Is Costco or Sam's Club worth it for a family of only 3?

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We are a family of 4 and I LOVE Costco. You can find some good deals there and the kids and I love their pizza 🙂

However you do have to watch what you are buying. Sometimes if you look at the price per unit you may find a better deal at the grocery store that offers double coupons.

I wish we had BJ’s wholesale here. I hear they take manufacturers coupons unlike Costco and Sam’s Club. I was also wondering, did Sam’s club stop offering rebates? We used to belong to Sam’s and I remember the rebates totally rocked and I saw it was slowly diminishing. Costco does send out their coupons and I know I can find rebate info on their website. I was just curious if Sam’s stopped this practice.
 
I think it is worth it as long as you have willpower. I found that I spent the same amount, or more, on groceries and supplies over a given time period than I would had I stuck to Target and the grocery store. The problem for me is that they have a lot of “neat” things that I wouldn’t have been attracted to or needed elsewhere but felt that they were such a great deal at Sams that I had to have them. (i.e. A big wooden advent tree, a large nativity set, drinking glasses for outdoors).
 
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CinciMom:
I wish we had BJ’s wholesale here. I hear they take manufacturers coupons unlike Costco and Sam’s Club. I was also wondering, did Sam’s club stop offering rebates? We used to belong to Sam’s and I remember the rebates totally rocked and I saw it was slowly diminishing. Costco does send out their coupons and I know I can find rebate info on their website. I was just curious if Sam’s stopped this practice.
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yes, BJ’s takes manufacturers coupons and has lots of coupons that they send in the postal mail, via e-mail, and have available at the store…some are even as generic as saving a buck or two off of produce…not any specific produce item, just any produce item…others are more specific, and they tend to have lots of coupons on items that every household needs, like toilet paper, paper towels, cleaning supplies…and they accept more major credit and debit cards than Sam’s or Costco…which is very helpful for us, as I often forget to pick up cash on grocery day…
 
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CinciMom:
I wish we had BJ’s wholesale here. I hear they take manufacturers coupons unlike Costco and Sam’s Club. I was also wondering, did Sam’s club stop offering rebates? We used to belong to Sam’s and I remember the rebates totally rocked and I saw it was slowly diminishing. Costco does send out their coupons and I know I can find rebate info on their website. I was just curious if Sam’s stopped this practice.
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yes, BJ’s takes manufacturers coupons and has lots of coupons that they send in the postal mail, via e-mail, and have available at the store…some are even as generic as saving a buck or two off of produce…not any specific produce item, just any produce item…others are more specific, and they tend to have lots of coupons on items that every household needs, like toilet paper, paper towels, cleaning supplies…and they accept more major credit and debit cards than Sam’s or Costco…which is very helpful for us, as I often forget to pick up cash on grocery day…
 
We belong to BJs (similar to Costco) and dh says it’s worth it for the tires. Great prices and since we have 3 cars, it helps. I haven’t bought diapers in some time, so I can’t help you there 🙂 Their gas prices are pretty good, too. —KCT
 
We have a Costco and a Sam’s Club within a few blocks of each other, and I have memberships at both.

Ours is a family of 4, and we shop at them at least once a month. Sam’s Club, on average, is a bit higher priced than Costco, at least on what I buy. On the other hand, sometimes Sam’s has items Costco doesn’t.

Most of the time I save money by buying in bulk, but not always. Sometimes my local grocery store is cheaper, so I try to be careful.

My current Costco/Sam’s Club list has 14 items on it, and I’ll probably go on Friday. Sometimes finding storage space is tough, but we always seem to manage.
 
I’m a big fan of BJ’s. We used to be Sam’s Club members and, like Carol Marie said, the lines were awful!! You could never get in and out quickly, and I’m not one to load up on $200 worth of stuff, but instead shop there several times per month.

I love BJ’s for tires, meat, cheese, milk, OJ, and my favorite, the hot rotisserie chickens for $5. What a deal. Before deciding to do cloth, I priced their diapers and they were well priced. Better than Target, but I can’t remember if they were better than WalMart. Paper plates and other party goods are well priced. Gas is also a great deal if yours sells gas.

I’ve noticed that some items are more expensive than in the local stores, especially if you look for sales. And I tend to buy less expensive or generic things like cereal, paper towels (Sparkle) and tiolet paper (Angel Soft) but they only sell the big names like Brawney and Charmin. Cheaper to go to WalMart or buy generic elsewhere.

I don’t know about Cosco but the other clubs will let you go in and investigate and get a one day pass. Write down all the prices of the items you usually buy and see if it’s worth it.
 
We share a Sam’s membership with my in-laws and honestly, if it was just us, I would cancel. Sam’s is only good on a lot of things if you buy name brand items. Many of the things my husband and I use are the off brand and are waaaay cheaper than the name brand Sam’s club version. But, on the plus side, it’s nice to buy TP twice a year! 😃
 
I find most things are cheaper at the grocery store , with a coupon. Thats mostly the way I shop.We have a BJ’s membership on discount from my DH’s work account. I do find a few things there like razor blades and party food. The big boxes of burgers and hot dogs are good. Big vats of cookie dough. Mostly thought the store is about convenience and large size. I check the unit price and calculate from there to determine the savings and most of the time it just isn’t there.
 
DH andI (just the 2 of us) have had a Costco membership for years.
We buy all our meat and fish there and no where else. It is the best. (consider they supply many restaurants)
Vitamins, books, dress slacks for DH (a $60. pair of Pierre Cardin for $19.99), and sundrys.
We save a lot of money each year.
 
So I am confused…I thought Costco and Sam’s were basically the same, but when I went to Costco’s website they didn’t really have a grocery part of the site and only a “gourmet foods.”

Can you get groceries and that kind of stuff at Costco too???
 
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Princess_Abby:
So I am confused…I thought Costco and Sam’s were basically the same, but when I went to Costco’s website they didn’t really have a grocery part of the site and only a “gourmet foods.”

Can you get groceries and that kind of stuff at Costco too???
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Yep, you can get groceries, etc just like Sam’s. However, I end up spending my extra saved money on fancy bottles of wine…:o

So, I really don’t save going to Costco…I buy extras!

I just stick with a local owned grocery store who has cute little teenage boys bagging the groceries and taking them to the mini-van for you…:whistle:
 
My mother and I split the cost of the membership at BJ’s. We each get a card. My husband cannot go by himself there (no card), but that’s okay, he wouldn’t normally anyway.
 
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Princess_Abby:
So I am confused…I thought Costco and Sam’s were basically the same, but when I went to Costco’s website they didn’t really have a grocery part of the site and only a “gourmet foods.”

Can you get groceries and that kind of stuff at Costco too???
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Definitely. I always end up stocking up on meat and fish, and things like pasta, canned tomatoes, baking stuff, cereal, etc. They also have dairy, bread and other bakery stuff, snacks, fresh fruits and vegetables. Last summer they had big, beautiful bunches of fresh asparagus at a good price. We ate LOTS of asparagus for a while.
 
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Princess_Abby:
So I am confused…I thought Costco and Sam’s were basically the same, but when I went to Costco’s website they didn’t really have a grocery part of the site and only a “gourmet foods.”

Can you get groceries and that kind of stuff at Costco too???
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Absolutely. I went yesterday, bought waffles, eggs, ketchup, green beans (canned), tuna, and chicken pot pies. In the bakery department I got sourdough bread and chocolate muffins.

You can also purchase fresh fruit and vegatables, books, CDs, DVDs, clothing, stationery, electronics, vitamins, toiletries, laundry detergent, cleaning supplies, just about anything.

Perhaps it would be best for you to go to your local Costco and take a look around inside. Just tell them you’re interested in buying a membership and want to see what’s available.
 
Thank you for the info, ladies.

Now we can’t decide which membership to purchase! 🙂 Sam’s is literally within walking distance and Costco is about a four minute drive away.
 
Were a member of costco, and there is only four in my family.

P.S. Choose Costco… 🙂
 
We are also a family of 4 and have membership at Costco. We use it mostly for our pictures, now with our digital we can order prints online, it is so easy!! And, inexpensive 🙂 Also, we buy books DVD’s, games, clothes, household items, not just food! We do buy some food there but not tons.
 
I’m a member of Costco - so naturally, I would vote that you choose Costco. I haven’t been to a Sam’s, so I’m not really familiar with their merchadise.
 
Rebecca New:
I know one family who has a card and everyone in the family uses it because they give the person with the card a list or go with her to buy. To me this is dishonest, and I don’t care how much I would save, it is not worth the dishonesty.
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At the Costco I shop at I don’t think that would be a problem. All they ask is that the non-member pays cash (debit cards must have the same name as the member’s card).

Be careful judging something/someone as dishonest without all of the facts. If you personally feel uncomfortable with it, that’s fine…

Malia
 
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