Sam's Club

I've been meaning to post this for some time but never got around to it. When MoneySavingMom recently posted about her trip to Sam's Club it reminded me.

Click here to see a spreadsheet that I made up to help me compare Sam's Club prices to other stores. It isn't a very extensive list but a list of things I usually buy and thought might be a better deal there. I printed it out and filled in the "elsewhere" store with Aldi prices and for the most part they were pretty much even with one exception: vanilla extract is considerably cheaper at Sam's Club.

Personally, I could live without the Sam's Club membership. Is it worth the $40 membership fee to get cheap vanilla twice a year? No. For our family, I really don't think the savings justifies the yearly membership fee. At this point we hold onto it mainly for diapers but really even then the savings might not be worth it.

A bad "side effect" of shopping at Sam's is buying things that you don't really need, especially sweets and snacks. Another possible problem: if you buy large quantities and can't use it all before it "expires" you're basically just throwing money away. If you really need items in large quantities or just buy basics (flour, sugar, noodles, etc.) Sam's might work for you. However, if you just want basics, I suggest you check Aldi before you spend the money on a membership to Sam's Club.

You can do a google search about whether Sam's Club is a good deal or not. What I have found is most people compare Sam's Club prices to one grocery store's regular prices and then come to the conclusion they are saving money. They haven't usually shopped around, used coupons, or even waited for a sale.

One such person said they "saved" $6.48 buying Pepsi at Sam's over their grocery store. (They said it was $.24 per can at Sam's and $.42 per can at their grocery store.) Were they shopping out of a vending machine? Over FIVE dollars for a 12 pack of Pepsi!?! Festival had Pepsi on sale (with in-store coupon) last week for $1.98 a 12 pack. That's $.17 per can and beats the Sam's Club price buy $.07 a can. And that's just one example. I absolutely guarantee that anyone buying toothpaste at Sam's Club is paying WAY to much. It's free at CVS and Walgreens.

Some people say they don't have time to shop around for sales or use coupons and that may or may not be true. You can't really put a price on someone's time, especially for someone else. I think it all boils down to whether you're willing to spend more time or more money for the items your family needs. Personally, I'd rather take a little bit of time to shop at an extra store or two a week and save our hard earned dollars.

How about you? Do you have a Sam's Club membership? Is it worth the yearly fee?