Discount club memberships

[Medusa]

That makes sense. I imagine you do save quite a bit on diapers and possibly baby food. However, it's been a looooong time since I had to buy that kind of stuff. LOL I think I'm at a disadvantage sometimes because I live alone. Even a loaf of bread goes stale or moldy before I can use it all unless I freeze it, which I don't like to do because it dries out. I've heard good things about their meat dept. though, so I'll have a look next time I go back. I bought a pot roast the other day and cut it into three pieces because unless I cook for guests, that's way too much meat for me.

[sparks19]

That makes sense. I imagine you do save quite a bit on diapers and possibly baby food. However, it's been a looooong time since I had to buy that kind of stuff. LOL

we never really considered a membership at a bulk club until we had to start buying diapers LOL. So now we tell all new parents that the best advice we can give them is buy diapers at BJ's lol.

But yeah ... it's the kind of place where you have to know how much it would cost you at the grocery store because some things are WAY more expensive then what you would pay at the grocery store. But for some things you just can't beat the price

[pomtzu]

Actually, I was kind of put off with them when I first joined, until I realized - hey - that pack of 24 rolls of toilet paper is gonna last a long time - and I won't have to buy it again for quite a while. It might seem like you're spending more money at first, but when you break it down by unit price, then you see the savings. Then of course there's the savings in time too - less time shopping since you don't need to buy items as often. Sometimes I can completely skip a week.

[Medusa]

Something I didn't see but I didn't look for either was produce. Do they carry it? I love fresh veggies and salads.

[pomtzu]

Something I didn't see but I didn't look for either was produce. Do they carry it? I love fresh veggies and salads.

Sam's does - I don't know about the others, but I would imagine they do.

Another thing Mary - if you know someone that might want to split some of the products with you, that would be a way to buy in bulk without having to keep an excess amount. I know of a few people who do that with canned goods, paper products - anything that you have to buy in bulk. They just split the product and split the cost.

[Seravieve]

I've been to both for years now.. I don't have a membership to either but my mom has one to Costco. She used to have one to Sam's, but she has since turned Anti-Walmart... so yea. I'll go with her every few weeks to check out their movie selection for my business... But there's no way J and I could use up any food item I'd buy from there. Their produce does look nice though, and I know my mom really likes it. And their flowers are nice, but its more of just a display, not a dept. Sam's here has a full floral dept. And their rotisserie chickens are awesome. Their movie selection is ok... Neither one carry any dog food we'd care to buy.. otherwise, I'd definitely go there for it, since it seems to be pretty cheap. J's brother has a Sam's membership, and I've gone with him a lot. He only has one to Sam's because there are more locations here than Costco's... so if there's a good buy (he sells movies too), he can go to multiple locations for them.

I think they really benefit larger households and business owners... It's definitely not worthwhile for people like us, just two mouths to feed.. Everything would go to waste before we'd get around to eating it. And I cook everything, too.

[kitten645]

I have a Costco membership and I love it. I'm single so I can't buy the huge vats of things but here's my list:
Litter
TP
Paper Towels
Chicken Broth
English Muffins
Mushrooms
Books
Photo processing
Tires
Flowers

On top of all the savings, I have my little sister on my membership for free so she gets to use it as well.

As far as paying for a membership/club to something like Barnes & Nobel, I think that's ridiculous! You could never save as much as you do via Amazon or Borders that doesn't charge for membership.

[Medusa]

Sam's does - I don't know about the others, but I would imagine they do.

Another thing Mary - if you know someone that might want to split some of the products with you, that would be a way to buy in bulk without having to keep an excess amount. I know of a few people who do that with canned goods, paper products - anything that you have to buy in bulk. They just split the product and split the cost.

A friend of mine knows how much I love rice; I could eat it daily. So she called and said that she bought some at Sam's, took what she needed and would give the rest to me. She brought me a 20 lb bag of rice in a burlap sack! Yes, it'll keep but c'mon! As nice as it was of her to do that, I thought that I'd do the same, take what I need and give the rest away. Well. I cooked some of the rice that night and it was awful! It tasted like dirt! And it was long grain basmati jasmine rice, too; my favorite. I can't in good conscience pass it on to anyone so now I either throw it out or eat 20 lbs. of rice that tastes like dirt. (I'm wondering if my friend passed it on to me because she didn't like it either. LOL )

[sparks19]

A friend of mine knows how much I love rice; I could eat it daily. So she called and said that she bought some at Sam's, took what she needed and would give the rest to me. She brought me a 20 lb bag of rice in a burlap sack! Yes, it'll keep but c'mon! As nice as it was of her to do that, I thought that I'd do the same, take what I need and give the rest away. Well. I cooked some of the rice that night and it was awful! It tasted like dirt! And it was long grain basmati jasmine rice, too; my favorite. I can't in good conscience pass it on to anyone so now I either throw it out or eat 20 lbs. of rice that tastes like dirt. (I'm wondering if my friend passed it on to me because she didn't like it either. LOL )

ever think of maybe donating it to a soup kitchen or anything?

[pomtzu]

A friend of mine knows how much I love rice; I could eat it daily. So she called and said that she bought some at Sam's, took what she needed and would give the rest to me. She brought me a 20 lb bag of rice in a burlap sack! Yes, it'll keep but c'mon! As nice as it was of her to do that, I thought that I'd do the same, take what I need and give the rest away. Well. I cooked some of the rice that night and it was awful! It tasted like dirt! And it was long grain basmati jasmine rice, too; my favorite. I can't in good conscience pass it on to anyone so now I either throw it out or eat 20 lbs. of rice that tastes like dirt. (I'm wondering if my friend passed it on to me because she didn't like it either. LOL )

Now that's a bit much!! Even I wouldn't buy that much. I was thinking more along the line of canned goods, paper products, even meats, to split the product and cost.

I think I'd have to toss what you have!

[cassiesmom]

Another thing Mary - if you know someone that might want to split some of the products with you, that would be a way to buy in bulk without having to keep an excess amount. I know of a few people who do that with canned goods, paper products - anything that you have to buy in bulk. They just split the product and split the cost.

This is what my mom and my sister do with Costco, mostly with large packages of meat. Sometimes my mom even re-divides her portion with me. Works great for chicken breasts or a roast. My parents also got a great deal on car insurance by purchasing a Costco membership.

Did you see the article in Real Simple magazine about what to do with all those huge packages from the warehouse club?
http://www.realsimple.com/food-recip...998/index.html

Sam's Club and Costco both have great bakery departments, too. When I was working at UnitedHealthcare and we needed a cake for an "occasion" that would feed a crowd, Costco was the bakery of choice.

[sparks19]

Actually, I was kind of put off with them when I first joined, until I realized - hey - that pack of 24 rolls of toilet paper is gonna last a long time - and I won't have to buy it again for quite a while. It might seem like you're spending more money at first, but when you break it down by unit price, then you see the savings. Then of course there's the savings in time too - less time shopping since you don't need to buy items as often. Sometimes I can completely skip a week.

agreed

although the danger with that much TP... sometimes you think you have more left than you really do LOL

[caseysmom]

I have a membership at costco and sams, I like costco the best, the meat and produce are great. Great prices on cheese, meat, produce...

I am even ordering a refrigerator there. I love costco! We even bought our vacation to hawaii there!

[Moesha]

My sister bought the flowers for her wedding through Sam's Club. I don't think they have the floral department now though. I believe Costco does. Sam's also has a fabulous deal on Fresh Step litter. They have 40 pound buckets of it for just over $14. There are things that are way over priced there, but sometimes the deals you can find make the membership worth it. Right now I don't have a membership, so if my sister or my mom goes, sometimes I'll just tag a long with them. I do have enough rebate dollars saved on my Discover card to get a Sam's membership and a $10 gift card. I thought about doing that but haven't yet. I'll probably just keep shopping with someone else who has a card for awhile. Razor blade refills are another thing that are a huge savings at Sam's. I wish there was a Costco closer than Nashville because I just heard of these frozen fruit thingies that they have there that I want to try.