Sam’s Club, Costco, BJ’s, etc are what we call big box stores. These are stores that require you to be a member to shop there. The membership runs anywhere from $30-$100 or more depending on which store you choose to shop at.
These stores sells groceries, household goods, and miscellaneous items in bulk and advertise that their prices are lower because of the volume you get. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. The most important thing you can do is approach these prices as a couponer. Sometimes buying the smaller size on sale with a coupon at your local grocery store is going to be cheaper.
I personally have a Sam’s Club membership and I have no intention of canceling it. I love shopping at Sam’s and I go at least twice a month if not more often. Here are the things I buy on a regular basis:
- Milk
- Milo’s Tea
- Eggs
- Salad
- Some produce
- Meat (chicken is a great price here)
- bread
- chips
- some frozen foods
- thins in the middle area (clothes, toys, household goods, etc. I love browsing the middle area at Sam’s. You never know what you are going to find!)
Some things at Sam’s Club are a great deal and a lot cheaper than what you would pay for it at other stores. Milo’s Tea, for example, is $2.88 at Walmart and only $2.24 at Sam’s Club. Boneless chicken is $1.98 a pound and that is a good price if you need it (the cheapest I have seen in my area is $1.48 a pound).
I used to think that I needed to spend at least $80 every 2 weeks at Sam’s Club and there was no way to lower that amount. And then started couponing. After couponing for a couple months, you will get to know what is a great deal at your local big box store and what isn’t.
If you do not have a membership right now, I recommend you wait a few months. The more you coupon, the better you will get about knowing what a great price is. Then when you are ready, visit your local store and ask if they will let you browse for a bit. See if you find anything that is less than what you got it for on sale and with a coupon. If it is, get a membership. If it isn’t, put that money in your fund!
Do you have a membership to a big box store? If so, what do you buy?
If you are new to Couponing, you might want to take a moment to read more in my Getting Started Couponing series.
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Their birthday cakes are the best! Half of a sheet cake is only $17! They even have filling. The designs are limited but they taste delicious!
My husband’s work pays for everyone to have a Sam’s membership- we don’t have BJ’s here and the nearest Costco is 40 minutes away. I don’t buy nearly as much as I did before I started couponing seriously-but still buy my heartburn medication there-much cheaper than anyplace else.
I have a Sam’s membership too. Not only is the chicken a superb price, but so is the ground beef. I find that toilet paper and paper towels are way more expensive though. Price Chopper is cheaper for bread than Sam’s. I won’t get rid of my Sam’s membership mainly because of the meat. My savings on the meat totally pays for the membership!
We have a membership to BJ’s, and love it. Because you can stack multiple manufacturer’s coupons with BJ’s coupons, you can actually snag some really good deals. I actually do matchups for the BJ’s coupons on my blog: http://frugaljacksonvillemom.com/category/bjs/
I have created a Coscto Comparison sheet that I use to see if the grocery store sales are really a better deal for me. I took the time and went to Costco and priced all the items I normally buy there (diapers, frozen chicken, canned goods, ect) and broke it down by price per unit or ounce. I typed it up in an excel document and then when I look through the weekly ads I always have my Costco Comparison sheet to help me get the best deal. Even better is that I have it stored on my phone as a picture so that when I am out and about I can still compare the price to Costco and see if it is a better deal or not. If you want to see a copy of mine to get some ideas let me know and I will email it to you.
I’ll take a copy of that :) I absolutely love Costco!!
[email protected]
me too please ! thanks :)
We have a Sam’s Club membership but are considering dropping it. We get paper goods, trash bags, things like that – it’s convenient to buy in bulk but I’m finding I can get these items cheaper at Target if I hit sales+coupons. The meat can be good – I did a meat blitz last weekend in fact – but can also be disappointing. We splurged on some steak and grilled it up the other night and it was very VERY tough. I’m crockpotting the leftovers tomorrow – cross your fingers!
I do like the “thins in the middle” – I once found a bunch of classic Dr. Who dvds and practically danced home. ;-) And it is great at the holidays – we pick up holiday gifts for the kids’ teachers there, trick or treat stuff for Halloween, and so on. But overall, I’m not finding it to be as useful as I did before I became a big couponer.
We used to have a Costco membership because of the cheaper gas but it’s really out of the way so the gas savings were used up getting there! And we’ve not really had much luck at our local BJs, although I do like the fact that they take coupons. If Sam’s took coupons, I’d be there a LOT more often.
My Sam’s Club membership is definitely worth it for us. If we only EVER bought Lactaid tablets, garbage bags and calcium carbonate snow melt, it would totally be worth it. These are items that – even on sale and if we’re lucky to have a coupon – are still much less at Sam’s Club.
We also buy chicken Tyson nuggets, fish sticks and Breathe Rights. They also have great prices on birthday cakes and cupcakes.
We’ve tried the eValues upgrade to the membership and found that it totally wasn’t worth the cost.
Excellent advice here. We’ve had a membership for about 3 years. One tip — anyone who has a business (whether or not the business is active or actually making any money) can get the Business membership, which is cheaper and give you some extra morning hours to shop on weekdays. So those of you who sell things from home can do that, for example. We only pay $35/year for our Sam’s membership because my husband has a business.
We have re-evaluated keeping our membership since I got into couponing, but we still find it to be worth it. We mostly buy cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips, Simply Lemonade, and seasonal items. We like the gift baskets they have at Christmas. For a while, they were selling bags of five large avocados for $4, which is really good. (I rarely see avocados for such a low price at the grocery store, and no coupons, of course!) On the cheese … for things like cheddar, I can usually do better at a regular grocery store, but for the more fancy cheeses, like the Five Alarm spicy cheese my husband likes, or Smoked Gouda, which I love, Sam’s is usually cheaper. And I rarely find sour cream cheaper per pound that the 5 lb tubs we get at Sam’s.
(I just read what I wrote above and thought about the Minniemize posts … it’s not as bad as it sounds, lol! Sour cream and cheese last a long time!)
It just depends on what you buy and how often you need to buy it. There’s also the matter of time and conveniece. Maybe if I had even more time for couponing, the Sam’s club membership wouldn’t be worth it anymore. But currently, it is. I strongly advise anyone who is couponing and also has a box club membership to do the math and re-evaluate that membership every year!
Oh, by the way … I love going to Sam’s with my toddler. The samples keep her busy the whole time!
Tip…..if you let your membership expire like I did, you can still buy gas from Sam’s! I let my membership go, becuase I found that I could the same thing at the local store w/ coupons……cheaper than Sam’s!
We have a Sam’s club membership. I also love that section in the middle! I homeschool my kids so I get a ton of the complete curriculum books and books for all kinds of other things in there way cheaper that anywhere wlse I’ve found them. I buy my kids clothes from there quite a bit too. This winter I was able to get them a warm faux fur jacket that was lined, it zipped up and had hood. Plus it had the Disney Princesses on it. It was very nice and i was having trouble finding them a jacket for less than $40. At sam’s club I got them that jacket that came with a pair of jeans (with the adjustable waist) and a long sleeve disney princess shirt for less than $20.
We also just bought a tv from there a couple weeks ago. It was sony 42 inch flat screen. i got it for $400. I went looking around to see how much it was in other stores and in walmart it was $800! All because it was a floor model. It had no marks of any kind on it. it looked brand new and it works great.
I also used to shop there on a regular basis thinking it was the only way. But since i started couponing I was trying to figure out if I should keep my membership or not. Since I’ve listed things out I think I will renew my membership after all.
Even if I don’t really get food from there i still get enough other stuff to make it worth my money.
Oh and I also buy meat from there too.
We got our tires at Costco this year. Our store is 5 minutes away but they are moving 20 minutes away to a brand new store closer to Sams Club. So we are trying to decide what to do. We are thinking of keeping our membership because our tires came with a free lifetime tire rotation which easily would cost us the same as the basic membership fees, if we had them rotated twice a year elsewhere. But my husband can get a small discount on Sams membership through work so we are not sure what to do. Any suggestions?
One of my frugal friends and I split a membership to Sam’s every year, only $20. I read Couponmom’s book recently and she said the meat is cheaper and a higher quality grade than you would get at the grocery store. I love the same items everyone has mentioned previously.
I have a little hint to share with everyone. When Sam’s is marks items down for close-outs, the price always ends in one. For instance, after Christmas I got a HUGE bag of chocolate chips for .81, its really easy to cruise down the aisles and look for prices ending in one. If you spot something, its probably a pretty good deal.
We get so much from Costco. In fact, friends and family don’t even ask where we got something anymore – they just nod and say Costco?. We got our patio furniture, tv, camping supplies and even my three rings there (one was my engagement). The quality of jewelry can’t be beat. I also love Costco.com. I shop for items (especially pet items) and have them delivered to my door. We always make our Christmas cards at the photo shop, use the eyeglass center, get our prescriptions cheap and buy our tires there.
I have the Costco executive membership that pays you back 2% for shopping there – just got a check back and it was $178. I have a family of 5 and we normally go through 5 gallons of milk a week and the money I save on buying all that milk pays for our executive membership. They normally send out a coupon book with about 100 coupons in it for a month and with these coupons and their prices the deals are fabulous! But with that said, I usually don’t buy a lot unless their is a coupon for it. Costcos meat is better priced, better cut, and way better tasting then the grocery stores here and the meat shops. Same with the produce – always better quality. I sometimes get my produce on sale at the grocery stores, but it usually goes bad way faster! I shop at Costco about once a week. We buy pretty much everything there – bread, milk, water, cell phones, rx’s, shampoo, makeup, razors, meat, cat litter, spices, bedding, snacks, insurance, vacations, video games, etc…I just wait till it’s on sale or clearance :)
And I have to say their brand Kirkland is fabulous and cheap!
It usually costs me around $40 for membership to sams club a year. I think i only go once or twice a year so this is a big waste of money for me!! You just saved me $40 for my disney fund. I never thought of it before. Thanks a bunch!!!!
It’s also a GREAT place to score cheap LUNCH! My friends and I take the kids there occasionally just to eat. You can usually feed youself and one child for under $3!!! =)
Costco: I buy romaine lettuce, Fiber One bars (better price than the commissary even if I have 50 cent coupons), candy for my husband’s office, rotisserie chicken, fresh salmon, and turkey burgers among other things. Every time I think of getting rid of my Costco membership, I think about their cakes. They make the best tasting cakes and the price is so good.
I just can’t justify paying someone to let me shop in their store, although Sam’s is a fun place to go. Before you save anything, you have to recoup your membership fee. Then there is the issue of where to put the large amount that you must buy in order to save a few pennies. I have had a trial membership in the past but could not ever save more than at the grocery stores with coupons & sales.
I am on foodstamps. No nastyness please. I have had had times this year and needed the assistance. I have a Sams membership and love it. I can use my food stamps there! I buy all my meat at Sam’s I go once a month and spend about 150 on meat, this is much cheaper than buying weekly at a regular store. I use coupons to stretch the rest of my budget. I currently have a stockpile that will get me through 4 months everything but meat and veggies. I also buy my girls shampoo there. They only use the sauve kids and thats the cheapest I have seen it. Also fill prescriptions there. Alot cheaper.
I completely understand, same here. I have not had my Sam’s membership for over a year now, because I can’t afford it. I just wait for the trials to come in the mail, but I do know the difference between the grocery store meat prices and the Sam’s meat prices…much cheaper at least where I live. I am hoping an offer will come in the mail like I use to get where my membership was around $55-60, but they gave me a $20 giftcard and some awesome offers with it, so when it was said and done my membership basically paid for itself. Alot of us are having hard times, and if you need the help, you need it…regardless of what anyone thinks. I have been unemployed for a very long time and still actively looking for work and have a special needs child to take care of, plus I am in college working towards my degree, so I completely understand.
When I was in CA I bought a Costco membership. It was great because I would buy the ground beef in the individual 1 lb tubes that come in the back. They usually were 12 dollars or sometimes as low as 2.00 a pound. There was either 5 or 6 lbs per bag. So easy. However; now that we moved to Texas the closest Costco is Dallas (and I like Costco A LOT better than Sam’s) We now have a Sam’s membership. Just the cheap one. However; my husband is supposed to come in with me and switch it to a business accnt. and I’m going to add my friend to the account for 10 bucks. She can pay me the 10 dollars and then she can go shopping there too. I usually buy ground beef, and the frozen chicken breasts in the bags there. You usually get bigger size bags of the chicken there than at the store, but you have to be careful. Sometimes gettng two of the chicken at the store is better than buying the Sam’s big bag. All depends on the sale at the time. The 5 lbs of ground beef is about 12 so it is equivalent in price to the Costco, but it is not pre portioned out, so that makes me sad. :( That was such a nice thing. Sometimes the snacks at the store are pretty cheap, but most of the time not, Just have to be a smart shopper. The book prices and game prices are pretty good most of the time until the Christmas season hits.
We have a Sam’s Club membership through my husband’s work. We don’t shop there often, but I recently got a tip to check their pharmacy for lower prescription prices. I had checked CVS, Walgreens, Target and Kroger pharmacies for my son’s medication several months ago and all were $120-$135. Turns out Sam’s Club has it for $51!!
We have had a membership to Costco for years, and I’ve definitely found that since I started couponing I don’t use it near as often. However, there are some things that I just don’t feel like chasing the deals on each week, so I buy them at full price (eek!) there just so that I’ll have them and not have to think about them for a while, such as toilet paper, paper towels, razor cartridges and garbage bags. The extra spent is so worth it to save time and give me piece of mind.
Also, it is our store of choice for salmon…nice big, delicious pieces for a very reasonable price.
I really want to like the big box stores, but I don’t get it. I only go to these stores if they have a free membership, usually for 60 days. I have not seen a free membership campaign in a few years. I like the meat, chicken and bakery at Sams Club, but t he savings is not great. I dont see why I would buy in bulk when I can get stuff cheaper with coupons.
I feel sticking to a few stores with my coupons is my best bet. If I go into a lot of stores, I spend more money. I go to Publix once a week, Walmart 2 times a month and CVS once in a while. Walgreens never has the stuff they advertise, and Target is way across town.
Milk, coffee syrups (25% cheaper!), sometimes razor blades, OTC medicines, books … but otherwise I think you really have to be a wise shopper here. Their seasonal items are always fun to browse and we find they can be pretty competitive on electronics. It takes a lot of milk to make up for that $45 privlege to shop there though.
Sorry — I meant to mention that this was for Sam’s Club.
I have a membership to Sam’s and I buy milk, eggs, some fruits, the rotisserie chicken when I don’t feel like cooking. I like the fact that they have pizza and soda for $2.98 (or whatever it is). I also got a great deal on a dual car DVD player.
We have a BJ’s membership and I especially love it for meat…honestly, I find the best prices there (on certain types) and the meat is of a higher quality than at the grocery stores where I live (I live in New York city, so stuff is expensive here!)
Another thing that I get there is shampoo for my fiance…he has a really sensitive scalp, and Neutrogena T-Gel is his favorite…but that stuff is expensive, and never seems to go on sale….I can get a giant bottle at BJ’s (about 3 times the size of the normal bottle I can buy at a drug store) for $1 more than it would cost me to buy a tiny bottle at Target or Rite Aid.
I also will buy milk, bread, coffee (My fiance will only drink Nescafe Classico). certain produce is also better there (squash for some reason and also habanero chiles)….and we buy beer there too (a treat, but if we buy it there it lasts forever and it is so much cheaper than the stores in our neighborhood or than going out).
There are lots of things that we used to buy there that I will no longer buy there because I can get them cheaper at Rite Aid (razors, deodorant, listerine)
Oh, and I have had my glasses and contacts prescriptions filled there too!
sounds like that will be an expensive marriage lol
I love their kid’s books too and I bought a great dining room set there for a great price. I LOVE Propel so my hubby keeps up the stock in that with help from Sam’s. They sell cases instead of 6 packs of bottles.
Oh yeah…. I got our 6 piece dining set for $184 because it was scratched. Regular retail is $700! :-O
I actually got a free upgrade and year’s membership to Sams Club. I was a regular member and for some reason I got a coupon in the mail that said I could become a Plus Member for free. So I took it in, got my free Plus membership for the rest of my year (until June) and then got it extended until next June. Not catches at all.
Now i really don’t think the plus membership is worth the extra money whereas if you shop a lot at Costco, their Executive Membership really pays off.
I have a Sam’s memebership that my mom got me for Chirstmas…. the closest Sam’s is an hour away so I don’t shop there often…. I thought milk and things would be cheaper, but everytime I bring my cooler hopeing to stock up it is not cheaper than Kroger sale price….. Oh well. I do find good deals on clothes there from time to time
we have had Sams memberships in the past, they don’t take coupons but they will take the ones that are like checks, think formula coupons. I only used it once but it was a good deal.
I have a membership to BJ’s. We have a Mom’s Club in town that I belong to and we get a group discount for members, so my membership costs only $20/yr. I love that I can stack mfg coupons with bj’s coupons- like everywhere else you just have to watch for the sales and see what you can score a great deal on. I’ve been able to get very cheap Wholly Guacamole with stacked coupons lately. They also have a great price on milk ($2.30ish/gallon). I buy Annie’s mac and cheese with coupons there and bisquick.
I find that the prices aren’t that great at BJ’s. Even without coupons, I can often get better deals at Target, or waiting for a sale at the grocery stores. Sometimes the HBA/pharmacy items are okay priced, but that’s only if there’s a BJ’s coupon paired with a manufacturer’s. Maybe other places are better priced, but not around here (southeastern MA)
Thanks for this post!
I shop Sam’s usually once a month too 2 months. I buy butter, bacon, paper plates and love their cookies. Alot of things I can get cheaper at my local grocery store with coupons ans sales.
We use my membership to Sam’s club to purchase Rawhide bones for our 2 dogs. They are the cheapest price for the amount of bones. Plus I love their baked goods!! I received a discounted membership rate through my job (They have perks with several other companies, never hurts to check with HR).
We have been going once a month and stocking up on the rawhide bones at Sam’s club! 9 dollars for 10 bones? where at wal mart you can get 2 bones for $3 so for 10 bones that would equal out to $15..Its a much better deal to go to Sams! We also buy chicken I got 11 boneless skinless chicken breasts for $8…They were big as well!!! Milk is something else we buy as well because its almost 40 cents cheaper then our wal mart and local grocery stor here!!! We get a business membership through my husbands company so it works out very nice and we only have to pay $20 a year for it!!!
Sams does not take coupons…BJ’s however does….they have great coupons and you can use MFG coupons….they allow you to stack. I have 6 kids and tend to shop there a lot for somethings. i have the gold membership which is $80 a year…but i get a check for 2% back from all purchases…might not sound like a lot but we have already gotten a check for $72.53 so far this year. i tend to shop there like i do with regular couponing..sometimes they have coupons where you save $10 when you buy 3 of the items listed…then they have coupons for those items on top of the deal…and you can use a MFG coupon…i have spent $200 but i saved $170…and when you are bulk shopping that is amazing..you just have tomap out the deals and know retail prices as well.
Thank you for your very useful feedback. I definitely will try BJ’s.
I wish that we had a BJs here. Sounds awesome!
OMG, that makes me wish we had a BJ’s … I don’t know that there is such a thing in Wisconsin. That was a great review!
Just curious do you know if the coupons are the same for every level of membership or do higher levels get better coupons? Thanks in advance
Our Sam’s Club boneless skinless chicken breasts went up to $2.08 a lb. but our Walmart still sells the boneless skinless chicken breasts at $1.78 a lb.
You just have to compare things sometimes before you buy.
We do love their book & movie section. Lots of older movies and good quality family movies. You can get good deals on some of their Carters clothes for kids and other brands. If you happen to go on a day when they are doing the free sampling, you can actually get a good filling snack by the time you leave!
My kids love this, and it makes shopping easier on us all.
We stock up on milk for sure, it is so much cheaper than in the stores!
We get 10 lb. tubes of ground meat for the freezer.
Their bread is more expensive than buying the Great Value brand at Walmart.
Some of their fruits and veggies are cheaper than in the store, ya just gotta check.
The best thing I think is that you can get a whole Cheesecake Factory cheesecake for about $15!! Oh Yum and the flavors rotate every other month or so.
We have a Costco Executive Membership and it’s very worth it for us. The Executive Membership gives you 2% back on all purchases with the exception of alcohol and gas. So if you have plans for bigger purchases such as a TV, or even tires, it’s definitely worth it and the membership can end up paying for itself. It’s pretty much a no lose situation because if at any time you are not satisfied with it, they will refund you the money for the membership. Additionally, Costco is known for their very liberal return policy and will pretty much take anything back at any time. (With the exception of electronics which is 90 days.)
Costco doesn’t accept manufacturer’s coupons, but they release their own coupons pretty much on a monthly basis. Even better still, in most cases you don’t even need to bring the coupons with you. Their coupon codes are all the same so all the cashier has to do is scan one coupon (which they often have on hand) and everything that’s in the coupon book will automatically get deducted according to the coupon value.
You can’t always bank on warehouse clubs being a better value, but it is definitely convenient. Of course they can be a great deal too, so as with most things, do your homework and price compare. If nothing else, I know that I can always easily take things back to them with absolutely no hassle if I don’t like it.
My credit card recently gave us a discount on a BJ’s membership – $10 off and 3 extra months! I buy gas, rice, salad mix, some produce, milk, eggs, some meats, and diapers ($30 for a big box of luvs – 208 diapers in size 3!). I like BJ’s because you can stack coupons there too – their coupons and manufactures. And, if the mfr. coupon is off 2 and the item is a 2-pack, you can use that on one two-pack! We get v-fusion juices for DIRT cheap that way!!
Thanks for the tip Wendy. I shop at BJ’s all the time and never knew that you can use your mfr. coupon off 2 if the item is a 2pk. I will definitely use that one.
Can you now use coupons at Sam’s Club? I thought BJ’s was the only wholesale club that would allow coupons – they let you stack manufacturer and their store coupons.
Normally I stock up on milk, diapers (this is the only store I seem to find Luvs coupons for) and “thins in the middle”. The childrens book selection is AMAZING!
You mentioned that you use coupons at Sam’s club… I have never been to their store as Costco is closer to me. I wonder the coupons that you use at Sam’s club are they coupons from the newspaper, internet, etc. or are they actually a Sam’s Club coupons? I often shop at Costco, especially for organic produce. I found it that it is much cheaper there, also my local shop rite doesn’t even carry organic meats….
I’m sorry. I see where what I said was confusing and I reworded it. I meant that I found couponing, not coupons. ;)
Sam’s Club does not take mfg coupons. They do have their own coupons though for select membership types.