Sam's Free Weekend

[Bearman202]

Sam's club is having another free weekend, where you can shop without being a member. It's August 5-7. Also, in some states, there is a tax holiday for one weekend in August to help people get ready for back-to-school stuff. Check and see if that's your weekend, and you could end up saving some serious bux.

[ThePreparedMom]

Thanks Bearman202! My husband and I have a BJ's membership, but we've been toying with the idea of joining up at Sam's because they have much better prices. This post came at just the right time! We will definitely be hitting up Sam's club this weekend!

[crossbow]

people should boycott both those places for how ever long it takes for them to drop that membership stuff, I've been a member of both off and on since they started and there is no savings there without even figuring in the cost of membership.
the only advantage is the large bags of rice,sugar,ect, other than that most things can be bought at Sav-A-Lot, Aldies and Walmarts cheaper and there's no paid membership'

[1Admin]

The main advantage that I see is being able to buy 50 lbs. of rice, beans, etc. versus having to deal with hundreds of 1 lb. bags that cost a little bit more.

Every 3-6 years we get a membership, buy "a little bit" of rice and other items, then usually never go back. It's a 2 hour drive in any direction for us to get to one.

For me, it's worth it every couple years for the savings on the rice versus small bags and the hassle. When we pack food for LTS, we pack food and dealing with hundreds of little 1 lb. baggies gets annoying after a while.

Other than that, between the stupid looks you get when you wheel out flatbeds full of rice (that part is always fun, I usually have fun with that ;) by the stupid yuppies that are buying a bag of potato chips and the prices which aren't so great, it's not worth it IMO.

[ThePreparedMom]

I agree with you crossbow that there are better deals to be had at the grocery stores. The BJs membership I got was a gift (yay for not having to pay membership fees) and I only shop there for things that I rarely get coupons for- like trash bags, coffee, spices. They are generally a little bit of a better price there. But I was pricing out rice- which is NOT cheaper at BJS- at Sam's club, and it is considerably cheaper- even cheaper than the LDS Cannery. I'll probably take advantage of this weekend to get some rice, flour, salt, yeast, and brown sugar- which are all the cheapest that I've found.

[JayJay]

people should boycott both those places for how ever long it takes for them to drop that membership stuff, I've been a member of both off and on since they started and there is no savings there without even figuring in the cost of membership.
the only advantage is the large bags of rice,sugar,ect, other than that most things can be bought at Sav-A-Lot, Aldies and Walmarts cheaper and there's no paid membership'

And I am old enough to remember when the membership was for life!!!!! We are sam's members for the rice only...the savings campared to Jan, 2011 when I purchased 20 lbs from chinamart for 13.50 (I note these on my buckets) and now 25 lbs from sam's for 8.30??
Our savings paid for the fee--but will not re-new it.
Sugar is a better deal at Aldi's and DG here. And Aldi's tuna is $.55 cents still; can't beat that.

[barfife]

A couple of weeks back BJs had coupons on large (either 44 roll one brand and 36 roll of another) toilet paper and then the TP had, attached to the bottom, another $33 group of coupons. The cashier asked if i wanted to pull off the attached coupons and use them today? Didn't know that I could. Saved $7.50 per pack of TP! I took out 8 rolls of 44 and 6 rolls of 36 and saved $105 on TP! Definately worth the trip. Also note that you really have to be sure to follow the qualifications (which brand, which selection,and which count) on the coupon or you get nothing.

[ThePreparedMom]

A couple of weeks back BJs had coupons on large (either 44 roll one brand and 36 roll of another) toilet paper and then the TP had, attached to the bottom, another $33 group of coupons. The cashier asked if i wanted to pull off the attached coupons and use them today? Didn't know that I could. Saved $7.50 per pack of TP! I took out 8 rolls of 44 and 6 rolls of 36 and saved $105 on TP! Definately worth the trip. Also note that you really have to be sure to follow the qualifications (which brand, which selection,and which count) on the coupon or you get nothing.

What's also great about BJ's is that you can use manufacturer coupons AND BJs coupons on the same items. Also, let's say you're buying a 3 pack of Lysol Cleaning Wipes- you can use a BJs coupon for the wipes (assuming they had one) and then you can use 3 manufacturer coupons- one for each product with an individual barcode inside the pack. This type of coupon "stacking", as it's called in the coupon world, can really get you some great savings.