Is couponing really cheaper than shopping Sams or Costco?

I have been asked this question a lot by those who are wanting to try to save money by couponing, but are not sure whether it is worth the time it takes. I thought I would put some comparisons up for you to give you (and me) an idea of how much you can save by couponing over just shopping at the big warehouse stores. Let me just say right now. I have nothing against Costco and Sams Club. I actually have a membership to both at this time and think they are perfectly fine establishments. I just want to dispel the myth (that I also believed a year ago) that for the most part you cannot beat their prices on items you and I buy most.

Costco does not post their prices for most of these things on line, but I have found that for the most part that Sams and Costco are pretty similar in pricing. If anything, Sams is cheaper on most things. So I will be posting Sams current prices. The prices that I will show as a "coupon price" are prices I have actually paid in the past 6 months for items. Keep in mind the "couponing" price is not something you will always see advertised in a sales ad. Sometimes you will have 1-3 coupons (store+e-coupons+manufacturers coupons) you can stack on a single item to get the prices to those I will list here.

I feel another benefit to coupon shopping vs. shopping at the big warehouse stores is that you can usually find smaller sizes (that are easier to store) and you can find more variety (like light sour cream or different scents in cleaners). However for this comparison I will just multiply things to match the sizes offered at Sams Club. Ok...on to the comparison

Tide HE detergent

SAMS CLUB PRICE $19.58 for 110 loads

COUPONING PRICE $8.80 for 110 loads

Bounce Dryer Sheets (or similar name brand)

SAMS CLUB PRICING $8.08 for 250 sheets

COUPONING PRICE $3.09 for 250 sheets

Downy

SAMS CLUB PRICING $12.48 for 195 loads

COUPONING PRICE $2.39 for 195 loads

Dawn Dish Liquid

SAMS CLUB PRICING $7.48 for 90oz.

COUPONING PRICE $2.21 for 90 oz.

Finish Dishwashing Tabs (for the dishwasher)

SAMS CLUB PRICING $13.78 for 90

COUPONING PRICE $4.45 for 90

Scrubbing Bubbles Bathroom Cleaner

SAMS CLUB PRICING $7.98 for 75 oz

COUPONING PRICE- FREE

Bounty Paper Towels

SAMS CLUB PRICING $18.48 for 22 rolls (regular size)

COUPONING PRICE $5.34 for 22 rolls (regular size)

Charmin Bath Tissue

SAMS CLUB PRICING $17.38 for 72 rolls

COUPONING PRICE $8.35 for 72 rolls

Iams Dry Dog Food

SAMS CLUB PRICING $29.98 for 44 lbs.

COUPONING PRICE $19.58 for 44 lbs.

Peanut Butter (Jif or Skippy)

SAMS CLUB PRICE $7.98 for 80 oz

COUPONING PRICE $2.80 for 80 oz.

Nature Valley Granola Bars

SAMS CLUB PRICE $8.32 for 30 bars

COUPONING PRICE $0.75 for 30 bars

Goldfish Crackers

SAMS CLUB PRICE for $8.42 for 65.6 oz.

COUPONING PRICE $4.15 for 65.6 oz.

Ritz Crackers

SAMS CLUB PRICE $5.82 for 48 oz.

COUPONING PRICE $1.50 for 48 oz.

Frosted Flakes Cereal

SAMS CLUB PRICE $7.24 for 61.9 oz.

COUPONING PRICE $0.91 for 61.9 oz.

Honey Nut Cheerios

SAMS CLUB PRICE $6.38 for 49.6 oz.

COUPONING PRICE $1.42 for 49.6 oz

Campbells Cream of Mushroom Soup

SAMS CLUB PRICE $10.14 for 8 cans

COUPONING PRICE $2.00 for 8 cans

Canned Diced Tomatoes

SAMS CLUB PRICE $5.98 for 8 cans

COUPONING PRICE $3.92

Dole Pineapple (Canned)

SAMS CLUB PRICE $8.78 for 8-20 oz. cans

COUPONING PRICE $3.52 for 8-20 oz. cans

Canned Coke or Pepsi Products

(Coke in this comparison but they are similar)

SAMS CLUB PRICE $8.85 for 32-8oz. cans

COUPONING PRICE $5.33 for 32-8oz. cans

Activia Yogurt

SAMS CLUB PRICE $10.32 for 24-4oz. cups

COUPONING PRICE $3.78 for 24-4oz. cups

Yoplait Go-Gurt

SAMS CLUB PRICE $7.32 FOR 32 ct

COUPONING PRICE $2.56 for 32 ct

Fresh Eggs-Large grade A or better

SAMS CLUB PRICE $3.78 for 2-18ct

COUPONING PRICE $1.83 for 3-18 ct

Sour Cream

SAMS CLUB PRICE $3.77 for 3 lbs.

COUPONING PRICE $3.00 for 3 lbs.

Philidelphia Cream Cheese

SAMS CLUB PRICE $6.05 for 48oz.

COUPONING PRICE $1.80 for 48 oz.

White Sugar

SAMS CLUB PRICE $15.57 for 25 lbs.

COUPONING PRICE $9.95 for 25 lbs.

All Purpose Flour

SAMS CLUB PRICE $5.79 for 25 lbs.

COUPONING PRICE $4.00 for 25 lbs.

Butter

SAMS CLUB PRICE $7.72 for 4 lbs.

COUPONING PRICE $5.42 for 4 lbs.

Nestle Chocolate Chips

SAMS CLUB PRICE $8.78 for 72 oz.

COUPONING PRICE $5.94 for 72 oz.

Ketchup (Heinz or Hunts)

(I have heard this can go lower but haven't been

couponing through a summer yet when it does)

SAMS CLUB PRICE $6.52 for 3-44oz. bottles

COUPONING PRICE $5.50 for 3-44 oz. bottles

Extra Virgin Olive oil

SAMS CLUB PRICE $13.98 for 68 oz.

COUPONING PRICE $10.03 for 68 oz.

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

SAMS CLUB PRICE $13.79 for 7 lbs

COUPONING PRICE $11.13 for 7 lbs.

Jimmy Dean Pork Breakfast Sausage

SAMS CLUB PRICE $4.38 for 2 lbs.

COUPONING PRICE $1.00 for 2 lbs.

Extra Lean Ground Beef

SAMS CLUB PRICE $24.80 for 10 lbs.

COUPONING PRICE $16.90 for 10 lbs.

Bacon

(I could not find a thick sliced comparison on Sams so I am comparing the regular bacon from sams to premium thick sliced from the butcher)

SAMS CLUB PRICE $7.46 for 3 lbs.

COUPONING PRICE $5.01 for 3 lbs.

Huggies Diapers (size 1)

SAMS CLUB PRICE $37.98 for 264 diapers

COUPONING PRICE $14.49 for 264 diapers

Crest Toothpaste

SAMS CLUB PRICE $10.98 for 4/8oz. tubes

COUPONING PRICE $2.11 for 4/8oz. tubes

Mens Shaving Gel name brand (edge or Gillette)

SAMS CLUB PRICE $6.87 for 3/9.5 oz.

COUPONING PRICE $3.58 for 3/9.5 oz

Womens Shaving Gel name brand (skintimates or satincare)

SAMS CLUB PRICE $6.48 for 3/9.5 oz. +2.75 oz. travel size

COUPONING PRICE $3.93

Gillette Fusion Manual Razor Refills

(I have found on couponing it is cheaper to buy brand new razors rather than the refills so I am comparing refills at Sams to the equivelant brand new razors)

SAMS CLUB PRICE $41.58 for 16

COUPONING PRICE $7.92 for 16

Gillette Venus Embrace Razor +Refills

( same comparison as above)

SAMS CLUB PRICE $26.05 for Razor +10 refills

COUPONING PRICE $13.70 for Razor +10 refills

WOW!!! I knew I was saving money over the Sams shopping I did a year ago but I had no idea it was this much! To be honest I was pretty shocked at some of these price differences!

So lets just say that you bought just half of these products each month at Sams and decided to switch to couponing to try to save a little money. How much would you save over the course of a year?

$1584.12!!!

I know you are saying...I would not go through this quantity in one month. You are probably correct, but this is just a small snapshot of items. You most likely buy more products than what I have listed here on this comparison.

I know that you are all probably tired of hearing this but I will say it again for those who are new here. I saw my budget drastically lower within 1 month of shopping this way. I used to spend $700 a month on groceries, toiletries, paper products and cleaners. I was having a really hard time staying within that budget. We were having to cut all kinds of "luxuries" that my family likes. Now I spend an average of $400 each month and we are enjoying those "luxuries" like steaks, baby back ribs, flushable wipes, mouthwash, and a nice variety of snack foods, as well as building a storage of items my family uses. Not something I thought I could do on my meager $700 a month but am now doing on $400 a month So I guess a more realistic look of how much you can save would be by my example. If I keep up my average of $400 a month I will have saved over a years time

$3600!!!

That is a huge chunk of change in my book.

If you want to learn more about how to shop smarter leave me a comment and I would be happy to contact you and tell you more. :)