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Reader Strategies for Shopping at Sam's Club
Membership Fee
I work in a very small office. We team up with another office in the
same building and become secondary members on their membership and split the
fees. This way, we all save money on the memberships. I always use
my Sam's Club card for the cheapest gas in the area. However, inside the store
you really have to know what is a good price, because sometimes Wal-Mart is
cheaper or around the same price. Usually their in-store rebates are the
best deals you can find, and they even print out a separate receipt for the
rebate item to send in for your rebate check. It is very convenient! -- Lori
from KS
I live in a small town so the closest Sam's
Club is an hour away so when I go, I
stock up! The main reason I have a Sam's card is that I am a
'secondary' cardholder on a friend's card. He pays for a business
membership and my card only costs $10 a year to maintain. Before we
moved here I was one of the secondary members on my church's card.
If you have friends with Sam's cards, it may be cheaper to see if you can get a
membership on their card. -- Beckye from AK
I really like the Members Mark store
brand products from Sam's Club. I hate the annual fee.. I have found that if I
use my Discover Card to pay for all of my Sam's Club purchases and then pay it
off each month then each year I get back enough from Discover to pay my Sam's
Club membership. I only use my Discover Card at Sam's Club... and paying in full
is a must or no savings will be achieved! -- Mona from VA
Take a Buddy
Sam's Club is my favorite place to shop. Many of the best bargains come
in large quantities. Find yourself a shopping buddy with which to split
things. Some items that can really save a lot in doing this are soy sauce,
olive oil, mustard, mayonnaise, etc. A gallon will often cost less than 2
small containers at the grocery store. Spices are another example. Any
price that ends in .91 is a closeout that is selling for less than Sam's paid
for it. I have a Christmas stash of things I have bought from the .91's
that were magnificent bargains. The day after Christmas, all of the gift
baskets, Christmas items, and many of the toys all are marked half off.
Sam's carries high quality merchandise at the best prices I have ever found.
Tires, batteries, appliances, mattresses, electronics, film, etc. Much
more than just groceries. If Sam's has it, I buy it there and save all
that time shopping for the best price at other places. -- Brenda from KY
Phone Cards
Sam's Club has phone cards for 3.47 cents per minute. I cancelled my
long distance and local long distance service and use the phone card
exclusively. We have cut our phone bill in half! -- Laurena from CA
With a 7 month son and another one on
the way and no family around, we call our family and friends a lot to tell what
it happening in our lives. No matter how hard we would try to cut back,
our long-distance phone bill was about $30-35.00. We bought a calling card
from SAM's/Walmart that had 1000 minutes on it for about $35.00. Instead
of using our long-distance on the phone, which cost $.10 per minutes, we use the
calling card every time. The card charges $.374 cents per minute.
This cuts down dramatically on how much we call long-distance (because the
process is so much more work :)). We have had this card 2 months and have
only used about 250 minutes - out of 1000. It has cut our phone bill about
$30 a month. -- Anitra from AK
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Film Processing
I shop at Sam's regularly. I get my film developed there. It is $3.79 for
double prints for 24 exposures. It is $4.79 for a roll of 36 with double prints.
It takes a couple of days, but it is worth it. -- Kim from TN
When I develop my film at Sam's, I
always check the box to get my pictures online. It cost an extra 94 cents,
but then I can share digital photos online without a digital camera. -- Kim from
MN
Gas
Their gas! The gas prices at Sam's Club typically runs at least 3-5
cents per gallon cheaper the others. With my vehicle alone, the savings
surpasses the cost of our annual membership fee. Plus, my husband fills
his car up at Sam's as much as possible. -- Adelle from TX
Our local Sam's Club has a gas
station which sells discounted gasoline to members. You scan your
membership card, scan your debit/credit card at the pump. I routinely get
91 octane fuel for the price of 85 octane at regular stations. My car runs
better and I've spent no more than for the cheap stuff! -- Lisa from CO
91s
I love Sam's. We have our business acct. so it pays for me to shop free and I
get all the deals. The best is the close out items. They will always end in a 1.
Such as 3.91. That is the final markdown. I have gotten so many deals in food
and clothing, Christmas decorations, movies, books, housewares, every dept. has
markdowns. I just bought 2 market umbrellas, hunter green for 12.91 ea. All the
summer items are on markdown right now. Happy Sam's Shopping! Check out their website too, it has
markdowns. -- Mary from AZ
Furniture
I bought my furniture at Sam's Club- a couch, a loveseat, an ottoman, and an
oversized chair- for $999. Now, I know I could have garage sale shopped or
flea market and maybe found them cheaper- but not brand new! Plus, my
husband is so happy to have at least some of our furniture to be ours from the
first! -- Natalie from AK
Food
We shop at Sam's club roughly once a month and buy all of our meat and dry
food purchases. We freeze the meat (we have two freezers) and it takes us
about two months to eat all of the food. It has been a huge savings for
us. We also buy the produce there which is an incredible bargain compared
to many grocers--the only drawback being you tend to waste it if you
don't eat it all since you get so much for your money. For big families
this is awesome!!! -- Shannon from MN
When my children were small, we did
not have a membership as we just didn't need such large quantities of stuff.
But now that my kids are 13,11&8, they eat me out of house and home. I
like to have quick, convenient foods that my boys can just heat up themselves,
so I buy the Red Baron individual pizzas and a box of EasyMac. Some would
say that the EasyMac is a waste of good money since you really can cook reg. mac
and cheese in the micro., but the EasyMac packets are just right for one serving
and easy for everyone to help themselves to. In the regular stores, EasyMac is
nearly $4.00 for 8 packs...Sam's sells them at $5.99 for 18. A significant
savings. I also buy the 2-loaf pkg. of French Bread and make baked French
toast dishes and small subs from it. It is only $1.79 for 2 and is very
fresh and yummy. -- Lori from MI
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The number one find at Sam's is there canned spaghetti sauce. I can get
a restaurant can of Ragu for $3.00 or so and split it into 2 1/2 jars (the big
ones) and freeze it. You will pay almost $3.00 for one at the grocery store! --
Jennifer from LA
2 things I always get at Sam's: ACT II microwave butter popcorn.
It comes in boxes of 28 for $5.99/box. This comes to $0.21 per package. A
steal in comparison to store purchases. Also get the hoagie buns.
Come in packages of 12 for $1.89 but are huge and can be made into great sub
sandwiches (sometimes can get 2 sandwiches out of 1 bun) or cut, butter and
garlic salt to make homemade garlic bread. - Sue from WI
Milk is cheap at Sam's Club!!! For a gallon of 1% the price is about
$2.27. -- Lisa from MN
Regarding my Sam's Club membership, I
figured that my savings by buying my milk there each week, more that paid for my
membership for the year. So all other savings were just that, Savings!
I've been make my weekly stop now for 8 years. -- Christy from VA
I am a Sam's Club member and the best deal for us is the gallon of milk!
It's a dollar or more cheaper per gallon than the grocery store! I also
buy their 2 lb block of cheddar cheese. It's 4.50 for 2 lbs! At the
grocery store you pay at least 2.00 for a half pound of cheese! And I buy
their frozen chicken tenderloins. They are so quick to cook and very convenient. --
Lianne from CA
Books
What makes my Sam's Club membership worth the price is the great deals they
have on books, hardcover books, children's books, etc. You can get a new
release book for half the cover price. -- Diana from MN
Laundry
I pay $9.99 for a 5 gallon bucket of Sam's brand laundry detergent. It lasts
about 6 months in our house. I used tide for 15 years and thought I would never
use anything else. My friend suggested this detergent and we really like it. It
has a strong scent in the bucket, but it doesn't come out on the clothing. I
also use the Sam's brand dishwasher detergent. It works just as well as cascade,
but is much cheaper. -- Kim from TN
Baby/Kids
Sam's Club is great! We love getting diapers and wipes by the case (great for
our little one or for gifts) and we buy items we use a lot in large quantities.
The savings make it worthwhile: 25 pounds of flour for about $3.50, two large
bags of yeast for about $2.50, detergent (a 3-4 month supply for our family of
8) for about $9 (and it comes in a handy reusable pail. And the kids love
to shop there — they give kids a cookie each and they love to try the samples
there. - -Annie from MS
My Sam's Club tips: diapers are not a good deal. I check my Sunday
paper for the best deal on Huggies and gather my coupons. I ALWAYS get
them cheaper this way. the only exception to this is the size 1, where you
get 243 diapers for 29.99; any sizes bigger than that, stay away from Sam's!
The Enfamil formula is actually cheaper, even without coupons, at least where I
live. And I also have found that the Huggies wipes are a lot cheaper.
You get 596 for 14.99. I only have to buy wipes maybe 3-4 times per year.
We got our membership money back in savings in no time just on baby items.
-- Heather from MI
Diapers are a good deal at Sam's
Club. The Member's Mark brand is very good quality. -- Shandra from TN
More
I love the low price I can get on double photo prints, gas, milk, &
training pants. Occasionally, I will find a good deal on famous name brand
casual office clothing for my husband. Be careful though, not everything
there is a good deal. It's best not to buy bulk on certain items such as
breakfast food & snacks, chances are they are less expensive elsewhere- even
w/o a coupon. -- Adriana from TX
I save a lot on my laundry detergent: I buy the powder Wind Fresh, 40
gal. It usually lasts for 4 months and costs $9.99. I also buy the Sam's brand
dishwasher detergent in the powder form. A large box of Cascade runs $5.99
(10 lbs) for a $1 more I get 15 lbs of the Sam's brand. During the Holiday
Season, Sam's usually has some unique gifts that are very affordable, the savings
is worth the yearly membership. -- Lauri from MI
I do not find that I save money on everyday items at
Sam's like paper towels,
cups, plates etc. Generally do better at the grocery store on sale.
My main motivation for going to Sam's is that they carry stuff you simply can't
find anywhere else. Plus, all those free food samples keeps the kids busy
while you shop! On large gift items, I generally do save money. If
you use a Swiffer you can only get little packages of refills at the store, but Sam's
carries a huge box and it is cheaper. Film processing prices can't be
beat. I don't know that I save a lot of money, but I really like browsing
and seeing what's new. -- Sandi from CT
You can find the best deals on bulk staple foods i.e: Peanut Butter, Ketchup,
Mustard, Pickles and so on. I also buy my Dog food and garbage bags here.
Dishwasher detergent and laundry detergent have great deals too. -- Jeni
from IL
The best deal I've found at Sam's Club is on the movies. They are
generally $2-$3 dollars less than Target or Wal-Mart (for the newer titles).
Also, sometimes they'll take older movies and package them together and sell
them. This past weekend I bought Richie Rich (made in 1995) and Dennis the
Menace (made in 1993) for my 4 1/2 year old son in a package for $8.94.
The prices on milk and coffee are generally less than at the grocery store too.
On other food items, you just have to know the prices and compare them.
They also have good deals on kids clothes! -- Mary Jane from MN
Costco
Instead of Sam's club we have Costco which is the same only it's in the
northwest states. My tip is for those of us with imperfect vision. Costco
saves me so much money on contacts its amazing. I get a years worth for
$50. -- Angie from ID
I had a Sam's Club membership, but as soon as Costco came to town, I started
shopping there instead. Basically the same type of merchandise, but a
little better class and atmosphere. Their employee and customer service
are outstanding!! I'd best describe it as the Nordstrom of the wholesale
clubs. - -Peggy from TX
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