We got yogurt and fruit, some nice chops I'm about to grill and freeze, chicken breasts, burgers, hot dogs, regular sausage for grilling, yummy asiago and spinach sausage and some predone stuff , like Dad's Philly cheese steaks that he loves. The only thing I can't seem to get there is frozen spinach, go figure.
It's not hard, but it is work to process and actually COOK.
And in season, we pick our own fruit which is fun!
We live in a rural town (Rochelle, IL) and Sam’s Club is 30+ miles away in Rockford. It would mean going well out of our way. So we do with super Wal-Mart.
Some of what you described I consider household items; others, clothing. I do my budgeting on Quicken and separate that from groceries. There’s just the two of us, I’m retired, but the wife works. I do most cooking. We buy in some bulk (food...when we have the room) and I use one of those food sealers.
As you say, it’s a little work, but worth it when you consider the savings.