Sam's Club

It has been one of those weeks. I’ve not thought much about frugality. However, it seems that it is, in a sense, embedded into me. I am forever calculating the savings on one item or another.

Hubby and I went to Sam’s club on Sunday. My parents have a membership and they offered to give me the secondary card. I was grateful, said thank you, and headed off to get my picture taken! This allows us to use the membership without the associated fees. Of course, I will be sure to pay for next year’s membership!

Anyway, while there we did some figuring on quite a few items, determining which items were a savings over their generic or smaller counterparts at the grocery store, Wal-Mart, or Big Lots. The main things we purchased were great deals however, by buying them in bulk we will be over budget this month and under budget in the following months.

Hubby quit smoking last fall and as a result has a new habit: chewing gum. I won’t complain because (A) gum is better for him and (B) it is cheaper on the budget. He usually gets Big Red brand gum for 25 cents per pack of 5 pieces at Wal-Mart. This actually comes out to the same price as the larger pack and is more convenient for him. He often forgets to get gum at Wal-Mart and will pick some up at the convenience store for 30 cents per 5 pack. Sam’s carries the store packs which contain 40 of the small packages of Big Red for $5.46 which breaks down to 14 cents per pack.

While yes, it could be argued that one could save even more money by simply not chewing gum that is not an option for him. Therefore, a savings of 11 cents per pack is a big thing for us.

Another good buy for us was on vitamins. The Members Mark brand was $9.25 for 450. That is a seven and a half month supply for the two of us. It is quite a large savings over the comparable generic brand at Wal-Mart.

Next I plan to compare their prescription prices to Walgreens. Our insurance covers a percentage of the price, based on generic, formulary, etc. Check back soon to read about my findings.