Shopping at Sam's Club, Part 3

So, to wrap up this series on Sam's Club I thought I would mention just a few points that I didn't get a chance to share the last two days.

One of the biggest things to keep in mind when shopping anywhere is to only buy the things that you really need or what you are going to use. Sam's Club has lots of great things to offer and it can be deceptive to think you are getting a great deal because you get so much, but it is only a good deal if you are going to actually eat what you buy. I have had several friends ask me over the years what I buy at Sam's Club. When I share some of my top items their response is usually "we don't ever use honey" or "my husband eats out for lunch so we don't use that much sandwich bread." That is fine. My list will be different from yours. The trick is to look at the foods that you keep in your pantry and consider if buying some of those items in bulk would cut costs. On that note, I always love to hear about the good deals others find. So, if there is a great product that you buy at Sam's Club please let me know, it may be something we could all benefit from.

Try to pay attention to the prices of certain things as you are walking up and down the aisles at Kroger or Wal-Mart. That way when you are at Sam's Club you have an idea of the cost comparison. I have found that items like cereal are cheaper at Kroger if I wait until it is on sale and combine that with a coupon (Wal-Mart has even better deals on cereal, but I rarely make it over there). The opposite is true for other items. For example the lunchmeat I bought yesterday at Sam's Club. I know that at best that brand of lunchmeat will go on sale for $2.99 at Kroger. Even with a $1 off coupon if I buy 2 I am still paying more per package than if I buy the 3pack at Sam's Club for $6.78.

I didn't list any of the great buys on meat yesterday, but it is worth checking out. My sister Laura informed me that you can get a huge pork loin for $1.38 a pound. I looked at these yesterday and they sell for $10-$12. Laura cuts them up into 5 good size portions and freezes them for a variety of meals. I definitely want to do this soon! I have purchased hamburger meat and steaks there for large group gathering or retreats before.

That brings me to budgeting for Sam's Club. As I mentioned earlier in the week we go to Sam's Club about every 2 weeks. Often the only things I will buy are bread and milk for around $10. The rest of the staple items we use I just space out so I am not buying everything at once. I may add peanut butter to my list one week and pancake mix the next. It is rare for me to ever spend more than about $30 a trip and usually a lot less. I have one monthly budget for Kroger and Sam's Club combined so this ensures that I never spend a ton in one place.

One of the headaches of Sam's Club is the long lines at the checkout. Since we don't usually have many items to check out I have found that we can always go to the jewelry counter or the photo lab to pay for our items. As long as they aren't busy they are happy to ring up 3 or 4 items. Also, I like to pick up one or two of the flat "tray" boxes that they have by the registers every couple weeks to keep on hand. I have found that these work great for transporting meals to people.

Hope this series was helpful for you. Happy "bulk" shopping!

Shopping at Sam's Club, Part 2

As I mentioned yesterday, going to Sam's Club is a fun thing for our family so it is not a big deal to us to go once every week and a half to two weeks. As I was compiling my list of products that we get here they clearly fall into a couple of categories. There are items that we buy every time we go, items that I would call staples in our home, but we may only have to buy them once every month or every couple of months, non-food items, seasonal produce, and occasional items that we buy seasonally or as needed.

Weekly: Every two weeks or so we buy 2 gallons of milk ($2.06 each) and 2 loaves of sandwich bread. I buy the Nature's Own bread $4.38 for a 2pack.

Staples:

Tyson frozen chicken breasts. $11.98 for 6 lbs. One bag can last us about a month

honey $10.69 for 80 oz.

Peter Pan peanut butter $7.22

Tone's pure vanilla extract $6.88 This will last months and months and months.

Act II microwave popcorn $7.12 for 28 bags. Lasts us 6 months and great for a movie night at home.

Krusteaz pancake mix, $6.57 for 10 lbs. One of our Newton family traditions is a big breakfast every Saturday morning. For a long time I would make the pancakes or waffles from scratch but I was actually spending more money on flour, sugar, and baking powder so I started buying this and it lasts for several months.

Mrs. Butterworth pancake syrup. $6.58 for 2 large bottles. I keep a smaller syrup container that I can put in the microwave and I just refill it with this.

Heinz ketchup. $6.27 3/44oz. bottles. I had an older mom tell me once that with toddlers in the house this can be considered a vegetable since it goes on everything!

Hidden Valley ranch dressing $9.24 for 2/40 oz. bottles.

Non-Food Items:

Charmin toilet paper

Sam's brand paper towels

Gain laundry detergent

Sam's brand dishwasher detergent

Occasional Items:

Wright bacon. $10.88 for 4lbs. My grandma introduced me to this bacon and it is the best. If you know Josh at all you know that he would eat bacon on just about anything! When I buy it I wrap about 4 slices each into plastic wrap and freeze all together in a storage bag. I just pull out one package Friday night and it is ready to cook Saturday morning with our breakfast.

butter. $6.44 for 4 lbs. good for holiday baking.

frozen shrimp. $10.98 for med. size shrimp. I only buy this occasionally, but it is fun to think up some different recipes that we might not eat all the time. Since I only need a small amount at a time one bag lasts several weeks.

peanuts/almonds. $4-$10 depending on what you get. I usually get the $5 Planters peanuts. Healthy snacks and this is the cheapest place to get them.

stewed tomatoes. I like to buy a case of these in the winter when I make a lot of soups.

canned fruit. Again this is helpful in the winter when there isn't as much fresh fruit.

chicken tenders $9.98 for Member's Mark popcorn chicken. Good to have if Josh and I are going out and Jack is staying with a babysitter for dinner.

Oscar Mayer Deli Fresh shaved turkey $6.78 for 3pack. These freeze great.

My Sam's Club shopping list from today is on the sidebar.

More helpful hints and tips tomorrow...

Shopping at Sam's Club

Shopping at Sam's Club has always been an event in the Newton household. For some reason we have always loved going to Sam's and that is even true for our 3 year old son, Jack. The highlights of course are getting to watch "Cars" the movie on the giant plasma screens, going to all of the sample stations (I confess we are on a first name basis with a couple of these sweet women), and getting a smiley face on the back of our receipt as we leave.

A couple years into our marriage Josh and I got a membership to Sam's Club and truthfully used it mostly for the gasoline. One of our favorite things to do Sundays on our way home from church was to stop for the samples. Often we wouldn't buy anything, just circle the store to pick up our "appetizers" then head home for lunch. Over the years though I have started to rely on wholesale products more and more for our weekly grocery and household needs.

I admit that it can be overwhelming to walk into this giant store. Some of the first thoughts to cross your mind may be "where am I going to keep 10 packages of toilet paper!" or "I can't afford to spend all that money in one shopping trip." I can't answer your storage questions, but hopefully, I can help to break down a few of the cost benefits of buying in bulk and offer suggestions that have worked for me so that I don't break the bank with one giant shopping trip.

Tomorrow I will continue this post by listing some of the regular items that we purchase at Sam's Club. I will include prices for the various staple items and hints for deciding when to buy in bulk.