CC's: Do people step on a dollar just to pick up a quarter?

[Anonymous]

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@UncleB wrote:

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I personally am a big fan of coupons... I've posted about it briefly a couple of times over in Personal Finance.  If you have anything specific you want to know feel free to PM me. 

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I will definitely shoot you a PM shortly for a little coupon education from you!  Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

I certainly agree that wholesale clubs aren't great for all products.  As I stated earlier I score much of my day to day stuff at the grocery store, basically anything that needs to be consumed in under a month.  There are bulk products that be purchased at wholesale clubs though that either don't go bad or don't go bad very quick that you can save a bundle on.  2 sticks of deodorant at the grocery store cost me the same as a 5 pack of the same product at BJs.  Same thing for shaving cream.  Razors.  Listerine.  Dryer sheets.  Dishwashing liquid.  Garbage bags.  None of these are even food products, but you get at least 50% more product for the same price at the wholesale club.  Freaking cat litter.  I go through 3 bags of cat litter every 2 months.  At BJs they are $8 less per bag than at the grocery store, so $24 saved every 2 months just on cat litter. 

Just pointing out that it's not just about food products when considering the "grocery" category.

[Anonymous]

Great topic, I'm the grocery shopper at my house. I do what works for us, and then the rewards come second. BJs and Costco are in the same town about 40 minutes from us. SAMs is 15 minutes away. I won't shop at SAMs, don't like their meats or their products. I like the Kirkland brand and BJs has a really great variety. If I didn't love Kirkland so much, I would do exclusively BJs.

Our home grocery store (we've got like 1 every half mile here in Florida) has great sales (lots of bogos) and coupons so I will shop there first and then do the wholesale clubs. I don't get out there as much I would like but I try to go at least once a month and I've been slacking lately. I won't buy paper products at the grocery store or big box things so I usually stock up on those. I do spend a lot more at the grocery store then the wholesale clubs but I also spend about 65 dollars a week on fruits and vegetables. We don't buy a lot of junk food or frozen food which is what the warehouse clubs sell the most of so that's why we prefer the grocery store. I'm really picky.

[Anonymous]

I think it's a very smart method to balance the deals on certain wholesale club items with whatever deals you can get at your local grocery store.  With BOGO's you can certainly sale a lot at the grocery store, especially if you grocery store hop assuming you live in an area that has several and at the expense of a little travel time you can save a load of money depending on which products you buy.  Again, there are certain items like fruits/vegetables and other perishables that I'd never even think of buying at a wholesale club.  But, as equally passionate I am about that there are items I would never consider buying at a grocery store like the ones I mentioned a few posts above or even some basic foods like peanut butter, jelly, cereal, yogurt, olive oil, brown rice, etc.

[Anonymous]

No, it's not all about grocery items, but I do save enough by shopping sales at my local grocery store ( as well as buy one, get one free deals) , where using the grocery store is clearly saving me money over a "wholesale club."

Not a fan of the environment in those places either, but glad it works for you.

[Anonymous]

You also need to consider the wasted time and gas spent from driving from one store to another, and the time investment of having to run to multiple places just to do your grocery shopping.  

Even if the driving distance is not far, lots of valuable time is taken up by having to go through multiple stores to purchase items on different trips. That's my valuable time for which I can certainly think of many better things to utilize my time.

It may work for some, but I would not want to do it.

[Anonymous]

I completely agree with all points, except for buying cereal at wholesale clubs. The boxes make the it look like there's more cereal than there really is, lmao. I get the better deal at the grocery store where it's bogo along with coupons (and you can also use the coupon on the free item). But getting back on topic, I won't ever shop somewhere because of a special category on a credit card. That's like only staying a ritz Carlton because if you have the credit card but you can get a better deal on the hotel right down the street. I like to save money!

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
You also need to consider the wasted time and gas spent from driving from one store to another, and the time investment of having to run to multiple places just to do your grocery shopping. It may work for some, but I would not want to do it.

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Fortunately Costco is across the street from my local grocery store, so no extra travel needed. 

But in general, I think it can depend on what you do most of your shopping on what you expect from each of the stores.  I find Costco doesn't have fantastic deals on everything, and I'm overall underwhelmed by their produce.  My local Costco was handing out samples of watermelon the other day, for example, and it was the flavorless and almost dry (and keep in mind that this was watermelon being scooped out of the melon right in front of me).  But I got a pack of 40 AA Duracell batteries for $12, which was pratically a steal.  My local grocery store consistently has outstanding produce at reasonable prices but would definitely take half a kidney for a pack of two batteries.

And for me, I have done Blue Apron for the last several months, and it codes as groceries for both Chase and Amex, so I was able to really rack up points with my Freedom and will be racking up points with my BCP thereafter.

Basically, just as with basically everything in this "hobby," your mileage may vary based upon your particular spending habits.  For me, I probably wouldn't have looked twice at the BCP if it weren't for the fact that Blue Apron codes as groceries, since it's a substantial portion of my spending on food each month.

[Anonymous]

I love Costco. I got there for my bulk of veggies and fruits and much cheaper there as well. Plus the organic selection is a huge hit for me. Way cheaper than stores. I like the Kirkland brand as well. It's generic but depending on what you buy some of it can be good quality too.
Some things like household items I buy from my friend who is an avid couponer. She has a room filled with stuff and more stuff! I will go there and pick and buy from her for a huge discount. Saves me money and time since I don't like to drive around and do the couponing stuff.

[Anonymous]

I love Costco do but it's not always the best deal. I had an overflowing cart today that consisted of fresh produce, pet items, beverages, custom cut meats, cleaning products, etc. and I spent 114. That would have been 500 dollars at Costco. My store has an awesome Fourth of July sale going on. And I had to use my SPG. Dang spend bonuses!