Sam's Club: Which are Real Deals?

If you're new to this blog, you might want to know WHY I delved into the world of couponing and bargain hunting. Last October I received a major wake-up call from my spending at Sam's Club. My total the last time I visited was $722.97! It still hurts. I just now mustered the courage to visit again with all my new-found knowledge of what's truly a good deal.

In the past, I bought without seriously looking at prices, and I'd only use coupons occasionally. If this is you, then Sam's Club is where you could save the most money. However, now that I know what typically is the lowest price per pound for meats and how I can usually get cereal for $1.50 a box or less, I've decided not to renew my Sam's Club membership. Sorry, guys. However, with the two months remaining of my membership, I will stock up on a few products that I consider good deals.

Let's start with what are NOT good deals. You can even cross off entire sections of the store. Now that I've learned how to get most hygiene items (shampoo, soap, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrushes, feminine care, etc.) for free--check my weekly Couponing for Charity updates--I don't even bother checking those prices. I also skip the pet food section since they don't carry our brand, the clothing because I can't try anything on, and the furniture because I don't need any. I also won't consider snack foods that I've gotten for free or nearly free: Chex Mix and granola bars. I've gotten photographs printed here in the past, but you can often find better deals--even the occasional free prints like this photo collage through May 8--online.

As for all the paper goods, I don't buy styrofoam (though you can now recycle it in Knoxville), I don't need the volume they sell, and I didn't see a single option made from recyclable paper (plates, napkins, paper towels, or toilet paper). If we don't BUY goods made from recycled material, they won't MAKE goods with it. Marcal often has coupons in the paper, and I've found some deals at CVS on green paper products. The Huggies diapers at Sam's worked out to about $.22 a diaper. I've been getting diapers for $.14 - $.16 each, and Sam's doesn't carry the overnights I need for the boys. So no sale there.

For health and environmental reasons, I've stopped buying sodas, bottled water, and juice boxes. I also avoided some of my previously favorite pre-packaged meals: lasagna, potstickers, and burritoes. If I don't buy them, I'll force myself into preparing all my own freezer meals. Yikes, so what's left?

Armed with my notepad and calculator, I compared prices on lots of items, and some worked out to be fairly even compared to store prices on sale and with coupons: laundry detergent, dish washing tabs, canned foods, pasta, pudding, coffee, juice, potato chips, milk, and peanut butter. The question is can you be patient for the sale and do you stock up when it's a good price?

But putting price aside for a minute, there's one other problem with warehouse stores: lack of variety, especially organic and green products. However, I did find some at Sam's Club: Kashi cereal, Naturally More peanut butter, organic olive oil, Bertolli organic tomato sauce, Muir Glen soup, Hunts organic ketsup, Stacy pita chips, and organic baby spinach. Of these, I did buy the spinach ($3.97 / lb) and the olive oil ($8.88 / liter). I haven't yet decided if it's important to me to insist my olive oil (of which I use a lot) is organic. If not, the three liters of conventional EVOO is a good deal: $16.98.

When I perused the cereal aisle, the only one I considered a deal was Quaker Life. I don't see that on sale often and coupons aren't as frequent as the Kellogg's. Consumer Reports rated it a good cereal for kids, and the whole family likes it. When I compared the per ounce price with what I had recently found on sale at Ingles, Sam's won out. I also picked up several bottles of Hershey syrup (my weakness) and pure maple syrup (taste it and you'll never go back).

I would consider Sam's best deals in the dairy section. Fresh Parmesan was $5.42 / lb and Jarlsberg cheese was 4.56 / lb. Kroger prices can be 2-3 times that much. While you're in that section, pick up some of their fresh salsa for $6.97 (3 lbs); it's amazing! And I got 4 pounds of unsalted butter (I read somewhere most chefs recommend unsalted) for just $7.84. It's not organic (which I'm still wrestling with), but I've been paying $4.27 for just one pound of organic butter at Kroger. That's a big difference.

I managed to skip most of the produce since I was going to the farmers' market, but I did pick up 5 avocados for $4; the cheapest I've seen them at Kroger is $1 each. I also picked up some Earthgrains sandwich bread and milk which was slightly cheaper but I needed them.

I was most eager to see if I could score some good deals on beef, pork, chicken, or fish since I used to get ALL of this here. As I checked each price per pound, I was stunned at how high they were compared to sale prices. "That's no deal, I can get that cheaper, how much do they want?!" Not even chicken was the lowest price I've seen recently. The one meat I did buy was the thick country style pork ribs for $1.78 / lb. They're good in the smoker and I can't seem to find them at Kroger.

Finally, where Sam's probably outshines the competition most often is in their seasonal department. We shopped all over for a backyard playset last year and decided theirs was the best quality for the money. Tip: these usually stick around for just a couple months; buy now if interested. We've also saved considerable money on a canoe and tires. This trip I bought two more Body Glove life jackets. Sam's price was considerably lower than anything I could find online, and the quality was superior. Since our kids are in life jackets practically every day during the summer, that's money well spent.

So will I miss Sam's Club? Yes, but it may not be good-bye forever. I've heard you can get a one-day pass and pay just 10% more on all purchases. As long as that's not more than $40 in a year, it's worth it. Or maybe I can find a friend with a membership who's willing to pick up a few items for me occasionally. We'll see.

I'm happy to report my total this trip was $166.36 ($117.63 of which were groceries). That's more like it. What are your favorite purchases at Sam's Club? Do you think it's worth it?

March Budget: Totals are In

If you've stumbled upon this post thinking you'll find guidance on how to feed your family on $50 a week, you're in the wrong neighborhood. I commend the women like Frugalissa, Gabrielle, and Coupon Katie who routinely hit their budgets of $200 - $400 a month. I, however, have set some realistic and attainable goals that are right for MY family, and at the end of each month, here is where I hold myself accountable.

I've decided to group all the food, household needs, clothing, etc. into one category and set a monthly budget of $800. That includes a weekly trip to Kroger, one trip to Earthfare, weekly trips to Walgreens and CVS, one or two trips to Target, as well as all consignment sales, department stores, craft stores, dollar stores, and any other extras I might splurge on. It would cover fast food and dining out if we ever did either, but those cases are slim. Yes, I once tried to order a burger at Chick-fil-A. Fast food is not my forte.

So since we rarely eat out and my husband takes left-overs for most lunches, I put a lot of time and effort into making healthy, affordable meals. I shop the sales, use my coupons, load my card with e-savers, and work the deals at pharmacies. But I still can't come close to the mega-budgeters listed above. And you know what: that's ok. I'm careful about how I spend our money and I'm keeping track of what I spend where. For that, I've come a long way.

So how did I do for March? I actually went over ten bucks. I could have forfeited that last trip to Target and the good deals on the board games. Or I didn't have to buy the 1000 paperclips for five bucks, but I was thinking ahead. I needed about 200 paperclips for a MOMS Club project, and the larger bin was the better economical decision for the long haul. So yes, I now have paperclips to last me, well, forever, but I can live with that. And since I was $20 under budget last month, I can let this minor infraction slide.

This brings me to one final budgeting issue that was a mathematical certainty at some point. Generally, I've been budgeting by the week, four weeks in a month. In April, I will need to budget for five weeks (including all that I just spent on Sunday). I'm keeping my monthly budget the same; I'll just have to make one week light. Maybe I'll have a "perimeter only" week at Kroger where I only buy produce and dairy. I just made a lot of freezer meals, and I bought two large items that will go into several meals: a turkey and a ham. We'll see.

So the totals: I spent $810.65 ($556.68 primarily to groceries and $253.97 to household goods). Through sales, coupons, and e-savers, I saved $616.07 or 42%. I also earned $40 in rebates.

So how did you do?

Saving the Big Bucks

I have to admit that although I'm enjoying the money savings with my new coupon tactics, there are times I feel I'm doing nothing more than nickeling and diming. That's why it feels really good when I save some serious cash with little to no effort. Here are four ways we saved over $400 this week.

First of all, we had to call the plumber about a water pressure issue. Had we not caught the problem in time, we could have seen damage in the thousands of dollars! Bob picked a name out of the Yellow Pages (a resource we rarely use anymore) but we were delighted Hiller Plumbing had a coupon in the back for $50. Tip: You can also get a $25 coupon on their website. Afterwards they sent us an additional $20 off any future service and offered a $25 referral fee. So if you're looking for a local plumber, tell 'em Margaret Slattery sent you! ;-)

Next, an office chair I've been eyeing at OfficeMax for awhile went on sale and they sent me a $25 coupon for being a MaxPerks member. Tip: Their furniture sale is going on through Nov. 21. I saved a total of $85. I'm not a big shopper and don't usually get excited about STUFF, but this chair makes me feel like a queen! I got what I really wanted and I saved money.

Though I've knocked Sam's Club in the past on some of their goods, I think it's a great place for some big ticket items. We've been pleased with furniture, a canoe, and even our playhouse from Sam's. So when my husband said it was time for new tires for the van, Sam's Club was definitely on the list. He hit Consumer Reports and shopped around the various local tire sources for the best price and product. He's more about quality than price, but he managed both this time. Since this month Goodyear is giving an instant $50 off 4 tires and he found a set that was comparable (but not an exact match) to a model at Sears for considerably less, Bob saved about $200.

Finally, since Bob has never been to the Knoxville Zoo in the four years we've lived here, we decided to take advantage of their annual free day today. The weather was gorgeous and the crowds were tolerable. According to an employee as we left, there were probably more than 20,000 people there today, but it was worth it for a totally free family adventure. Normally, it would cost our family $65 in tickets and parking for the zoo. And lunch would easily be another $20 - $30. Tickets and parking were free, I packed a lunch and water bottles, and I even had one carousel token in my purse. Ok, I did donate some toys and food as requested, but even those were deals I got on sale and with coupons.

We've yet to invest in a zoo membership since I've never paid full price between coupons in the paper, school coupon books, and library coupon books. However, I think we'll make that investment the next time we go. You can now buy discounted zoo tickets at Kroger with your Plus card. You can either save $2 off individual tickets or $5 off an annual family membership (making it $90). I have friends who love the membership and pop into the zoo for a couple of hours all the time. And it certainly lets you avoid crowds of 20,000!

So where do you save the big bucks? Comment below.