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The closest Costco is an hour away so that's out. Target is about 25 minutes away and in the busiest part of my town so I don't go there regularly. Other places are closer and generally cheaper.
At Sam's Club I buy laundry stuff, all of the usual paper products, peanut butter, 90% lean ground beef, frozen chicken breasts, Eggland's best eggs (at least $1 less than anywhere else), Greek yogurt cups, coffee beans, spices, soup base, and cheese, frozen veggies, toothpaste and mouthwash. Sometimes I'll purchase celery and carrots there. In the summer we buy pool chemicals there, but I guess those aren't groceries. We also go there because it's the least expensive place for one of my husband's medicines. The amount we save more than makes up for the membership price.
One Walmart is right next to Sam's Club. What I buy there depends on what we need. I don't buy a lot of produce there, but I will if we need it. Mostly it's things like salad dressing, some canned or jarred things and odds and ends.
A new Aldi's was built fairly close to us and it's near a different Walmart. I'm buying a lot of dairy products there, baking supplies, produce sometimes and this awesome fresh style salsa they have. I'll go there and to Walmart on the same trip. The bonus is that it's one of the cleanest Walmart stores I've seen.
Most of our fresh produce comes from Fresh Thyme. For those not familiar I think it's similar to Sprouts but with a Chicago twist. By that I mean they carry a lot of foods that are produced in the Chicago area where I grew up. I buy some of those "Chicago" items there. They also have the best fresh Polish sausage I've tasted outside of that I can get at a Polish grocery in the Chicago area.
Costco for quality and, often, prices (especially on NON-food items). The super-sized packages of items makes them a stupid purchase for us, especially produce.
Wal-Mart for selection and prices - but watch out for the quality.
I had a free membership to Sam's and never found it better than costco. Although it is closer to my home, I didn't renew.
Target - nicer stores, but better selection and prices at Wal-Mart for what I buy.
Produce - Lidl leads the pack, hands down, for quality and prices.
Meat - it's a crap shoot. The pork at Lidl is excellent, but I don't care for the beef.
We used to have memberships for Costco and Sam's Club. During the last year, we realized that not once did we go to Costco. One reason was that I had begun to dread going there because, no matter what time of day I would go parking was always a nightmare. As a result, the place was always crowded, thus hard to navigate. We then decided to not renew.
Our nearest Sam's Club has a far better parking situation plus even at its busiest, it's never as bad as Costco. We go there, for the most part, for non perishable items. Sometimes, I will buy non-perishable items if we are going home right after shopping there. As a side note---once when I was in Sam's, I was looking at their salmon when a woman, who was also shopping there at the time, told me that their salmon is all farm raised and she never buys any there. Good info to have!
One thing that both Costco and Sam's have in common --- what is in stock isn't always consistently there. I will get to liking a certain product, then one day I will go shop for it and it's gone. Next time---who knows? It may or may not be there.
My husband likes to look at what clothing Sam's has plus he likes to look at their book selections. That's our routine---I shop for what we need, while he hangs out in his preferred area
Question for all, please compare & share what you tend to buy in each of these stores. Especially when it comes to food.
For example, do you tend to buy your meats at Costco, dairy products at Sams club, fruits & veggies at Walmart, toilet paper at Target, shampoo, soap, paper towels at Walmart? etc. etc.
Where do you tend to find the best quality fish, chicken, meat, pork, dairy, fruits, veggies, olive oil, coconut oil, peanut butter, nuts, flour, pasta, rice, spices, sardines, wild caught canned salmon, tuna? Where do you get the most value for your money? Please be as detailed as you can, and elaborate on whatever items you buy in each place. If there are other categories I missed, please share. Thanks in advance
If you have a membership to both Costco & Sam's Club, which one do you prefer & why? Thanks
I haven't read the answers so what I have to say isn't influenced by anything others might post:
Costco versus SAm's. Used to belong to both but with only 2 of us, we dropped Costco many years ago. NO, we never thought one store was superior to the other; we had just joined Sam's first and felt loyal. I do think Costco stores are often cleaner than Sam's, especially the older ones. The newer Sam's are as nice as Costco. Products now much different. We love Sam's meats. In fact tonight we are having a top sirloin roast we got there early this week. Produce the stores are similar. In fact, regardless of what many say, the 2 are more alike than different. It is like comparing 2 cruise lines or 2 airlines that are similar in class. It is a matter of opinion.
Target versus Walmart: I would say about the same as what I had to say about Costco versus Sam's I think, overall Target stores are a bit nicer. For us, living in Walmart land we have very few Targets so we do not get to shop at them often. We do have Target but not many.
As for Organic, neither is going to have a huge selection and I doubt one is better than the other
I don't go to Wal-Mart or Sam's because I don't like their business model (squeeze the suppliers and the employees) and I don't trust them to monitor their supply chain- not just food safety but ethics, worker conditions, sustainability, etc.
Don't buy groceries at Target- there's always one thing oar another that I want that they don't have.
I buy nearly everything at Costco, with the exception of some things I can't use in giant quantities.
You haven't kept up with what is happening with Walmart. They have outstanding benefits and they have raised their min wages in the past few years to compete with other big box stores. If they are so bad how come they have people working at their retail stores that have been there 10 years or more. Don't believe you read. Also,what many people do not realize they hire clerks that many stores will not touch. They are giving people chances to work and be a productive part of society. I will add the family is one of the most charitable in the country if not the world.
As for Organic, neither is going to have a huge selection and I doubt one is better than the other
I would say Costco has been increasingly pushing organic products. They're marked in the store by a green (I think) price label. This is not my reason for shopping there, I'm not convinced that labeling something organic is much more than marketing in many cases.
I only belong to Costco, but I am limited in what I buy there because we don't want most things in huge quantities. There are great deals to be found, but a lot of their food is on the expensive side if you are a good bargain hunter who goes to more than one store.
I saw 6 pound packages of 88/12 ground beef there today for $2.99/lb, but I didn't want to have to break it down and vacuum seal and freeze it, so I stopped by Kroger on my way home and got a 3 pound package of slightly fattier beef for the same price per pound (on sale). Turns out the Kroger beef recall did not affect my area, luckily.
I did enjoy free sampling my way through the store as my girlfriend stood me up for lunch today.
The items I came home with today were:
24 string cheese $6.99 --- this is really really good cheese, not all rubbery like some
24 oz package very nice quality organic white mushrooms $4.99
Huge can of crushed tomatoes $2.99 (I'm making a vat of spaghetti sauce for the deep freeze )
2 pkgs LED light bulbs $11.99 and $8.99 -- 10 total bulbs
Fleece lined soft, warm sweatshirt for my husband -- $16
I also enjoyed the $1.50 hot dog and soda lunch deal
Know what you mean about about the hamburger rolls. We are not huge ground meat eaters and yes, those huge packages are more of a bother than they are worth for us. I do like Sam's steak so much I buy it in bulk and re-package them into amounts we can eat in one meal
We used to have memberships for Costco and Sam's Club. During the last year, we realized that not once did we go to Costco. One reason was that I had begun to dread going there because, no matter what time of day I would go parking was always a nightmare. As a result, the place was always crowded, thus hard to navigate. We then decided to not renew.
Our nearest Sam's Club has a far better parking situation plus even at its busiest, it's never as bad as Costco. We go there, for the most part, for non perishable items. Sometimes, I will buy non-perishable items if we are going home right after shopping there. As a side note---once when I was in Sam's, I was looking at their salmon when a woman, who was also shopping there at the time, told me that their salmon is all farm raised and she never buys any there. Good info to have!
One thing that both Costco and Sam's have in common --- what is in stock isn't always consistently there. I will get to liking a certain product, then one day I will go shop for it and it's gone. Next time---who knows? It may or may not be there.
My husband likes to look at what clothing Sam's has plus he likes to look at their book selections. That's our routine---I shop for what we need, while he hangs out in his preferred area
Excellent post, BOS2IAD
I appreciate the tip about the farm raised salmon. I love salmon & eat it frequently.
So, do you know of a good place where we can buy wild caught salmon, that is not fed purina & or injected with orange dye ? You know, the original, non GMO, wild caught salmon that has not been touched by humans. If you know of several sources, please share with us or send me a PM.
Thanks in advance!Merry Christmas!
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Thanks to both of you!
Where can I buy good quality wild caught salmon?
? You know, the original, non GMO, wild caught salmon that has not been touched by humans. If you know of several sources, please share with us or send me a PM.
