Target vs. Sam’s Club: Is Membership Worth It?

My Sam’s Club membership just expired and before I renewed it, I thought I would do a little digging to see if it’s actually worth the $40 a year (or $100 if you’re a giant sucker like I am and opted for the Advantage Plus membership—I’ll get to that later). Here is a side-by-side price comparison of some things I got on my last shopping trip. 

I was surprised by some of the things on the list. I guess I just assumed that Diet Pepsi and diapers would be cheaper at Sam’s Club. I think the chicken and ground beef are supposed to be a good deal at Sam’s, but they didn’t publish those prices online so I’ll have to actually go to the store to find out.

The total amount paid at Target for these items was $232.36. If I had been able to buy all of these items in the same quantities at Sam’s Club my total would have been $220.23, which is a savings of $12.13. But because you have to buy in bulk at Sam’s Club you actually pay more up front to save money down the line. So, the total amount paid at Sam’s Club would have been $314.82. When you consider what I would have paid at Target for the bulk quantities ($342.18), I save $27.36 by buying at Sam’s (eventually).

In summary, I guess I will suck it up and put up with hauling my kids around to two different stores, not having any of my groceries bagged, and being forced to show my receipt upon exit like I’m some kind of criminal to save a buck or two. But I will not be getting the Advantage Plus membership again. With the Advantage Plus membership they are supposed to track your spending and give you coupons called “eValues” on the things that you already buy. The guy pitching me on it said it would be worth it in diapers alone. I buy Huggies and got maybe two coupons for $3 each. The other eValues I got were for crap I didn’t buy or need. Don’t waste your money. Happy shopping!