* Televisions. They are rarely beat on price (even online) and have a heck of a return policy.
* Bulk Cheese. If you like cheese, they have it cheap.
* Good lamb. A lamb roast is cheap and always good. I get a lot more of these than beef.
* Frozen snacks/foods. I love chicken bakes, their talapia, shrimp, salmon burgers, turkey burgers, etc.
* Paper products
* Cleaning Supplies
* Toiletries
* Gasoline
* Alcohol. They have a great selection of good stuff and I don’t see it beat unless the local liquor store has a sale.

I get other things at their website:

* Video games. They generally have the best price for “newly released” games.
* DVD’s and Blu-Ray’s

It is all a matter of what you are looking for. If I buy perishable stuff, I eat it, or freeze it. Bread and stuff can be unfrozen in the toaster and you have toast and would never know it was frozen. Great for sandwiches.

I only go to Sam’s 2-3 times a year and I always manage to get back my fee. I go on the OATS bus (saves me gas) and get driven to each store for my needs. We old folks just love this. I buy quite a bit in bulk – chips, nuts, some candies, prunes, olives, peanut butter, printer ink, books, etc., besides the usual tp, paper towels. If it looks like I will not be able to use it in time, I donate it, in plenty of time, to our local food bank or to friends. I always love to give and it is especially good when you can also give more reasonably.

Sheesh!

But sometimes they do. And sometimes people who are wearing seatbelts or helmets still sustain serious injuries that cost a fortune to treat.

I just don’t think it’s possible to reason from first principles that seatbelt or helmet laws save money on healthcare. So in the absence of any actual data (which I’ve been unable to find, although I haven’t looked very hard), I’m not willing to accept that they do.

deReuiter, Carol, and everyone else. How about we just live our own lives, enjoy them, and let others live theirs? Life is so much more pleasant when we don’t spend psychic energy judging others based on utter ignorance of their lives.

Flour. Lemon juice. [...]

Those are the first two things that come to mind?

KCDesi

Don’t you find the bread terribly dry and crumbly when you eventually thaw it? Is there a trick to prevent that?

Other than a stash of earthquake/disaster preparedness items, we don’t feel the need to have huge stocks of any item on hand (we do have a small stocked pantry). For big ticket items, we first decide exactly what we want & then my spouse will search out a good deal.

We are fortunate that our income is more than sufficient for our preferred lifestyle. And we shop usually weekly for groceries we need when we will use them, with a moderate amount of sale/price comparison & limited use of coupons.

Also, I rarely take prescription drugs, and my health insurance does not have any prescription coverage. On the rare occasion I do need something, Costco has saved me tons of money. I needed antibiotics for a sinus infection. Local pharmacy price (for generic): $198. Costco price: $42. The savings there paid for another three years of membership.

I generally don’t buy grocery items in bulk for precisely the reasons Trent outlines. The exception is condiments which we’ll buy in bulk at the beginning of the summer because we use them so much in the summer. Mayo has a shelf life so we buy the big jar at the beginning of the summer since I use it in so many summer items like pasta salads, on burgers etc. But once September rolls around, I buy a small jar at the grocery store since that will last through to the spring.

I do buy cheese in bulk since we use it all the time.

Also, if a person makes “stupid choices” and dies sooner as a result, that could actually save money for the system (healthcare and pensions combined). So you could just as easily argue that we’re actually morally obligated to stuff ourselves with candy to cut down on our life expectancy.

(For that same reason, I’d question whether seatbelt and helmet laws actually save money on healthcare. If you’re not wearing a seatbelt, and you crash your car and die as a result, that really cuts down your lifetime need for healthcare.)

And paying for each other’s healthcare? Happens in the United States too. That’s how insurance works.

Why not do the same with a few friends or neighbors? Buy the perishables in bulk, and split the goodies and the price with others who need them. If your needs overlap, you can get a lot of stuff this way without worrying about spoilage. You can even share the cost of the gas to get to the store and simultaneously reduce your carbon footprint.