I think it's worth it for a lot of things. I go to Sam's and Costco and there are certain things I only buy at those stores, like:

fruits and veggies (way cheaper in my neck of the woods unless there's something on special at the grocery store)

bread (I buy only Millton's bread and it's cheaper to buy in 2-pack loaves at Sam's or Costco and freeze)

Lunch meat (again, I freeze in portions for sandwiches)

Meats (not always cheaper but better quality than most grocery stores).

Since I went organic for milk and eggs, shopping frugally for the two of those has been tough. I saw organic milk at Sam's the other day but it was low fat and we only drink skim. But before I did the organic thing, I always bought milk and eggs at Costo too.

I find some of the prices better at Sam's, however generally I can find lower prices at Aldi and buying smaller packages means it is easier to store. I don't mean to say it is a pain to store those 25 lbs of bread flour, but for everyday orders I don't mind picking them up in smaller packages.

I do find cheese, meat, and items we use regularly a very attractive price at Sam's Club so I enjoy my membership.

Overall for my family of 5 we can find some deals. I am not so sure if I would find those if I had a smaller family.

Barb C

Do your kids really eat a muffin a day? Those muffins are HUGE. They are something like 4 servings EACH.

I'd re-think the muffins.

After months of begging I finally caved and bought DD those Welsh's fruit snacks from Costco for her class' snack time. She asked me to split the box so we could have some at home. I agreed and she was happily eating a packet a day - until I looked at the ingredient list. The first FOUR ingredients on the list are SUGAR. Now I remember why I originally refused to buy them.

I shop at Costco about once a month to every 6 weeks. I concentrate on only purchasing food items that are basics. I now refuse to purchase any prepared / processed products there.

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"Poor people work for their money. Rich people make their money work for them."

I donno, anytime I have ever gone to sams club I have spend at least 150 and it never seems like I bought anything lol. I dont know how thats possible but it seems that way. I let my membership expire like 6 months ago. If I ever want to go again ill do renew it in person. If I make it a year that will have saved about $35.

I shop at Sam's Club, primarily for meat. As someone else posted, it's not the price difference on it but the quality. I buy steak, hamburger, pork chops, spiedies, chicken breast, etc. there and repack in freezer bags.

I find my best prices there on: bananas, salt for the water softener, oj for dh's commute to work, 100% juice boxes, and frozen veggies. I buy the muffins for myself for work breakfasts and freeze them. My razor refills are cheaper there, as well as kids vitamins.

A lot just depends on your family situation and what you buy.

It totally depends on what you buy, what you pay elsewhere...how far away the place is (if you want to factor in gas) etc in terms of whether or not it's a money savings for you.

I think I understand that you're saying that you think you probably are saving money but you're not sure you really want to be buying the things that you're buying.

I guess you need to figure out if you're buying stuff that you wouldn't normally buy at the warehouse clubs...stuff you don't necessarily want or in amts you don't necessarily want to have around. You have to figure out if it's really worth it to your family's diet.

we quit shopping at sams club years ago we were spending double what we spend on groceries now and we were consuming way to much food and snacks. since we quit and started making a menu and list for the store we spend way less and get just as good of deals at the other markets in our area.

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Measure wealth not by the things you have, but by the things you have for which you would not take money.

I must live in the only part of the country without a Cosco.
We have a BJ's membership that we use mainly for diapers and cat litter. My neighbor does almost all her shopping there because she "can't be bothered" with coupons or looking at sales flyers.

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~Jeweled

We have a BJs close by and Costco is 20 miles away, so I won't go. I don't buy a membership, if I feel like going in, I just go get a daily visitor pass for free, I do this around Christmas. I would never consider paying for membership.

We don't have a Costco nor a Sam's Club nearby. I don't know where the nearest Costco is, but my sister has a membership outside of NYC that I have gone to occasionally. Sam's club is about half an hour away and one reason I go there is because the company I work for has headquarters nearby so when I go to the main office I can tack on going there. I don't buy much there though and find in an average shopping trip I might spend $60. However, if I am hungry, or I go at the end of the day I might spend more by buying a pizza and chicken for my family for dinner. I get seduced by the idea of an automatic dinner and they have generously large Rotisserie chickens for $5 each (which will give at least two meals to us).

I wish we had Costco, but our small town could never maintain it.


Barb C