Things You May Not Know About Shopping at Sam’s Club

Things You May Not Know About Shopping at Sam’s Club

Do you have a Sam’s Club membership? Are you considering getting one? If so, I’m going to share with you a few things you may not know about Sam’s Club, and it has nothing to do with buying groceries. I’ll share that information in another post.

My husband and I have been a Sam’s Club member for about 10 years. For the longest time, we honestly only seemed to use it for the savings at the gas pump (more on that below). Now, there are so many other things I love about a Sam’s Club membership that I thought I would share them with you in case you didn’t know about them.

First, let’s talk about the membership cost per year and broken down per month. We have the Sam’s Club Business Membership (I’m also a Mary Kay consultant.) so we pay $45 per year, or $3.75 per month. Even better, at my renewal time this year, I received an offer via email from Sam’s Club to get a $10 Sam’s Club Gift Card when I renewed online. That made my membership only $35 or $2.92 per month. Watch your email around renewal time if you are member! Another option to pay less for your membership is to check with your employer or your spouse’s employer. From time to time, my husband’s company has a gift card offer when you renew.

So, here are some things you may not know about Sam’s Club:

1. CHEAP lunch or dinner for the fam! My son and I eat lunch at Sam’s Club just about once a week. It costs me around $5, and he eats everything in front of him. Plus, they have the best soft pretzels around. This is a nice perk if you eat out anyway. I can’t go anywhere else and feed the two of us for this amount.
2. FREE Cookie! When my son eats his lunch and behaves, I let him get a FREE cookie from the bakery. The ladies are so nice. This works great especially if you have a long shopping trip.
3. FREE Food Samples! Just like you see in your regular grocery store, SAM’s Club also has free food sample stations set up pretty regularly at lunchtime. You could probably eat your way through the store in samples for a small lunch if you really wanted. 
4. FREE Health Screenings Monthly as well as additional FREE screenings. Tests typically include Glucose, Total Cholesterol, HDL (Good Cholesterol), Risk Ratio, Blood Pressure, Body Fat Percentage, and Vision Screening (at participating clubs).
5. FREEOsk FREE Sample Machine! Have you seen a FREEOsk set up in your store? Don’t worry. If you haven’t seen it, you will when you walk past it. When you walk by it starts talking to you – “Want a FREE sample?” and then you see a little advertisement about the product sample they are offering at the time. I have gotten everything from candy samples (like the AirHeads you see here – perfect special treat for the kiddos when they are on their best behavior) to vitamins to dishwasher detergent to pet treats. Limit 1 per card.
6. Cheap Fuel Prices! Before our Kroger opened their own gas station, Sam’s Club had the best price on gas hands down! They were always a $0.03-$0.05 cheaper than the rest of the gas stations in town, and they are the closest station to my house. Now, a couple cents may not seem like a lot, but if it saves me $0.40-$0.50 per fill up and I fill up twice a month, that’s up to $1 per month or 1/3 of my monthly cost of the membership!
7. While Sam’s Club stores do not accept coupons, they WILL accept formula checks. So, if you get those mailers with the checks from Similac or Enfamil, don’t throw them away. You can use them at Sam’s!

And, here’s a bonus just for fun! Their shopping carts can seat TWO kiddos comfortably and are huge! This may sound silly, but this is such a nice feature for a momma shopping with multiple kiddos.

Want to start your membership now? Visit SamsClub.com to get started. Or, watch Groupon, LivingSocial, Zulily and Become a Coupon Queen for membership deals!

See all the SAMs Club deals while you’re on Become a Coupon Queen.