My husband and I have this joke about the $100 Target “tax.” That is, you can never get out of a Target store for under $100–even if you’d just stopped in for a few things. Well, the same can be said for warehouse clubs, but the “tax” can sometimes be a bit steeper. And I’m not just talking the hundreds of dollars you’re likely laying down at the checkout counter. I’m talking about after-the-fact waste that is money down the drain or just unnecessary spending overall.
Here are 3 ways I’ve lost money at my local warehouse club:
- Bought a multi-pack of something that expired before I could use it all up. Just tonight we were having pasta with dinner, and as I was sprinkling on the warehouse-brand parmesan cheese, I happened to glance at the expiration date. It was from nine months ago! This past weekend I had a similar experience with a half-full bottle of vitamins that I’d also bought in a multi-pack but then I noticed that the vitamins had expired back in 2009. Now, I realize I’m not going to die taking past-their-prime vitamins, but I know I’m likely not getting their full benefits. So next time around I’m buying a small bottle of vitamins that I know I can use up before they go “bad.”
- Purchased super-size packages of food my family probably doesn’t need around the house anyway. So I was making chocolate chip cookies and needed the chocolate chips. I could have gotten away with a 16-ounce bag at the local supermarket but the five-pound bag at the warehouse club was only marginally more expensive. And I got so much more that way. But did I really need five pounds of chocolate chips in my house? About as much as I needed a hole in my head.
- Decided to get single-serving packages of some foods because they were convenient. Now we all know that paying the money for someone else to make those single-serving snack packs is a waste of money. But sometimes that’s the only way you can buy certain kinds of food at the warehouse club. So if you want those ice cream sandwiches or graham crackers, that’s your only choice. (Of course I also have the choice to walk out the door empty handed but that’s harder to do than you might expect.)
All of that said there are two items that are likely to be a big savings for you at the warehouse club–milk and eggs. So if you only need those two things and you live near a warehouse club, you can stock up on them there guilt free.
What about you? Do you find warehouse clubs to be your frugal downfall?
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We quit one warehouse club and joined another. We’ve been working on the discipline to buy only what we NEED and what’s a good value.
I agree about milk. Heavy cream, which we use to make ice cream, is significantly less expensive at BJ’s than at the supermarket.
We used to get those big bags of chocolate chips. I’d store them out of sight, so they didn’t “evaporate.” Since then we’ve found that they’re comparably priced at the supermarket if I buy three 24-ounce bags. I still store them out of sight!
Our biggest warehouse-club savings are on ground beef. At BJ’s I can buy 90% lean beef for less than 80% lean costs at my supermarket. We purchase 15 pounds or so and have a freezer-cooking day. Definitely worth it.
Thanks for pointing out other ways to save money at a warehouse club!
I don’t usually don’t buy perishables at Costco or other Warehouse clubs. The food I do buy, we eat within 2 weeks.
Milk (sold by the gallon) is way cheaper at Costco than at grocery stores. Frozen waffles, I go through 60 in two weeks, but if the kids don’t eat as much w/n 2 weeks they certainly eat them before they expire. Bulk paper towels, toilet paper, toothpaste, shampoo, deoderant, detergent, cleaning products are all cheaper and either have no expiration date (toilet paper) or a date so far away (I would hope I use 4 tubes of toothpaste within 2 years) that it doesn’t matter.
The key is know your family’s eating and usage habits and not going to these places without a list.
I split with my parents (we live in the same town and both have Costco memberships). We pick up bulk perishables such as milk, eggs, ibuproferin, etc, and split them. It’s kind of a family grocery shopping club…we all save $$$, and the perishables don’t reach expiration before being used, so nothing is lost/wasted. If not with your parents, then partner up with friends this way. Everyone wins !
Also, I keep/maintain a unit-price list in an Excel spreadsheet. On it, I have listed my typical grocery items and my “trigger” unit price (the unit price that is an excellent deal and “triggers” me to stock up on that item).
By doing this, I can quickly compare the unit prices with store coupon mailers, websites, etc. and determine which store is the better buy when the need for grocery shopping arises.
Saves money AND time !
I love the idea of putting unit prices in an Excel spreadsheet. Brilliant!
Hi Leah,
I happen to being flipping channels today and saw you on the 10 Show. Love all of your gift ideas! I’m going to stop at the Swarthmore Co-op and take a look at the cards.
Thanks for watching!
Leah, we’re small business owners who were leashed to the warehouse club for WAY too long! The only thing we bought there that saved us serious money was that infernal thermal paper for credit card receipts. We loaded up before our membership expired and started using GFS for those situations when our in-house distribution center wasn’t cost-competitive.
Personally, the only thing I miss is the Saturday Sample Day. We’d stop by the warehouse club on an empty stomach and lunch was free! Thank God GFS has a nice spread, too, but I don’t feel entitled to their freebies since they don’t hit me with that yearly fee.
Yes, I AM that cheap.
We’ve found that BJs is good for our budget on a few items: locatelli or parmesan cheese; crackers (we entertain or participate in “bring an hors d’oeuvre” events a lot so crackers are an essential), toilet paper, Aleve and kitchen sponges. On my husband’s most recent visit, he found some fresh bread that is quite high quality and relatively inexpensive. So we have some of that in the freezer now too. We just walk on by all the other stuff.
Just found your blog–am looking forward to reading more! But this post caught my eye, because I used to be victim of wasting money at Costco before. Then I started only using cash, not one of their credit cards, and that made a huge difference. In fact, now I often go when I have only $100 so that I will not be tempted to add things we don’t need.
Yes, milk and eggs are good prices. I would also like to you that a recent New York Times article highlighted the thoroughly disgusting and scary story about meat, esp. frozen hamburger patties you can get at big box stores. You can read the article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/04/health/04meat.html?_r=3
But one tidbit that was of note in the article–Costco is the only big box to independently test its meat for ecoli and other things. So if you are going to buy meat at the cheapest place, I hope you have a Costco nearby.
Also, I have noticed some bakery bread there at Costco that is from a local bakery–getting a good deal on bread and supporting local industry at the same time!
The thing I most dislike about Costco–and other big box stores–is all the overpackaging. The amount of unnecessary, single-use plastic that ends up in the landfill is appalling. So unfortunately, that is also contributing to my purchasing less and less at Costco.
But Trader Joe’s is even worse with their overpackaging. : (
I LOVE my Costco but I’ve gotten really good at sticking to the list. Milk, dog food, coffee, dog treats and pop for the pop machine at work that I take care of. And I always get a huge frozen yogurt on the way out.
As a retired single, I use a warehouse store for those non-perishable items I 1) need every day — cat litter, cat food, paper towels, plastic wrap, toothpaste; 2) need frequently, but can freeze — butter, grating cheese in huge chunks, canned tomatos (in small cans); and 3) fresh food that will be eaten w/in a week (berries, e.g.) or frozen (ground beef, sirloin steaks). Good place to check out seasonal items. Before retiring, also shopped there for candy in bulk for the office. Usually go about every 6-8 weeks — ALWAYS with a list.
[...] membership to BJs Warehouse before July 5th–that is, if you’re in the market for a warehouse club membership. [...]
[...] near to the movies) and picked up just a few things that we knew wouldn’t be super expensive, despite it being a warehouse club, but which would hold us for the time being. This included a couple of gallons of skim milk so we [...]