Shopping at the warehouse club stores, such as BJs, Costco or Sams Club can shave hundreds of dollars off of your annual grocery bill. But like any other grocery store, you need to compare bargains and keep track of prices to know that if what are spending for that giant jar of peanut butter will translate into actual savings. Sometimes, you can get the grocery items for much less at a regular grocery store when the item is on sale. Keeping a price book of the lowest grocery prices often helps.
One thing I have found from shopping at warehouse stores and regular grocery stores, is that there are certain items that are always a good bargain at the warehouse stores, no matter what. These are items that are always significantly less expensive when you purchase them at the warehouse store.
Yeast
Bulk yeast makes a lot of sense. You’ll pay at least ten times more when you purchase the little packets at the grocery store. Yes, that is right–ten times more! If you don’t think you will use it all up, do what I do. I open one package (it generally comes bundled in two large packages) and put the contents in an air proof container that I then store in the back of the refrigerator. The second package gets frozen. You could also split the cost of the yeast and the amount with a friend. Even if you give 3/4 of the yeast away, you will save money.
Diapers
Diapers that come in the those bulk boxes are less expensive than anything that you can buy in the grocery store, even with coupons. This is especially true for the generic brands of diapers. And, some warehouse stores, such as BJs, allow you to use those manufacturer coupons, increasing your savings. The only exceptions I have seen is at CVS, combining deals and those ECBs.
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.
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