Do you save money buying groceries at BJ's or Sam's Club?

[LoveBWVVBR]

I asked the same thing about Wal-Mart yesterday. BJ's periodically sends us these 60 day free membership things in the mail. I've never used them because I didn't realize that we had a BJ's within a reasonable distance of our house. DH told me that there is one w/in 10 miles, though. I would consider shopping there if it would really save money.

We used to have a BJ's membership just to save on bottled water where we used to live (we go through 7-8 gallons a week). Are the prices still good on the cases of bottled water? Also, do they sell organic milk, and, if so, are their prices on it good? We eat a lot of produce, pasta, chicken, fish, and occasionally red meat. We don't eat a lot of boxed stuff, so there isn't a big chance of impulse buys just because the stuff is cheap. Are the paper products/personal care items cheaper than just going to Target?

 

[amyup]

We go to Costco but I'm assuming the prices are relatively the same. I think we save money on paper goods. We buy our paper towels and tp there. We also buy our bottled water and meat too. I feel the quality of steak is great there and we just freeze the meat that we don't use the first night, it normally lasts us a month at least since we don't eat much red meat. I also think the frozen chicken breasts are a good deal.

Costco has organic milk, I can't recall the price but its cheaper than our grocery store. They seem to be getting more and more organic products every month.

I love Costco I do probably end up spending more though because they have such great stuff.

 

[moniot]

If I pay attention I save money at Sam's Club. You have to know prices.

I save on ... cheese, eggs, milk, frozen chicken breasts, peanut butter, spices (those I use alot of), lunch meat, sausage, frozen french toast sticks, baking supplies (when I need them), juice, books, Christmas stuff. I repackage some items and freeze them, like cheese and pizza sauce.

I always check out the clearance rack in the back, I walk through the clothes to check prices, I check all the aisles for reduced prices. I have gotten lots of super prices that way.

I also stock up on toilet paper (members mark) laundry soap (if the price is right) batteries and office supplies.

If I am really tight on money I do a click and pull for the things I need then I don't have to walk through the store.

We don't have any place around here that has good coupons or doubles anything.

I normally do Sam's once a month and then our New Super Wal-mart. Our wal-mart normally matches the prices of the local grocery store ads so I may as well do it all in one stop.

 

[daughtersrus]

I LOVE Sam's Club. I have to say that I save a ton of money on their meat alone. I have a business card so I go in first thing after I drop the kids off at school. I head straight to the back of the store to check out the marked down meat. I figure that since I'm going to take it home and divide it up and put it in the freezer, it's a good deal. I never pay more than $1.70/lb for 90% lean ground beef.

I also have a daughter that is disabled and still wears diapers. I buy her the Members Mark diapers and they work just fine. We're lucky that she can still fit in toddler diapers. The only problem is that only one out of the 3 Sam's Club stores near me carry the Members Mark brand in diapers. The Huggies are over $10.00 more for the same amount of diapers. I also buy baby wipes there for much less than Wal-Mart.

The other thing that I always buy is the giant tub of Country Crock. It's just under $3.00 and lasts forever.

I do have a bad habit of going up and down every isle looking for the sales. Just a few weeks ago, they had Tyson frozen sirloin steaks on clearance for $4.00 for a 2 1/2lb package. They are 4 individually frozen steaks so it works out perfect for us. I only thaw what we need. I bought 10 bags They taste great!

Lastly, the gas prices are also a pretty good deal. They are usually 5 cents cheaper than the surrounding stations.

For what it's worth. I also had a Costco membership and didn't like it at all. They wouldn't let me get a business membership since I'm self-employed (Day Care) and use my SS# for taxes instead of a tax ID #. I went a few times but the hours were horrible and the selection was much less than Sam's.

They were very nice about refunding my membership price. I sent them an e-mail and they replied quickly with a refund check.

 

[nbodyhome]

I have 3 warehouse memberships. Sams, Costco, and BJ's.

I save money on milk (by about $1.00 per gallon). I save money on my frozen strawberries, whipped cream, frozen broccoli, flank steak, ribs, and quite a few other items. At BJ's, they have greeting cards at 1/2 price. I sometimes buy my lean burger meat there. BJ's also takes coupons, so sometimes I get great deals there on a variety of items with their coupons.

I also save money on gas, clothes, photos, etc. I go to at least one of the Warehouse stores every week - usually 2 (Sams and BJ's are both within 4 miles from me - Sams is only about 1 mile).

 

[DisneyGirl4188]

We just joined Sam's last week and already saved money (even factoring in the cost of membership).

You do have to watch, because some things are more expensive. DH wasn't sure if we should join, but as we were leaving the store he was already planning another trip.

 

[livindis]

I have a membership to Costco (in the past I have also been a member of Sam's and BJ's) and I think that you could really save money on the bakery, meat & seafood, and frozen sections. I think their meat and seafood is the best around epecially for the price. The bakery is also outstanding and everything that I have tried is delicious. We often buy the "big bag of rolls" that probably has 30 rolls (I've never actually counted) for about $3.50. The have a gigantic carmel apple pie for $8.00 that is out of this world! The great thing about Costco is that they carry some otherwise expensive or hard-to-find items in larger amounts for ususally less then smaller portions at a regular grocery store.

 

[2mickeys1minnie]

We love our BJ's membership. I save on all the basics like tp, napkins, paper towels, milk, diapers, etc. I also buy all of our birthday cakes there. You can get a beautifully decorated character cake with filling for 14.99 for a 1/4 sheet. It is a great deal considering a local bakery would charge you about $30-40 for the same size cake. We do have a joke in our house though - we call BJ's the $200 club because we can't seem to get out of there w/o spending at least $200 every time we go LOL. I must admit I am guilty of going up and down all of the aisles looking for bargains LOL. I was just there this afternoon and I bought myself a Kenneth Cole Reaction winter coat on clearence for $25.00 The key to shopping at BJ's is using coupons. Once you join you will get alot of coupons directly from BJ's and when you combine that with manufacturers coupons you can really save a bundle.

 

[disneyeveryyear]

We have a Sam's Club membership and go about once every week or two.

On our list of things we purchase at Sam's are: milk, cottage cheese ($4.88/5 lbs.), Kraft American Singles, soda (we drink diet rite and it is cheaper there unless on sale at Meijer), peanut butter, toilet paper and water bottles. I also look at the meat to see what is marked down.

As long as I only buy what I need, I'm fine - it's when I start browsing that I get into trouble because I don't know the prices of the other stores.

 

[AnninIowa]

We save big bucks shopping at Sam's Club: milk, parmesan cheese, bottled water, cereal, medication, dish soap, laundry detergent, paper towels, chicken, etc. Not to mention CD's, books, holiday items and gifts, clothes...