Who doesn’t like to save money?

Friday, March 18

I love to save money.  Who doesn’t?  And one of the easiest ways to save money is by going to a big box warehouse store.

Or is it?

I love going to Costco.  Not right around the corner, but I’m there at least every other month or so.  It costs me $55 a year for this privilege.  And don’t forget that, because you may not be saving money because of that!

But not me!  I more than make my $55 back by eating all of the free samples.  I eat everything.  The lady in the white hair net could be giving away moose thyroid on a stick, and I’d be in line waiting for my free sample.

But really, I make my money back on the things most people don’t buy.  Like tires.  But one set of tires there, and you save hundreds of dollars.  More than worth the membership.  I buy a lot of office supplies for my business.  The copy paper alone is a big saver.  So for me, the membership is worth it.

But is it worth it for causal shoppers who just buy bulk household supplies?

I thought about this as we did one of our PPPs (Periodic Paper goods Pursuits).  Our trip to Costco to get 36 rolls of toilet paper, a dozen rolls of paper towels  and a 276 pack of paper plates.    Am I really saving money?  Could I save even more by shopping in Lansdale?

So off to Big Lots I went.  Yes, it’s a chain store.  But it’s in the borough, and located in the Hillcrest shopping center on East Main Street.

I also found out it’s hard to do a head to head price comparison.    Take toilet paper, for instance.  We use the single-ply Scott paper that comes individually wrapped in tissue.  Always have.  I remember growing up having the blue rolls for the blue bathroom, the yellow rolls for the yellow bathroom and the pink rolls for the pink bathroom.  Fun times.  Costco sells it by the 36 pack.  Big Lots doesn’t have it at all.

The per-roll price at Costco is $0.50.  Similar Scott paper (but two ply) at Big Lots?  $0.99 per roll.  BUT – you can get Cottonelle at Big Lots for $0.48 per roll.  A good deal, if you can use it without getting the image of a cartoon bear with pieces of toilet paper stuck to his ass out of your head.

A weak win – but we’ll give this one to Big Lots.

On to paper towels!  We use Bounty. Lots of it.  Even though Bounty now comes with the convenient half-sheet perforations, Ken uses only one length per job.  An arm’s length.  We go through a lot of paper towel.   And at Costco, it’s $1.34 per roll when you buy the 12 pack.  Now, they did have Bounty at Big Lots, but not where you could reach it.  And with no price.  Similar Scott paper towels were $0.97 per roll in a six pack.  And the Big Lots Ultra Strong brand (which looked suspiciously like Bounty with a different label) was a buck a roll.

Paper towel winner – Big Lots.

Paper plates!  At Costco, Dixie Ultra worked out to be $0.06 per plate.  But you had to buy a staggering 276 plates.  Similar looking Dixie Everyday plates at Costco were $5.00 for 48 plates.  More expensive at a dime a piece.  BUT – you could get virtually identical Aspen brand for the bargain price of $2.95 for 118 plates.  Or $0.03 per plate.

Paper plate winner – this one could go either way, depending on how you value the Dixie name vs. Aspen.

But what I’d really like to know is how they decide how many plates go in a pack.  276?  118?  What weird numbers!

On to the cleaning goods!  We got Dawn Platinum dish washing detergent at Costco for $0.11 per ounce.  But in a big honking bottle that has to be transferred to something easier to use.  At Big Lots, you can get Dawn Ultra (Who names these things??  Is Platinum better than Ultra?  Or vice-versa? I bet it’s all the same stuff) for the same $0.11 per ounce.  But in much easier to use sized bottles.

Dish Detergent – a tie, but the convenience award goes to Big Lots.

On to the dishwasher!  We use Cascade liquid.  They don’t have that at Big Lots, but they do have the Cascade tablets.  So, going load for load, the Costco Cascade liquid works out to be $0.19 per load.  The Big Lots Cascade tablets is $0.11 per load.  And if you’re willing to use the Sun brand of liquid it works out to be $0.04 per load.

Dishwasher detergent – any way you look at it, Big Lots is the clear winner.

On to clean clothes!  I use unscented, no dye All detergent.  I don’t want to smell like a forest.  Or a bouquet of flowers.  Or even “fresh scented.”  I don’t want my clothes to smell of any perfumes.  And here we can do a head to head comparison, because both stores sell All in slightly different sizes.  Costco for $0.06 per ounce.  Big Lots for $0.05 per ounce.

Laundry detergent winner – Big Lots.

We start our day with coffee.  Folgers coffee.   Because the best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup.  Not to quibble, but I think the best part of waking up is waking up.  The alternative is pretty grim.  The coffee is  $0.21 per ounce at Costco.  $0.30 per ounce at Big Lots.

Coffee winner – Costco.

Now I know this isn’t conclusive.  But for the things we buy, I can actually save money by shopping at Big Lots.  And not have to drive all the way to Montgomeryville for everyday items.  And not have to buy things in bulk amounts that are hard to store.  And spend money in Lansdale Borough.

I had underestimated Big Lots.  While I don’t think I’ll be outfitting my home with their furniture, I was surprised to see how large their grocery and dry goods departments were.  Full of brands I recognize at really good prices.  And you don’t have to pay $55 per year for the privilege of shopping there.

And you can get bargains like this Spic and Span cleaner for a buck.  Bargain!

End result:  I’m not going to give up my Costco membership.  But I will be shopping at Big Lots a lot more.  It’s more convenient, and I can save money.

Costco is great for tires.  Red meat (Buy a whole filet, slice it up yourself and freeze.  Really good and really cheap). Sheet cakes (Really!).  Certain electronics.  This list can go on and on.

But Big Lots is a great alternative for grocery and dry good items.  Check it out!

A double score here:

Lansdale Shopping Score:  Zero (But I could have)

Lansdale Shopping Score:  1

Big Lots, Lansdale PA

We did end our Friday with dinner at the Lansdale Tavern.  Beer and a burger.  Can’t be beat.  Super friendly waitresses.  To all the golfers out there, Lansdale Tavern is having their First Annual Golf Tournament at the Pinecrest Golf Club on May 7^th.  Check it out – looks to be a good time!  More details and sign up sheets available at the Lansdale Tavern.

The Lansdale Tavern Golf Tournament

Lansdale Shopping Score:  1

So the recap:

TWO opportunities to shop/eat in Lansdale met.

ONE need met outside the borough when I could have stayed here.

Let’s see what today brings!