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In April, I decided to do a little shopping experiment. For one month, I would get everything I needed — from groceries to gas to dog food — exclusively at Sam's Club.

We already had a membership, and I'd gone there before for bulk items like diapers or snacks. But I'd never done all of my shopping there. Normally, I spread things out: Whole Foods for groceries, Trader Joe's for snacks and produce, Amazon for whatever oddly specific thing I'm out of that week, Target for kid clothes or household items. It's a mix.

This time, I wanted to know: Would sticking to one wholesale club store save me money? Would I hate it? Could I still get everything I needed?

I set a few ground rules for my experiment.

Rule 1: This applied to all of the shopping/spending I normally do. If I usually buy it, it's coming from Sam's Club.
Rule 2: My husband got a pass; he could still shop and order things as usual.
Rule 3: We could still eat out or order delivery from other restaurants, as we normally did. But we couldn't exceed our normal "eating out" budget.

And while I did my best to stick to the plan, I gave myself one pass early in the month — for the boys' birthday party. (More on that in a bit.)

Here's how the month went, week by week — and what I learned along the way.

Week 1: The Big Freeze

What I expected: I'd miss my usual stores and feel boxed in by limited options.
What happened: I missed them... but I also started questioning how much I'd been overspending before.

At first, I felt a little twitchy skipping my usual grocery run. I like the familiarity of my routine, and I have a lot of personal preferences about certain foods. I prefer buying pasture-raised eggs, meat, and dairy; coffee and chocolate that are fair trade; whole ingredients rather than prepared things that are overly processed... little things like that, that I know are very personal, but still important to me nonetheless. I didn't want to sacrifice those ideals solely for cheaper options.

I'd shopped at Sam's before and knew their organic and low-processed options were less robust than a shop like Sprouts or Whole Foods. And that's fine! It's not Sam's Club's responsibility to stock things just because I prefer them. But I assumed I'd notice the difference right away. I did — but not entirely in the way I expected.

On my first trip to Sam's, I found myself doing a lot of math. Organic chicken thighs? $5.25 per pound. That's about 33% less than what I normally pay. Same for milk, applesauce pouches, crackers, paper towels, dog food. Some of the items we regularly buy were the exact same brand — just in larger portions and at lower prices.

That first week was a little shocking.

The first thing that shocked me was the total cost of checking out that first week. Just over $400 — more than double what we usually spend a week.

I felt like I had gone insane. How did these “great prices” add up to so much? Then I remembered that instead of buying a single pound of chicken or ground beef for the week, I was buying four- and five-pound portions — enough for an entire month. It was the same for a number of the items I usually purchase.

In other words, I was front-loading a lot of my costs for the entire month. (And the prices actually were great.)

We already have a second freezer, so space wasn't an issue — but time quickly became one. I had to portion everything myself, label it, and remember to thaw it before I wanted to cook. I forgot twice that first week.

We also hit our first exception early. The boys' third birthday was coming up, and Sam's didn't have the kind of decorations or gifts I wanted. I ended up ordering their party supplies and presents from Amazon and picking up an ice cream cake from a local shop. That felt like the right call.

But overall? Week 1 made me think twice. I was pretty sure I was saving money. I didn't love everything about it. But I started to understand why people swear by wholesale clubs.

Week 2: Convenience Costs

What I expected: I'd get used to the new routine.
What happened: The price savings were still great, but the extra time and effort started to wear on me.

By the second week, I was settling into the rhythm of Sam's Club shopping — but also starting to notice the cracks.

One of the biggest trade-offs was convenience. I usually swing into Whole Foods to buy some of their prepared or partially prepared food — things like pre-cooked grains or pre-chopped veggies that make it easier to throw dinner together. Sam's doesn't really offer that, at least not in organic or lower-processed options. So I had to do all of it myself. That saved money, yes — but it also took more time. And when you're cooking for a family of four while wrangling two three-year-olds, time matters.

We ate a lot of repeat meals. I missed some of the small brand items I usually pick up. And I passed on buying certain items entirely — like the chocolate I usually keep around or our go-to brand of tortillas — because I didn't like the options Sam's offered. We made do, but the meals started to feel more utilitarian.

There were still a lot of wins. We discovered a new Olipop flavor we liked (cream soda) thanks to a variety pack Sam's carried. Honestly, I was impressed that Sam's was carrying this relatively new specialty "soda." Unfortunately, the variety pack also included "classic grape," which neither of us enjoyed and which now sits in the fridge waiting for unsuspecting guests.

Gas was another area where I saved money, but it came with a cost. The line at the Sam's Club gas station was always long — there are only a few pumps — and while I was still saving about $0.10 per gallon, I found out mid-month that another station near daycare was offering a limited-time discount that would have saved me $0.25 more. I stuck with Sam's for the sake of the experiment, but it felt like a small loss.

Mid-month is also when the reality of the large meat portions hit. Even with a freezer, thawing takes time — and if you forget, you're out of luck. I forgot. More than once. (More than twice.) One night, we ended up ordering takeout. Another night, it was turkey sandwiches. I finally got the hang of planning ahead by week three, but not before a few frustrating evenings.

Week 3: Hitting the Wall (and the Freezer)

What I expected: I'd be in the groove by now.
What happened: I got better at the logistics, but started to really miss variety — and the prepared section of my usual grocery stores.

By the third week, I had the freezing and thawing system down. I was cooking more efficiently and had figured out a few staple meals that worked well for our family. But I was also getting bored.

We were eating a lot of the same meals, and while that's fine in short bursts, it started to wear on me. I missed the ability to mix things up with a quick stop at Trader Joe's or to grab something already cooked on a busy night. Everything felt a little more effortful than it normally was.

I also started to really notice how much I value certain brands and ingredients. It's not that Sam's doesn't carry good stuff — they do, especially when it comes to major household staples — but they don't carry our stuff. I wasn't going to suddenly start buying all our clothes there just because they sell $15 jeans. And while I did buy a few basics in a pinch (the boys lost basically all of their socks in a two-week span, and Sam's offered a great 20-pack of socks), I knew I wouldn't be doing that long term.

By this point, I was also realizing just how much I usually rely on flexibility. Running to the store mid-week to grab one or two specialty items for a meal I want to try. That wasn't really possible during this experiment, and it made everything feel just a little more rigid.

Still, the savings were undeniable. Between frontloading a lot of our costs that first week and simply not having access to some of our household staples, my weekly spending stayed well below what it usually is — down to under $100 a week, compared to my usual $250. That's a real difference.

Week 4: Fatigue Sets In, But the Wine Helps

What I expected: I'd have this down to a science.
What happened: I did — but I was ready to go back to the stores I love.

By the fourth week, everything was easier logistically. I'd figured out how to shop once a week and make it work. I knew what we needed, what we liked, and what to skip. I was even remembering to thaw the meat.

But I was also missing some of the staples we were used to.

We were still saving money — more than $300 by the end of the month, just looking at my purchases alone. But I was craving variety. And more than that, I was craving ease. The kind of ease you get from picking up your favorite pre-made salad or grabbing that exact chocolate bar that makes a Tuesday afternoon feel 10% better.

Could I have leaned harder into the Sam's lifestyle? Absolutely. I could have found creative ways to transform the wide selection of ingredients they do offer into things that felt more like our usual meals. I could've started making more things from scratch, batch cooking, freezing homemade snacks, maybe even trying to recreate some of the grab-and-go convenience I normally buy elsewhere.

But I didn't.

And honestly? I didn't particularly want to.

I was already doing a whole shopping experiment. I wasn't trying to reinvent how we eat or spend all my time in the kitchen. I was looking for a simpler way to save money, not a second job. So yes, I'm a baby. I could've made a more valiant effort to embrace the full potential of what Sam's Club has to offer. But I didn't. And I'm okay with that.

That said, not everything felt like a chore. One of the surprises of the month was Sam's wine section, which was genuinely solid. Great prices, surprisingly good bottles, (even some smaller labels I wasn't expecting to find). That certainly helped.

The Takeaways: What I'll Keep, What I'll Leave, and What I Learned

Would I recommend this experiment? Honestly — yes. It taught me a lot about our spending. It made me more aware of how often I pay extra for convenience or preference without thinking twice. It helped me reset what "normal" spending looks like in our household.

But would I do it forever? Not a chance.

Here's what I'm taking with me:

- I'll absolutely keep doing a Sam's run once or twice a month to stock up on basics: organic milk, poultry, applesauce pouches, snacks for the boys, paper towels, dog food, and wine. That alone is going to drop our monthly grocery costs by at least 25%.

- I'm done pretending I can give up Whole Foods and Trader Joe's entirely. I just like them. They carry the things I want. They make meal planning easier. And sometimes, it's worth paying more for something that feels like a better fit.

- I'm more conscious now of the fact that what saves money on paper sometimes costs in other ways — time, flexibility, effort, variety.

At the end of the day, I saved around $300 in one month, which is no small amount. (Do that every month, and you'll have a spare $3,600 after one year.) But what I really gained was a better understanding of where spending actually matters to me — and where I can cut back without feeling the loss. That kind of clarity is worth a lot, too.

And if anyone wants five cans of grape soda, you know where to find me.