Went to Sam's Club for the Spring Open House late Saturday afternoon. I've never been too interested in a Sam's Club membership because Costco is here in our area too. If I am going to spend money on a membership, I would want it for Costco. They have amazing cakes, reminiscent of Publix. But for a no-surcharge weekend for non-member's at Sam's, a baking stock-up is a must.
Even though we got there 30 minutes before tasting ended, at least 7 tasting stations were still available. Salmon, steak, and porkchops were among the juicy treats. They even handed out a FREE hardback cookbook for everyone.
Hands down, baking supplies and spices are cheapest at Sam's Club. The containers are huge, especially the sack 25lbs bread flour. That was too much I thought until I saw the 50 lb bag of popcorn. Yeast, cornstarch, seasonings, baking powder and flour were top on my list.
Apparently, they are not keen on people finding out their clearance. I thought maybe they had some "in the back" but I couldn't figure out where the back was. Some readers have suggested looking at the actual prices to clue in on items sold at cost. If the item price ends in $0.01 then they are selling it for rock-bottom prices. So I kept my eyes peeled and found the Land O Lakes Asstd Hot Cocoa, 42 count for $3.41 with an expiration date of November 2014!
Not counting the money spent on the must-have $1.50 Nathan's Hot Dog combos, I spent $183 for groceries and two swimsuits. With our pool opening Memorial Day weekend and not finding great deals at Target, getting a shirt & skirt swimsuit for $29 was a steal for me, as well as the $13 one-piece swimsuit for my daughter.
If in 6 months, Sam's Club has another open house, we would surely be back, earlier too so we can enjoy the free samples. It was nice to buy lots of eggs, frozen veggies and a gigantic tub of Nutella and not have to wait for sales or coupons. But factoring in the cost of the membership card is just not worth it... unless we open up a Farmer's Market stand or go into the Food Cart business (which I hope we might someday!).
When I do remember to shop at Food Lion, I am usually surprised with nice little savings like a 2-cent bag of rice, or 50-cent bag of Mc Cain's potatoes, or $0.49-cent cans of pure pumpkin on clearance. Just like CVS, Food Lion has a Magic Coupon Machine that prints out store and manufacturer coupons. The store coupons are only good that day. The manufacturer coupons are usually the same ones from coupons.com and high value. Most often, it is from these coupons I get 75cents off rice. And store coupons can be combined with manufacturer's, and that's how I got $2 off the potatoes priced at $2.50.
