Keep sending in those questions – we love to answer them! Just remember if we didn’t get to your question this week…we will do our best to cover it another week!! As always a big thanks to my buddy Christy over at Haphazardly Hobbying who gives me so much help to get the questions answered.
Remember–there is a tab at the top of the site called “Q & A” where I organize the questions and answers from this feature so that it can serve as a quick reference!
Here are this week’s questions:
- Are the Sunday coupon inserts regional?
- Is it ethical to put in a zip code other than your own in order to get coupons from RedPlum or Coupons.com?
- When returning an item that you purchased and used a manufacture coupon should you tell the cashier?
- Can I use a competitor coupon that offers the item at a set price (rather than an amount off) at Publix?
- Do you know if Publix recognizes GFS Marketplace as a competitor?
- How is tax calculated for coupons?
- Do you shop at any club stores like Sams or Costco?
- How do your organize your binder and what coupons do you put in it?
- What’s the cheapest way to stockpile meat?
- I have four older children – how do I cut my spending further?
And here are the answers!
- April wants to know: Are the Sunday coupon inserts regional? Often you will list a coupon in your matchups that I didn’t get.
- Beca wants to know: Is it ethical to put in a zip code other than your own in order to get coupons from RedPlum or Coupons.com? I feel like if the company didn’t post the coupon for all zip codes, then they don’t want all zip codes to be able to print, but I don’t know the rules for those sites. What do you think?
- k58pow@ wants to know: When returning an item that you purchased and used a manufacturer coupon should you tell the cashier? You are not getting the coupon back and they are still going to get reimbursed for the coupon.
- poohcave@ wants to know: Often Walgreens or other stores have coupons in their flyers that say things like “Cocoa Puffs $1.88” rather than “$1/1 Cocoa Puffs.” Can I use these types of coupons at Publix?
- fammer626@ wants to know: Do you know if Publix recognizes GFS Marketplace as a competitor?
- Stephanie wants to know: How is tax calculated for coupons? I always account for tax on my pre-coupon total when planning for my week just to be safe but sometimes I’ll have negative tax! What’s that about?
- Brittany wants to know: I was wondering if you shop at any club stores like Sams or Costco. Sometimes I wonder if club prices are cheaper even when items are BOGO with great coupons out. I always get so excited for the new Publix weekly ads that I forget to check my club store first!
- Sarah wants to know: How do you organize your coupon binder and what coupons do you put in it? I know you don’t cut your coupons, but date the inserts as they come in and file them, but how does the binder work and how do you find the inserts that fit the coupons you place in them?
- donalson684@ wants to know: What’s the cheapest way to stockpile meat? That seems to be the only thing I can’t score cheaply. Occasionally I can find meat marked down at Wal-Mart, but I really don’t like their quality of meat, and my Publix does not mark down or reduce their meat (I asked them why & they said they donate it). Most of the meat I do buy is on sale. I also buy meat from Sam’s & freeze it. Are there any other things I can do?
- Stephanie wants to know: I have been couponing almost 7 months. There are six in our family – kids aging from 11-16 (so they eat). I have gone from spending over $1000 a month to $700, which is great. It has kept me from having to go get a part-time job since I also home school. But I want to see half of what I started with — $500. I believe it can be done, but I can’t figure out where to cut back anywhere. I only buy meat on sale or clearance. I rarely buy anything that is not BOGO or BOGO with a coupon. I do several stores every week trying to get the best deals at all the stores. (We live just a few miles from all the major stores) I get the free items. I am not brand particular with most things. I just would love to see a drop again, if possible. Is this just life with four older children or do you have any other hints?
Christy: We’ve answered a version of this question before (HERE), but it’s one we get pretty frequently so it’s probably a good idea to talk about it again! The Sunday coupon inserts are absolutely regional – often companies will issue different coupon amounts to different areas depending on their sales in that area. If the amount on your coupon is much less than that in another area (or if you don’t get a coupon at all), you can always look into purchasing the coupon(s) you want from a clipper site or on eBay.
Christy: This is a call you have to make for yourself depending on what you feel to be right. Personally, I don’t think that there is anything wrong with trying a number of zip codes in order to find coupons on any of those sites. We live in world that relies heavily on information sharing, and the information about coupons in other zip codes is just part of it. I look at it this way: if companies really didn’t want just anyone to be able to print a specific coupon, they wouldn’t let us input our own zip codes or they wouldn’t put it online in the first place!
Michelle: Yep, you will need to decide if this is something you are comfortable doing. I have heard the same argument for ordering inserts from different regions (ordering a high value coupon from a clipping site or ebay that was only released in California, etc…) This is definitely a personal choice!
Christy: This, too, is going to be a judgment call you have to make – but my advice would be to ask your customer service desk about this. From time to time I’ve returned something immediately because of a price discrepancy, etc – in that case I just ask for my coupon back (my store is only too happy to do this). In any other instance, I’m always honest with my store about the coupons I’ve used when I’m returning something. If the customer service rep is coupon savvy, then they’ll understand that you should get your money back for the coupon. If not, you might lose out on the amount of your coupon – but in my opinion this is ok as long as my store continues to think of me as a legitimate couponer. It’s more important to me that I maintain a good relationship with the employees in my store than it is that I get $.50 back in place of my coupon.
Michelle: I think in general it is fine to take an item back and just get your money back. Publix is being reimbursed for the coupon so they are not losing any money really. Now, I don’t think it is appropriate to buy a bunch of items and return them to make money!! We all know there are dishonest folks out there who buy things at a reduced cost and then expect a full refund!! That is cheating, unethical and just rotten! If you need to return something I would encourage you to take in your receipt! You should only get back what you actually paid for the item. A return policy is not meant to be a way for a person to make money 🙂
Christy: The short answer to this question is no, you can’t use these types of ‘coupons’ at Publix. Anything with a set price on it – even if it’s printed to look like a coupon – is actually just an advertisement for a price you can get at that store. In effect, if you take that ‘coupon’ to Publix and ask them to accept it as a competitor coupon, you’re asking them to price match (which they don’t do).
Who your store does or does not accept as competitors is always going to depend on the individual management – so ask at your customer service desk to be sure!
Christy: I’m hoping Michelle or the commenters have a good answer for this one, because I honestly just don’t know! I had my first experience with negative tax just last week, and I was as baffled by it as you are! 🙂
Michelle: It depends on what coupons you use. I will be honest it can be a pain to figure out!! Generally you can go by your pre coupon total but remember, store coupons reduce your taxable amount so if you are using those you will have to make that adjustment!! Here in Georgia we have different tax rates –the food tax is less than regular tax. I gave up a long time ago trying to figure it all out. I just kinda estimate!! 🙂
Christy: My husband and I do have a membership at Sam’s Club, but I’ve noticed that we just don’t use it as much anymore as our stockpile has grown. I really like the quality of Sam’s meat and seafood, so once every four or five months we’ll do a big stock-up trip for steaks, chicken, fish, etc. They also have really good prices on bulk produce, so if we’re hosting a dinner party, etc, it’s worth it to me to purchase from them rather than from Publix. Other than that, though, I think that BOGO prices with a good coupon are either comparable or better than club prices, and at Publix you’re able to determine how much of an item you need rather than be stuck with a set amount at a club store.
Michelle: I do not have a membership to any club store and I don’t think I ever will! I just don’t think I can justify the membership fee! Many of the clubs do not accept coupons and to go in $40- $50 in the hole is not where I would like to start! There may be an occasion where buying in bulk can save you a few cents but based on my experience it is not enough to cover the membership fee! Remember –often it can be more economical to buy smaller packages and use coupons. Think of this scenario (I am making up numbers and sizes):
Let’s assume that you go to the club once per month and there are $1/1 Ritz coupons available.
32 oz Box of Ritz Crackers at a Club Store = $4 (+$3.33 monthly fee for membership or 1/12 of membership fee)
8 oz Box of Ritz Crackers at Publix = $1.50
Ok so the club price is cheaper if you do the math and determine the price per ounce!! BUT…now let’s use coupons 🙂 I can use (4) $1/1 coupons to reduce the cost of each box at Publix to 50¢. So, if I buy four boxes and use four coupons–I am getting 32 oz of Ritz crackers for only $2 -that is half of the cost of the club store!!
Even if the club store let me use a coupon I would only be able to use one $1/1 and the best price I would get would be $3…so the (4) smaller boxes for $2 after coupons is still a better deal. Now add in the membership fee and the Club store price per ounce is even higher!!
I think I will stick to Publix and just shop the sales with my coupons 🙂
Christy: We get this question a LOT! On good weeks, when I have time and/or remember to file stuff away, I keep IPs and any tearpads/blinkies/traded coupons in my binder – that way I am able to carry some coupons with me to the store and can occasionally score unadvertised deals. (On bad weeks – it all sits in a messy pile on my desk. I wonder if any of you can relate? 🙂 ). I know some people use baseball card holders to store their coupons, but I really like bigger pockets so I use 5×7 binder sheets that were originally designed to hold cds & dvds – they have a flap closure to hold my coupons in and there’s always enough room for those weirdly-shaped coupons. (I looked for quite a while to see if I could find the product I use online, but no luck – I’ll have to snap a picture for you next time I get them at the store.)
Michelle: My binder is my catch all. Basically it is storage for all coupons besides insert coupons. All of my tearpads, printable coupons, peelies, rain checks, blinkies, etc are organized by category in my binder. I use zippered vinyl pockets to store my coupons within my accordion file. I think I will see if Christy wants to do a show and tell. Maybe we will do a post where we can show our binders and you guys can show us yours too!!
Christy: As I mention above, I buy a lot of my meat in bulk at Sam’s Club. When I do buy meat at Publix, I usually try to use my savings or overage from other deals to offset the cost of the meat. I also try to buy the meat I do need when I have $X/$XX Publix or competitor coupons or during a big rebate week so that the price of the meat doesn’t drive up my totals too much. Also, if your store accepts Albertson’s as a competitor, check out their weekly circular – they almost always have a B1G2 meat coupon that my Publix will accept, depending on the item!
Michelle: I also find ways to offset the cost of meat. I also do massive stock ups when the prices are good! There have not been as many meat coupons lately but they do exist. I also plan my meals based on the sales. So if beef is on sale, you will not find pork on my menu that week (unless I pull it from my freezer 🙂 ) I look at it like this…If I am saving tons of money with coupons on everything else I buy, I have more of my budget to devote to things that might not have a coupon!
Christy: My ‘answer’ is actually more questions – what items are you just not able to keep in the stockpile? You may need to purchase more of these items when they’re at their lowest price to see the best savings. On a related note, how many months worth of stockpile do you have? If the kids are eating the majority of your stockpile before the sales cycle is over (or within 3 months), you may not be getting the best prices because you’re restocking too quickly. Another idea – and this may sound extreme – is it possible to hide a reserve stockpile (especially of snack-type foods) somewhere, and just rotate out a reasonable amount each week? My experience with teenagers in particular is that they are never actually in danger of going hungry because they literally eat all the time – so maybe removing some stuff from their ‘grazing grounds’ could help a little.
That said, I defer to the experts: Michelle and the commenters. What do you guys think?
Michelle: You could challenge yourself to reduce your spending by 10% every two weeks. Often just a little creativity can do wonders for the budget!! Try modifying your menu to include a leftover buffet or opting for one meatless dinner per week. Many times I think the easiest things to do is just think outside of the box and change habits. Think about what you could do with a pound of ground beef. Would your family notice if you made a big pot of chili with only half a pound of beef and then used the other half for a big pot of vegetable soup later in the week?? My guess is that they probably would not even notice!! But…try to feed a family of 6 a meal of hamburgers with just a pound of beef and it would likely be impossible!! That little bit of creativity could save you $10 in one week!!
I hope our answers to these questions were helpful! Make sure you ‘tune in’ next week for even more Q&A with I Heart Publix. If you have a question you’d like to see answered, email me at contactiheartpublix@gmail.com.
@fammer626 – I am in SW FL and I know at least one of my stores DOES accept GFS coupons. I have not asked at the others I shop at, though.
I live in Brandon, FL and two of the stores near a GFS accept their coupons. My store also accepts Albertson’s coupons that give a product for a particular price. For example, last week, the Albertson’s coupon said Smucker’s jelly for 99 cents. What they do is just take off the difference of the Publix price verses the 99 cents. Plus, I can use a MQ on top of it.
I live in Brandon too & my store does that as well. I used the 1.50 man Q on top of that .99 Albetson’s Q to score MM jelly! YAY. Also there are $5 off GFS coupons from the Sunday paper that will help this week 🙂
I would love to see a wide variety of how people store coupons in their binders. I ended up with a hybrid of several different ideas and it works okay for me now. But always looking for THE way that is going to GUARANTEE I will actually put them away – ha ha!
I love that you guys have kept doing this feature! I look forward to hearing what other people ponder about with coupons/deals/stores and how you and Christy reply. 🙂
My Publix in Southwest Florida lets me use “pricematch” competitor coupons….they said as long as it has a barcode on it they will accept it
I have to also say that my Publix accepts coupons that are considered ‘price match’. I have used Family Dollar ‘price match’ coupons several times. They just take the amount off that will match that price listed on the coupon from the competitor, I have used this several times on Coke products and have gotten amazing deals! They won’t price match ads, but if it is a coupon with a bar code and they consider them a competitor they take it.
My Publix in Georgia does the same. Because, in reference to Walgreen’s, it’s not just an advertised price. You can’t just walk in the store and get it for that price, you have to bring the coupon and have them scan it. I do not do it very often because the cashiers tend to get all huffy about having to do math but my Publix has accepted them several times.
In regards to the binder, I originally went to Staples and bought the old style trapper keeper notebook (I had some staples “fun” money). I then bought some dividers on clearance and then used some of my husband’s old baseball card holders. Then I went into my local publix and wrote down EVERY aisle and each aisle got it’s own divider. I have found that to be easier when I am shopping I just flip the page and it is not so difficult to flip through 2 or 3 categories. When I finally got my coupon clutch I just transefered all of the files into it. People ask me how do I use this at other stores and at this point I just know my publix aisles well enough to know where to look at another store.
If you do a lot of baking having a membership to a club store is very beneficial!! There aren’t very many good coupons for flour most of the time and Costco sells a 50 lb bag of bread flour for 12.99 and 25 lb bag of all purpose flour for 6.30 both are about .25 cents per pound and a 5lb bag of flour is 2 to 3 dollars or more. So you would pay double for the same amount of flour! Just FYI to anyone who goes through flour like I do! 🙂 Yeast is also a LOT cheaper bought in bulk!
I have a membership to Sams, and I too buy most of my meat there. Also there Milk is alwasy a good price, and eggs. Alot of the things that dont normally go on sale I buy there. Like Hot Sauce for instance. It hardly ever goes on sale. I get three large bottles at Sams for 2.37 which is great, thats the price of 1 at Publix. Also after Christmas and holidays they have the best decorations, and clearence, and they always have a ton of it.
As far as meat goes, I have a friend whose family owns a beef farm. I can buy a half a cow from him for about $1.40/lb (500lb @ $700). The half cow will take up most of my chest freezer, but it saves half of the cost of the beef vs. buying it in the store, it lasts all year and it doesn’t have all the preservatives (which I can now taste in all but the most premium beef cuts at stores and restaurants). If you don’t know a beef farmer, you can still get a half cow for about $2.00-$2.50 per pound by doing a google search for beef farms, which is still more economical than store-bought. If you don’t have $500 (most don’t) for the whole half, go in on it together with family or friends. One thing’s for sure, our family never has to worry about a shortage of beef. Hope this helps.
Where do you live?
I’m finding beef for $5 a pound up. Way too expensive!
I absolutely “hide” a portion of my stockpile. And like you said, it is mainly snack type foods. If I put 5 bags of cookies in the pantry, they would be gone within a week. If I put one bag in, it too would be gone, but it would almost last the week, the kids (and hubby!!!) wouldn’t complain, AND my family eats healthier b/c of it! I also hide chips, mac-n-chz and chef boyardee. I just have a few reusable bags in the back of my closet with some stuff on top that’s easy to move out of the way when I need to get into it. Oh, and also – a hard lesson for me to learn was, just because it’s on sale, doesn’t mean I have to buy it. It was just so exciting to get the great deal that I found it hard to NOT buy!
I also really like Michelle’s advice about meat – I did that as well. For us, I just cut down our meat portions with everything. Did you know that your place is supposed to be 1/2 veggies/fruits, 1/4 protein, 1/4 starch? So, the main thing that helped is I had noticed that the chicken breasts I buy are HUGE! So, I cut them in half before I freeze them. That right there gave me “twice” the meat! I’ve not had anyone complain…when they go to fix seconds, they just get more veggies, more rice, but not more meat. That seriously helped us a LOT with spending.
Good Luck! And yay for you for already cutting your grocery bill so much!
Before we became vegetarians, I did the same thing with our chicken and beef! Common chicken breasts are 8-9 oz, which is double the recommended portion size! My best investment was a $20 food scale at Bed, Bath and Beyond because I could weigh the chicken and beef and freeze them in correct portions. I would separate the beef into 4 oz (1/4 lb) portions as well and just grab one for each person eating. It’s a great way to cut down on your meat costs AND eat healthier!
I have a BJ’s membership and Ido shop there for some specialty items that I can’t find other places. They have great coupons that come to my home and coupons that I can pick up at the club. My Publix will take those as manufacturer’s coupons as long as they dont’ specify a quantity such as $4 off 100 ounce Dawn, Publix does not have that. If it says $4 off and Charmin toilet paper, you can get TP for less than 50 cents or free. It has been worthe the membership to have the coupons.
4. My store will take those coupons because they say the word coupon on them.
5. My store takes GFS, which is great because they often have $X/$XX coupons.
7. While I see your reasoning about club stores, I also have a counter argument. I also buy gas at the club store. I go to BJ’s, which allows stacking of manufacturer’s with their club coupons, and depending on the packaging you can use two manufacturer’s. Milk is significantly cheaper there. If you play BJ’s right, you can walk away with super cheap stuff. (Now Sam’s and Costco on the other hand, they don’t generally take coupons…)
7. I just joined Sam’s Club after not being a member for over 5 years. The reason? We needed to buy a mattress set, and theirs was the cheapest for the quality that we could find even after the price of the membership was factored in. So, now the membership has already paid for itself in the first purchase and I am trying to decide what to get there on a regular basis, so this was a great feature for me! From what I remember when I used to shop there, these items are totally worth it: meat, produce (if you need a lot), take and bake fresh pizzas(esp for big events), some spices that you use a lot, especially taco seasoning, some baking supplies, craisins, sometimes paper products if you can’t find them on sale elsewhere.
I love the take and bakes for when your too tired to make your own, and when you don’t want to pay for take-out/delivery.
I think there are a lot of merits to warehouse clubs outside of food. Sometimes you can score great deals on housewares, clothes, electronics, travel, gas, tires, etc. My warehouse club also has the cheapest propane in town, and since I live in SWFL, we grill almost all year.
If I were just going to buy crackers (or a few foods) not a great deal, but when you take all things into account, you can actually score a great deal. Like today I got a gallon of OJ and a 6 count of muffins for $3.25 because they had a buy oj get muffins free coupon. I also got 2 dozen xl eggs for $1.79, which may not seem like a great deal to some, but here for lrg eggs it’s usually about $1.40 or more a dozen. The last thing I got was pure vanilla extract which was $6.99 for a 16 oz bottle! The cheapest they had at Publix was $10.99 for a 4 oz bottle! There are ways to save more there, but obviously don’t get a membership if you won’t use it.
Definitely spices and even olive oil. I know olive oil goes on BOGO all the time but I have calculated it SEVERAL times and it’s always cheaper to buy the big container of gourmet olive oil! The produce is definitely cheaper if you won’t waste it by the end of the week. My favorite: trash bags and ziploc bags. I’ve been able to get TP and paper towels for cheaper but never the trash bags or ziploc bags. I can get 200 Sam’s brand trash bags for $9! and the ziploc bags are a great deal too…last time I got them, you get 250 sandwich bags for $12.
My favorite thing about club memberships is the consistency of deals. I like to think I’m superwoman but even sometimes I run out of something before it goes on sale again and just can’t wait for it to go on sale. Using my membership, I still get a great deal, even if it’s not the best deal.
I absolutely have to hide my “Stockpile” items. I have 4 boys who given the chance to suck everything down would in a heart beat. I have a spare Target closet and I LOCK it up. I put out what I think is enough for the week and when it’s gone, it’s GONE! Then I rotate to something else.
I buy my meats at BJ’s and then my husband divides and heat wraps it, dates it and put it in the freezer. We cut the chicken like the above poster said and that says a ton right there. We also eat on smaller plates, that way the boys won’t waste food and when they do go back for seconds, they still are only having one portion anyway.
For my family of 6, I spend $400.00 a month and we eat out once every other week. I am also a HUGE fan of stockpiling. I really believe that with my family, and having 4 boys, if I didn’t do that I would never get ahead.
Hope this help!
Gracee
Lol I too have to hide stuff and I only have one person to hide it from. The Husband lol. He just can’t resist eating a whole bag of chex mix in one sitting! Thank goodness I don’t have children and hopefully never will you guys have your hands full!
I have a hard time with the meat, as well. My son is actually a meat cutter at Publix and he has given me some tips. He likes the rib eye steaks and he has said they are the same as the roast, just sliced. So, I buy the roast and slice it myself. It is usually about $1.50/lb. cheaper than the steaks (on sale, of course). Also, we love pork chops and the same is true for the pork roast and pork chops. I now buy the rib end pork roast and slice my own pork chops. The pork is usually more of a savings per pound to do it that way, and the pork chops are very tender from that cut. Love your site! Don’t know how I lived without it. Thank you.
I almost forgot the hamburger. The market hamburger is by far the best quality meat, as it is made from other cuts that have not sold and will go out of date. It is sort of a “discount” meat, but is made of very fine cuts of beef. It is usually the cheapest, as well, unless there is a good sale on chuck.
My Publix also take the Albertsons “price match” coupons. It says “coupon” on it, so they just deduct the difference- They really appreciate the calculator I carry in my binder to help with that! 🙂 I also always use the B1G2 coupons. They have to be for something they carry, though. No substitutions. Like my store doesn’t have petite sirloin steaks or seasoned chicken breast so I can’t use those. But I use the london broil, pork chops, pork tenderloin, chuck roast, and ground chuck ALL. THE. TIME.
PS WHat is GFS?
Publix will season their own chicken breasts if you ask I think they add like .50 cents to each package.
I have still done it a few times, because its still a good deal when only paying for one package when using the Albertson’s coupon.
Which Publix’s in Brandon are still taking the G.F.S. coupons?
Valrico Publix accepts GFS Q’s.
I do shop @ Costco for several reasons:
1. Gas is cheaper
2. Milk is cheaper at least in our area
3. Meat is cheaper and we buy in bulk. The chicken is pre-packaged so right in the freezer it goes.
4. Costco has their own coupons and they rotate them out.
I can get a box of 32 Regular size of Popcorn for $5 a box. Way more cheaper than Publix with coupons and we go thru a lot of popcorn!
What I don’t buy @ Publix we get @ Costco!
I know this is mostly a Publix fan site, but when it comes to meat, Publix is not the place to go to save money. I am on a low-carb diet (by choice), so I am not able to save as much on food as other people since the coupons are usually for carb products.I almost exclusively buy all of my meat from Winn-Dixie. No. I buy ALL of my meat from Winn-Dixie. When we had Albertson’s in Orlando, I would swing by there occasionally. W/D tends to do most of its BOGOs on meat rather than aisle foods, which helps me out a lot.
I like bjs for diapers. I buy the luvs box of size 4 with 180 diapers for 29.99, then use the $5.00/1 coupon they offer plus additonal coupons that I have. The most I pay is .13 per diaper my last trip i was able to use 2 2.50/1 plus the bjs 5.00/1.The always seem to have the 5.00/1 when i need diapers! I know you can use a bjs coupon plus how many pack come included in the item you are buying. Like I can use 4 coupons plus a bjs coupon on wipes. also on scott toilet paper they have a 3.00 bj coupon and I can use up to 6 manafacture coupons on the toilet paper because if you purchased in a store it would of been 6 packs of tp.
I’m a Publix cashier & I can tell you that store or competitor coupons completely take tax off. If something was $1 and you had a $1/1 manufacturer coupon, you’d still pay tax. However, if you had a $1/1 competitor coupon then it takes tax off & the store owes you the tax (that is, if the store allows money back)
Thank you (and Michelle!) for these answers!! It really helps. I may try and figure it out accounting for the loss in store coupons or I may just continue to allot for more tax 🙂
We have a membership to Sam’s and use it almost exclusively for gas. We live close enough to where we aren’t wasting gas to fill up there. Sam’s is regularly 10 cents cheaper than all the other gas stations around. My husband calculated the savings and we easily cover the membership fee and then some with our gas savings. So I think it just depends on the person and what you need from there as to whether not it’s worth it.
Because the gas is what the membership is for and covers the cost, anything else we find inside for a cheaper price is direct savings! They often have seasonal items and gifts that are FABULOUS deals (especially around Christmas!). There are also some items that never go on sale and rarely have coupons (Fresh Step Cat Litter, Ghirardelli Chocolate Chips…) and it’s nice to have the membership to save on regularly on these items instead of having to shell out the cash for less elsewhere.