I have a free 60 day trial to Sam's Club....what to buy?

[lakemom]

What is a "best buy" at Sam's Club?  I have a 60 day free trial and will be going up there (45 minute drive) next week.  I will be stocking up on some paper products but what else do others buy there?  No frozen at this time as my freezer is full of meat.  Thanks all!

[Neustache]

I'm going to follow this.  I haven't been impressed with Costco save for spices/flour/oats and I'd like to see what people buy at Sam's.....so not very helpful to you, but thanks for starting this thread!

[Paul der Krake]

2lb box of ham for $7-8
36 packs of ramen for $7
gallon of milk at $3
big container of Nesquik hot chocolate (don't remember the price)
huge bag of pecan halves, $10
monster pack of toothpaste

[mrsggrowsveg]

I'm not sure exact prices but we always buy from Sams.  These things are cheaper than at comparable local stores:
-Coconut Oil
-Maple Syrup
-Bulk nuts
-Soy Sauce
-Jasmine Rice
-dried beans
-Kerrygold butter and cheese

[Jack]

I joined Costco recently (with one of those online discount things - Groupon or something), and have been annoyed that their groceries are mostly more expensive than Aldi (and sometimes even Kroger!). However, it'll still be worth it because I plan to buy a mattress and the money I save on that will more than pay for the membership by itself.

[Neustache]

I'm with ya, Jack.  Aldi's has better prices on most everyday food items like produce and bread.   I'm saving wads though on off-brand Claritin, so it's been worth it for that. 

[Gone Fishing]

If you need some good kitchen knives, they have a commerical grade brand "Baker's and Chef's".  I think you can get 2 chef's knives for $15 or so, and paring knives come in a 5 pack for similar price.  They are made in Brazil if I remember correctly and the steel takes a very nice edge.

[MountainGal]

I'm going there myself this afternoon, and was just looking at the Word doc I keep.  Numbers in parenthesis are when I've paid attention to how long each product lasts.  It is just DH and me at home.  I don't buy everything on the list every time, go approximately twice a year, and spend about $100 each time.

Baggies
Jet Dry
All
Woolite
Fab softener
Toilet cleaner

TP
Puffs (3 mo)
Coffee (2.5 mo)
Other beverages-Monsters, Ice, Vitawater Zero
Splenda
PB
Tuna (2 mo)
Canned Chicken (2 mo)
Green beans (4 mo)
Corn
Soup
Mandarin oranges
Refried beans
Olives (3 mo)
Slim Jim minis (3 mo)
Pasta sauce
Vienna sausage
Snack Packs

Cheese-Laughing Cow
Beef?

Tampons
Allergy pills
Deod-DH(5 mo)
Secret deod-me

Office supplies:
Jolly Ranchers (2.5 years)
Puffs
PT

[Carrie]

Olive oil
Artichoke hearts
Olives
Maple syrup
Beef tenderloin
Lettuce mixes
Bell peppers
Avocados
Feta cheese and/or goat cheese
Zip lock bags (gallon size)
Trash bags
Socks

[iris lily]

We have been Sam's members for years and I pretty much think it's a waste of time and money. DH insists on keeping the membership. That's one thing right there that bugs me, a place that charges me to shop there. But there are random things that might be worthwhile:

He buys milk there every couple of months, it's very cheap and he drinks a gallon+ per week. Of course milk doesn't last long so we do buy milk at the regular grocery stores.

Our regular purchases at Sam's are big containers (well, everything is in a "big container") of grated dried Parmesean cheese and dish washer powder. I approve of the cheese, but the giant boxes of dishwasher powder become hard on the bottom and some of it is wasted.

Recently I went with him to Sam's because I needed sandwich bags, 500 of them for a garden club project. For this purchase, Sam's was great.

Oh, we also bought pork tenderloin and had the butcher slice it up for us. It seemed like a decent price.

[eil]

We shop at Sam's once in a while. Their core market was originally psuedo-wholesale to small businesses, especially restaurants, mom-and-pop shops, and caterers. You can still see this via the types of products they tend to offer.

The main problem I have with the store is that most of their grocery-type items are name-brand. So if you want peanut butter, for example, your only option is two big jars of Jif and after doing the math it's still more expensive than the grocery store's generic brand. Same thing with most of their packaged and frozen food stuffs.

The store-brand items are a somewhat better deal. We buy toilet paper, napkins, and paper towels there, for example. Meat prices are average, but the quality is always good. Not a big fan of their veggie and fruit selection.

They sell electronics, books, music, and computers too, these are almost never a better price than what you can get by shopping online or at Walmart.

[RelaxedGal]

I had a similar 60 day trial to BJ's, another wholesale club.  I bought

Charmin Toilet paper
Bounty Paper towels
Store Brand Vanilla Extract
McCormick Cinnamon
Store brand Multi-vitamins
Store brand antacids
Beano
Freihofer bread

My primary complaint was, as eil said, is that many things aren't available in a store brand.  Oatmeal was the item I was most disappointed by; BJ's only sells Quaker and the price by weight was higher than the regular price at my local store.  And you want me to pay for the privilege to shop here?  They also didn't have a few things we buy regularly that I was certain would make the membership worthwhile (husband's shampoo and breakfast cereal).  I did not buy a membership, as you can guess.

On the phone with my Mom while I was debating joining, I asked her if her Sam's Club membership is worthwhile.  She said YES, solely because of the cheap gas.  However yours is 45 minutes away whereas hers is on the way home from work, so take from that what you will.  She and Dad also like the Sam's club pizzas - order on the way in, buy a few things, pick up a hot pizza on the way out.  Oh!  And tires, they have good prices on tires and lifetime rotation - no need to be a member, they bought me tires in college and I got to wander the store eating free samples while they were rotated. Again, not a good deal at 45 minutes away but maybe it will help someone else.

[hyacinth]

I mainly shop at Aldi, Sam's & a local bulk food store run by Mennonites. Aldi is cheapest (except for milk, butter & cheese) but they don't sell everything and we prefer the quality of Sam's for some items. Milk alone more than pays for my Sam's membership! Other than the occasional kroger sale I don't chase sales or do coupons but I do keep a price book. Here's things that are generally cheapest for me to buy at Sam's:

1% milk $2.50/gal
Egglands best eggs $3.42/18ct
Butter $2.87/lb
DAK bacon $2.98/lb
Blueberries, frozen, $6.98/3lb
Boneless, skinless chick breast $1.88/lb
Nesquik $0.16/oz
Sugar $0.43/lb
Softener salt $4.54/40lb

Yeast, nuts, frozen strawberries, pepperoni, block cheeses, olive/virgin coconut oil, quinoa (some of us are gluten free), store brand pet food & horse feed,  paper towels (members mark), toilet paper (members mark), bucket of generic laundry detergent, mattress, clearance clothes/shoes, contact solution, protein powder, lg can crushed tomatoes (throw in some spices for cheap spaghetti sauce), kitchen trash bags, pillows.

[lakemom]

This is great!  Thank you...I will be writing everything down to be prepared for when I go.  The 45 minutes isn't so bad because my friend and I will go together then spend some time with her daughter and grandkids who live just a few miles from the store.  I just figured I'd get what I could/should while there since I have no intention of joining!

[chicagomeg]

Their bread flour is $8 for a 5 lb bag. Agave nectar is also super cheap if you use it, I love it in espresso and in my homemade bread. Otherwise I was highly unimpressed with my membership.