More rain yesterday, about 3/4 inch and a dreary, dark day. When the sun did pop out it almost blinded us.
We decided it would be a good day to check out the much touted Sam's Club. It is about a 40 minute drive for us. We live north of Springfield; it is south of Springfield.
DH wanted to go ahead and get the $45 membership before we looked around so we did. It took us over an hour and we still didn't cover everything. I bought $139 worth of food items....we had a special $20 coupon so it made it a good bargain. My impression: I was underwhelmed! I guess we will get our money's worth when we need laundry and paper supplies. We will see.
I agree with my daughter: At this stage of our life it isn't so much about saving money as the whole shopping experience! As experiences go, this one didn't rate high.
We have taken two day-trips to see fall color and realized that we have some pretty spectacular sights right here at home.
Yesterday afternoon we made a run to the library to pick up a book they were holding for me, The Anatomist's Wife by Anna Lee Huber and then "drove around the block" (actually two roads north and then circled back south to the house).
We decided it would be a good day to check out the much touted Sam's Club. It is about a 40 minute drive for us. We live north of Springfield; it is south of Springfield.
DH wanted to go ahead and get the $45 membership before we looked around so we did. It took us over an hour and we still didn't cover everything. I bought $139 worth of food items....we had a special $20 coupon so it made it a good bargain. My impression: I was underwhelmed! I guess we will get our money's worth when we need laundry and paper supplies. We will see.
I agree with my daughter: At this stage of our life it isn't so much about saving money as the whole shopping experience! As experiences go, this one didn't rate high.
We have taken two day-trips to see fall color and realized that we have some pretty spectacular sights right here at home.
Yesterday afternoon we made a run to the library to pick up a book they were holding for me, The Anatomist's Wife by Anna Lee Huber and then "drove around the block" (actually two roads north and then circled back south to the house).
I'm not very impressed with Sam's club either. Really, the only thing we buy there (once or maybe twice a year) is their bulk popcorn (to grind into cornmeal) and maybe a bag or two of rice & some of the bulk seasonings. We no longer pay a membership....we hitch a ride with my mom, who does have a membership! Mom gets to use our truck for lots of stuff and we get a "free" membership....win win situation!
ReplyDeleteI like SAMS club, Mark did too. I had to buy 4 new van tires since he left this planet in Dec., and bought them there. Afterwards, my BIL told me they have the best tire prices, so that made me feel good. We always buy bulk paper products, cat food ~ canned and dry, and scoopable litter, canned goods, dried fruit, tilapia, Italian sausage, other good deals in the meat dept. Coffee, whatever deems to be a good deal. We always enjoyed their handouts of things to eat too.
ReplyDeleteI like our Publix grocery store, a Cuban grocery called 'El Bodegon', an Oriental grocery called 'The Fortune Cookie' and our veggie market, plus I like Walmart, Michael's, and Home Depot. Every time we would walk in the doors into the lumber end of HD, I would tell Mark how much I enjoyed shopping there. It just does something to me. Of course I like the garden dept there too. :-) Oh yea, I like a garden center close to us that sells all 3 gallon pots of plants for $5 and orchids are $4.99 each.
I HATE shopping for clothes, retail. I really enjoy finding clothes at the thrift stores and yard sales.
I love the fall colors you are sharing. Not something we really see down here.
Have a lovely weekend ~ FlowerLady
FL, I will give it another chance. I like shopping Lowe's which is like Home Depot. I love walking through all that beautiful lumber.
DeleteI still haven't found a really good, reasonably priced garden center. Of course, I should even be looking if I plan to cut wayyyyy back!
We joined Sam's a couple a months ago, a new one is going up in Owasso. Years ago we had a membership and went to one of the two clubs in Tulsa. I usually bought bread flour there in a 50# bag. Laundry detergent in a bucket was a good deal. I'm still using off the big roll of aluminum foil we bought and that was well over 10 years ago. Xtra large packs of oatmeal, rice, especially basmati and brown, and I could get big bags of Girardelli chocolate chips there for a reasonable price. They had frozen egg rolls we really liked. But meat, fresh veg's, eggs, were more expensive than at our local grocery. Once in awhile they'd have something really cool. I bought my benches there that have hinges and convert to half a picnic table each. I have really enjoyed having them and we have had a lot of use out of them to this day. Just like everything, you have to pick and choose. It is STILL impossible to go to one place and get everything you need for the best price.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I worked for a short time on the Sam's Club help desk and let me tell you, that was an eye opener. When you buy tires, make sure you make sure they put the right size on. Check to be sure all the bolts are fastened securely too.
We need to check around the store more. We totally missed the section with furniture, etc. Also missed the bulk items like rice, etc. I was told by an employee of Walmart that their meat at Sam's was of a higher quality than the regular store. Don't know if that is right or not. the hamburger we bought was OK but didn't have the ground t-bone flavor that our home grown meat does. I am spoiled!
DeleteMake DH eat the store bought 'burger -- maybe then he'll take a calf for YOUR freezer. *heh*
DeleteYou can be sure I will mention the taste of the hamburger meat every time I cook it; I am not subtle about these things.
DeleteIn VA, we went to Sam'....here we go to BJ's....they take coupons so when we go, we usually do well!...:)JP
ReplyDeleteI won't give up on the store completely.....we didn't cover over half the store. Next time we will start on the other side. Sam's doesn't take coupons! I asked.
DeleteI used to go to Sam's, but then they switched one of my big staple products (Jennie-O ground turkey to Member's Mark (which looked like crap)), so my friend has be on as an associate at BJs. I like BJs store sooo much better, clean, well-lit, has better fresh food, takes credit cards and coupons, more staff. But I doesn't have the same staples/combinations/packaging I came to really like at Sams. (And it doesn't have my ground turkey either!) So I'm thinking I'll have to renew my Sam's membership for some things. Thankfully the stores are across the street from each other, not across town.
ReplyDeleteGetting chilly there, Glenda. Have you fired up the wood stove yet?
Not taking all credit cards was a real surprise. We had dropped the Discover card many years ago.. I find that interesting that they only take it.
DeleteIf we have a fire, yours truly will have to fire it up! I mentioned to the helpmeet that this was perfect weather for a small fire. He didn't take the hint. I even have a small load of dry bark for kindling. I believe I will do that this morning.
We have 3 cords of very dry Oak just waiting.
Have a small pile of black locust to try this year. After reading up about it, I hope I'll be able to get a lot more of that!
DeleteMy brother thought that Costco was the place to go. We checked it out and decided to stay with Sam's. We buy things in bulk that don't expire or go bad, like garbage bags, paper goods, motor oil, cleaning supplies. Sometimes they have some incredible buys, sometimes you can do better at the grocery store when there is a sale on canned goods. We buy dried fruit and nuts there and certain frozen items. Bulk cheese is a good thing there; dog food, but not cat food because he's not a big eater. We bought a mattress. It sagged in a year and a half. We took it back and they replaced it. I bought shelves for the greenhouse and we bought things like industrial stools for the workshop. You may find seasonal items that are a bargain.
ReplyDeleteThese are the items we missed completely when we shopped. We will definitely return. I want more shelves for the Milk Parlor.
Delete