What all do you buy at Sams/Costco?

[MinnieLovesMickey12]

I don't go over to our closest Sams but about once a year because it is an hour away, but I love to go there.

I buy a wide variety of things like meats (pork loin and Brisket), Frozen breaded Fish, Huge bags of Bacon Bits and Splenda, giant boxes of Granola bars, dishwasher tabs and Downy, Ketchup and Spaghetti sauce, face lotion and we even bought our pillow top mattress and box springs there a few years ago.

I am just curious what other ppl tend to get at the big warehouse stores.

Last time I went about 3 weeks ago I spent $350.

How often do you go and what is your average spending limit when you go?

 

[dizluvah]

We shop at BJs and buy
printer ink, electronics (camera, computer)
kcups
paper products - tp, paper towels
dishwasher soap
cat food
yogurt
various frozen foods: veggies, chicken pot pie, garlic toast, chicken nuggets
sometimes meat (but not always) hamburger, pork chops, whole pork loin
tortillas
Omeprazole (heart burn medicine)
Diapers, wipes
Canned ravioli
Mac n cheese
peanut butter
snacks: fruit snacks, graham crackers, pita chips

the only thing I never buy there is soda - I can always find Diet Coke on sale cheaper elsewhere

We spend anywhere between 2-6 hundred bucks per trip. Last trip I was restocking my freezer so spent $580 (included 6 months of Omeprazole $60 and $70 worth of printer ink)

 

[MinnieLovesMickey12]

MAN! I wish my DH would give me $600 for Sams! lol. He would be my BFF forever.

Last trip he gave me a budget of $300 and i spent $350. I was adding it up in my head as I stuck things in the basket but I didn't account for sales tax. So I went over a little.

 

[carrie1626]

cat liter
dog food
paper towels
laundry detergent
fabric softener
dishwasher detergent

bread
peanut butter (JIF)
WINE
frozen Healthy Choice meals
Frozen Chicken breasts (TYSON)

occasionally:
milk
fresh seafood
variety of frozen things
cheese
snacks
vitamins
books
dvd's
develop pictures form the camera
order a special occasion cake ( very, very good)


We did buy an under the counter slide out organizer for the kitchen- AWESOME!! Glad we went down that isle that day. And I really need 2 more more each bathroom.

It's easy to go nuts in there We have a SAM's in town, we go about once a month/ every 6 weeks or so.

 

[tvguy]

We're an area where Walmart and Super Walmarts were late to arrive. Used to belong to Price Club (which became Costco) and then Sams Club. No reason to now, nearly identical prices now at Super Walmart without having to buy huge sizes or pay a membership fee. And Costco has been getting hammered recently for their gasoline prices. Right now they are $3.77 a gallon, which puts them 2 cents a gallon more expensive than the discount gasoline stations, and the same price at ARCO. I gather they used to be the cheapest gas in the area by 5 or 10 cents.

 

[MinnieLovesMickey12]

Not sure if it is true or not but I read multiple stories online before that said Costco pays their employees around $17 an hour plus benefits. If that is true I would be willing to pay a higher price for my gas there. But we don't have a Costco in my area or even in my state that I know of.

 

[Ciao Mickey]

I could easily spend thousands in Costco--did you ever see the jewelery there? I'm like a moth to a flame.

I can't seem to get out of the store without dropping at least $400 on groceries alone...When I start adding the other stuff...

 

[Gumbo4x4]

We're an area where Walmart and Super Walmarts were late to arrive.

Just the opposite here. We got the very first Supercenter opened, which has since been replaced. Gave up our Sams membership - none close and as more and more "name" stores have come to town, we just don't have much reason to get near a SAMs.

Never been in Costco, but we buy LED bulbs from them 576 at a time and resell to one of our biggest customers for $10 more than we pay

 

[PeterPanic]

I am divorced and live alone, so Costco has little to offer me since I don't buy in bulk anymore. I originally joined because I owned a Residential Care Home and bought in bulk a lot, but only for the items that I couldn't find as a store brand. Store Brands were much cheaper and usually very good quality.

I still have my membership because I still do buy a very small number of items from there plus I love the hot dog and soda at the snack bar. Mostly though I buy my tires for my car there. The savings pays for the membership and the quality and service is top notch.

 

[afnaechiquita]

Toilet paper. I bought 36 rolls when I moved overseas a year ago, and just ran out two weeks ago. :'( The local stuff is just not good.

Also face wash.

 

[dadddio]

We buy paper towels and TP, cases of water, generic tylenol, mostly random stuff. We made the mistake of buying a case of soda a couple weeks ago. They were out of date and flat.

 

[minniecarousel]

Paper products
flowers
fruit & veggies
water & flavored waters
ground turkey
fresh crab (when they have it)
sometimes other meats (bought NY steaks today)
DVDs
gift certificates for other stores

Also, for holidays like Christmas and Easter, I make a "Costco run" and get things like appetizers, petite quiche, pastries, rolls, cookies & candy. You can get quanity and still get quality.

The closest Costco is less than 2 miles away and we go 2-3 times a month. Their strawberries and blueberries have been great recently, and better price than anywhere else.

When our son and daughter-in-law lost nearly everything in a fire, they ordered most of their furniture from Costco on-line. They love everything they got.

 

[willowsnn3]

From Sams:
Birthday Cakes!!! They are great and cheaper than WalMart or other grocery store bakeries.
That and the 36 roll pack of Scott toilet paper. And my granddaughter's favorite granola bars from Fiber One.
We live about 5 miles from Sams and my dd has a membership thru her job. She buys all her gas there.
And of course we always have to get a hot dog combo or pizza slice combo while we are there.

 

[dizluvah]

MAN! I wish my DH would give me $600 for Sams! lol. He would be my BFF forever.

Last trip he gave me a budget of $300 and i spent $350. I was adding it up in my head as I stuck things in the basket but I didn't account for sales tax. So I went over a little.

DH was with me when we spent $580 - we were both kind of shocked at how much we spent! But it is easy to do in those warehouse stores - they have everything

 

[momof1princess]

we have a sam's membership (no BJ or costco here, and sam's is an hour away). we usually get:

-batteries
-TP (members mark)
-ziploc bags
-plastic spoons
-mixed nuts
-trident gum (DD loves it)
-splenda
-spices
-gardettos
-boxes of bagged snacks (oreos, chips ahoy, nutter butters, ritz bits and teddy grahams-about 130 calories in each bag, for DD's school snack)
-meat (roasts, 90% lean ground beef and boneless pork chops
-lunch meat
-precooked bacon
-multivitamins (members mark)
-calcium pills (members mark)
-always pads
-ibuprofen (members mark)
-zantac (members mark)
-laundry detergent
-clorox wipes (one multi-pack will last me almost a year)
-dawn dish liquid

 

[Disneylover99]

We have a Costco membership, but it is not that close to us. We go every month or two. We really should give up our membership.

When we do go we buy bread, milk, veggie trays, and big slab cakes for birthdays, anniversary parties etc...

We did get a great price on winter tires a few years back though.

 

[MinnieLovesMickey12]

we have a sam's membership (no BJ or costco here, and sam's is an hour away). we usually get:

-batteries
-TP (members mark)
-ziploc bags
-plastic spoons
-mixed nuts
-trident gum (DD loves it)
-splenda
-spices
-gardettos
-boxes of bagged snacks (oreos, chips ahoy, nutter butters, ritz bits and teddy grahams-about 130 calories in each bag, for DD's school snack)
-meat (roasts, 90% lean ground beef and boneless pork chops
-lunch meat
-precooked bacon
-multivitamins (members mark)
-calcium pills (members mark)
-always pads
-ibuprofen (members mark)
-zantac (members mark)
-laundry detergent
-clorox wipes (one multi-pack will last me almost a year)
-dawn dish liquid

YES I forgot all about the pre-cooked Bacon. I bought 6 packages when I was there 3 weeks ago. You get 72 slices for $9... when the boxes of it at Walmart cost you $3 for 12-14 slices. It's a great bargain. I put all of them but one in my deep freezer and take them out one at a time as needed. Each package will last us about 6 weeks.

 

[disykat]

For home:
Meat/Poultry/Fish
Multivitamins and other supplements like Mega Red Fish Oil
PotStickers for my teenagers
Sometimes I buy their pre-made meals - like meatloaf and mashed potatoes.
Ancient Grains cereals
Towels
Electronics


For church or school events I buy paper goods and food for catering large groups.

 

[mombrontrent]

What do I buy st Coscto: everything! If they have it, we buy it. We buy books, electronics, clothes, shoes, bedding, towels, kitchen and home items, toys, chritmas presents, outdoor equipement. For food we circle around the whole store and buy most of it We go about once every two weeks and spend about $250 on food. We spend more if we are buying other non-food items. We love coscto, and I even shop coscto online sometimes. They deliver right to your door for free Plus you can't beat their return policy. As another person mentioned they treat they employees great and they get a good wage (unionized). Me and Dh always point out thet we have been going to the same Coscto for 15 years now and they same people are still working there so they must be doing something right.

 

[#1hoosierfan]

Sam's

Paper towels
Toilet paper
Dishwasher detergent
Tide laundry detergent
Baby wipes
Shampoo
Conditioner
Wine
Peanut butter
Granola bars
Kcups
Frozen broccoli
Dog snacks

I go every four to six weeks.