When I was growing up, my parents shopped at Sam’s Club. This made a lot of sense for our family, since there were five kids. That’s a lot of mouths to feed. My parents could pay a monthly membership fee to the warehouse club store, and the save by buying large quantities of the items and food we used most.
For my own family, the situation is quite different. My husband and I have only one child, and getting food at a warehouse club store is counterproductive since it would likely go bad before we could eat it all.
We’ve found, however, that we can benefit from a warehouse club membership — as long as we are careful about what we buy.
Shopping to Fit Your Family’s Needs
No matter where you shop, or what you buy, the golden rule of preparing for your family’s needs is to do what works for you. Look at your needs, and then shop to fit those needs.
We shop at a warehouse club store (I wish I could say it’s Costco, but there isn’t a Costco within 50 miles of us) for the non-food items that we can get on discount. Every six to eight months, we head to the warehouse club store and get what we need: Laundry detergent, dishwasher detergent, toilet paper, paper towels, and whatever else we need. We find that generic and name brand over-the-counter medications are also a great deal at the warehouse store. We also like to get business supplies from the club store.
However, it is important to comparison shop, even with the club store. We’ve found that tissues on sale at the local Shopko cost less than what we pay at the club store. So, instead of just going to the club store and loading up, we buy on sale when we can. Many paper products have the same story. By paying attention to the sale prices, we can save even over the big warehouse store.
But we find that the best deals on many of our household and personal care items are still found at the club store, which is why we still pay for a yearly membership, even though we don’t go in very often.
Your family’s needs might be different than my family’s needs, though. If you are trying to feed a larger family, the warehouse store can be a great help. You can find large quantities fairly easily, and the per-unit cost is often lower. Non-perishable canned items can also be a big help, if you have home food storage.
Think about your needs as a family, and then start comparing prices. Don’t forget to keep an eye out for sales at non-club stores, since that can help you save even more. Don’t assume that the club store always has the best prices, since sometimes it doesn’t.
What do you think? Do you shop at a club store? Why or why not? What kinds of things do you buy, if you do shop at one of these stores?
Image: Walmart via Flickr
I just bought a house so my budget will definitely be a lot tighter now. I know I will benefit with a membership at a warehouse like Costco for sure. Thanks for the pointers about still keeping an eye out for comparisons.
We tend to go infrequently, but still enjoy the membership for just my husband, son, and I. When we throw our annual big Canada Day bash, I go there to buy the food (think dozens of burgers and buns, chips/snacks, etc). We also use a lot of the Costco services which are cheaper than other places. For instance, we’ll fill prescriptions at the pharmacy, fill the BBQ tank at at least a 25% discount from other places in town, passport photos are cheap too. I will go for gifts for my nieces/nephews, as the books there are usually high quality and low price. Same as others have said for wrapping paper etc. I’d agree with many of your tips-be realistic about what you’ll use and check the per portion price against what you’d pay at your regular store. It’s sometimes surprisingly more expensive than you’d think!
There are just two of us and we have a Costco membership. We buy lots of non-perishable items as well as books and DVD’s as they are always cheaper there. They always have cool Christmas items as well. Plus we pick up a few things for my brother-in-law as he doesn’t have a membership.
I agree though – you have to watch your prices! We call Costco the $200 store. You never seem to get out of there without spending at least $200!!! My friend went recently for laundry detergent and paper products and came out with a kid’s bike and a kayak!!!
We are a small family (hubs and me, one kiddo, one dog) and we have a Costco membership. We go every couple of months to stock up on cleaning supplies, dishwasher, tabs, baby wipes, etc. We also use their photo lab to get photos, invitations, Christmas cards, etc. printed off because they have the cheapest prices of any place I’ve seen. We buy a lot of nonperishables there too: rice, quinoa, cereals, granola bars, coconut water, etc. I usually get a bag of avocados and a whole bunch of Greek yogurt since we eat both those things like they’re going out of style. Every couple years I get a huge thing of Christmas wrapping paper, gift tags, and bows because the packs are so huge you don’t need to buy them every year!