it for me. A big savings for me is the dog food. One of my dogs can't tolerate grains in his dog food, so I was paying about $90 a bag for a specialty dog food. Costco has two grain-free foods that are $34 for the same size, and my dog is doing great on it. I also give my dogs Dentastix daily and can buy those much cheaper too.

I like the produce section: big bags of broccoli, sugar snap peas, baby carrots, peppers, etc. These are staples in my house and definitely cheaper than local stores.

Right now the closest Costco is 30 minutes away, but a new one is opening that is in walking distance of my house. Can't wait!

TP

 

[mom2my3kids]

We have a sams club here, which I shop twice a month or so..I had a Costco cash card so we went to Costco and really loved it..I am thinking of getting a membership and just make a trip once every six week or so..The closest Costco is about 90 minutes away...

 

[McKelly]

We probably don't save much money, but as someone mentioned earlier, Costco's produce section is SO MUCH better than anything we have locally. That's worth it for us. I have actually lost some weight because I have decent produce to eat. Our closest Costco is 45 minutes away, but I still am able to go once a week, because it's only ten minutes away from my mom's nursing home.