The Sam's Club Moment

Photo: Josh Lewis

When I first moved to Colorado Springs, I stayed with a friend from college until I was able to get my own apartment. He wouldn't let me pay rent, so to thank him, I bought him something I knew he'd been thinking about buying himself for a while: a membership at Sam's Club.

We stopped by to do the paperwork, and he asked me if I was going to get myself one. I wasn't; this was the first I'd ever been in Sam's Club. I wasn't familiar with them, and I didn't know that I'd ever use it. He convinced me to walk around the warehouse with him before I made up my mind.

We started out, and I wasn't that impressed. I kept focusing on the cost. NutriGrain Bars for $5.99. (Sure it's more, but I can get them for $2.00 a box at Albertson's.) Cheerios for $7.99. (Half that at Albertson's.)

Halfway through, he got me to see the light, and I'm thankful to this day that he did. I was looking at it from the wrong angle. I needed to look at the value, not the cost. Yes, I could get a $4 box of Cheerios at Albertson's, but I'm going to spend $8 on Cheerios anyway as soon as I buy two boxes. Once I've spent $8, do I want to own 26 oz of Cheerios, or 37 oz? It's about making your money do more for you.

I started getting really excited, and ended up getting myself a membership as well. I also picked up as much of the grocery shopping as I could instead of stopping at Albertson's on the way home. (I wasn't ready to buy milk there. Yet.) Two memberships, groceries, and $20 cash back came to about $120.

On the way home, we stopped by Albertson's so I could get milk. I wanted to see how long it would take for the Sam's Club membership to pay for itself. What I had just bought at Sam's Club — just the groceries — came to over $160. I was astounded. I had no idea the membership would pay for itself and more on the first trip.

I've been sold ever since. Sure, there have been times I've gone overboard and bought things I shouldn't have. (It takes a long time for two people to go through 5 lbs of shredded cheese.) But it's either been worth it, or it makes for a good story. Now, my wife and I are working on gaining and understanding of just how fast we go through things, which will let us know how much we need to keep on hand. More on that later.