3 Signs Your Sam’s Club Membership Is a Waste of Money

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A Sam’s Club membership costs $50 or $110 per year depending on which tier you choose. Find out three signs that this money is being wasted. 

Becoming a Sam’s Club member comes at a cost. You’ll need to pay a membership fee of $50 per year for a standard club membership or $110 annually for a Plus membership. That’s quite a bit of money to put on your credit cards just for the privilege of shopping at the warehouse club.

For many people, paying this membership fee is well worth it. If you are able to take advantage of Sam’s Club’s discounted prices on groceries and other items you need, you may be able to keep more money in your bank account in the long run due to the savings — even after paying the membership fees.

But for some consumers, paying for a membership fee doesn’t make sense. To avoid wasting your hard-earned cash, look out for these three signs that becoming or remaining a Sam’s Club member doesn’t make financial sense for you.

1. You don’t shop at Sam’s Club often

In order to make up the cost of your membership fee, you’d need to save at least $50 a year on products you would have purchased anyways as a result of shopping at Sam’s Club.

You can probably do this easily if you visit the store every week, or even every month. After all, if you saved just $4.17 each month by buying items that are cheaper at Sam’s Club than at your local grocery store, the membership fee would pay for itself.

But if you rarely shop at Sam’s Club, then the membership is probably a waste of money for you. This could be the case if the warehouse club is far from you or if you simply prefer to visit other stores to buy things.

If your Sam’s Club membership is just a habit and you haven’t been to the store in months, consider canceling to see if you really miss it. You can always rejoin if it turns out you value your ability to shop there after all.

2. You aren’t using the products you buy

One of the biggest ways Sam’s Club helps you save is by offering bulk items for less money. But not everyone can make effective use of bulk products. If you’re single and live alone, purchasing huge quantities of food and household items may end up being a big waste if you can’t use everything up before it goes bad.

While you may be able to team up with friends or neighbors to split bulk purchases, this is not an option for every situation. So pay attention when you buy a Sam’s Club item to see how often part of it goes in the trash. If this happens more than once or twice a month, membership may not be right for you.

3. You already have other warehouse club memberships

Finally, if you already have a membership to other warehouse clubs like Costco or BJ’s, it may not make sense to keep your Sam’s Club membership as well. There’s a lot of overlap between the products you can buy at these different places so it usually makes sense to pick just one.

If you keep a membership to a specific warehouse club and your friends and family members belong to a different one, you can always trade off and take each other shopping once and a while if there are a few items only one club offers.

If you spot any of these three signs, consider canceling your Sam’s Club membership you can keep your club fees in your bank account. Remember, your choice to stop isn’t irrevocable, so you can always change your mind if you decide you value the membership more than the $50 or $110.

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The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.Christy Bieber has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Costco Wholesale. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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