What about the Parmalat Milk, is that good to stock up on? I have cans of: Soup, Tuna, Beans and the shelf staples: Flour, Sugar-*(when it is on sale at $1.99 - it is considered a good deal in New York)*, butter-*(I freeze)*, Jars of Instant Coffee, Oatmeal and Pretzels for my Toddler. If I left anything out food or medical, please advise as I will note it down. We are a family of three, so is really worth it to invest in a club card: Costco or B.J.’s?/Just Asking - seoul62........
Re the club card - when I was in grad school I joined up w/a friend on the card. She was a single and it was me and my grown son. It was certainly worth the membership for 3 people. Our apartment had a storage room on the patio, so it was easy to stack cases of stuff. Even though I always ended up spending more than I planned, I think in the end we saved money because the prices were cheaper than the local store and we bought non-perishables, so I didn’t have to worry about using things before they spoil, which can be a problem with a small family.
You might want to do one shopping trip as a guest and see if it works for you.
I use the UHP boxed milk because there are only two of us and even a quart of fresh milk can go bad. Look for the expiration date on the top. It is usually good for 3 months, unopened and another week or so in the fridge. However, for longer term storage, I stock small cans of evaporated milk for coffee and dried skim for drinking milk, cereal, baking or cooking. I rotate my stocks and even the canned evaporated milk only lasts 6-8 months or so, IMO.
There are, as said, only two of us, and we love our Sam’s club membership. I buy whole cuts of meat and butcher to suit and repackage and freeze. Toiletries, vitamins, NSAIDS, TP, detergent etc are all cheaper there than at Walmart (except recently, the bone-in chicken breasts were much cheaper at Walmart than Sam’s, for some reason). You can usually find 4-packs of butter for under $2/lb. 8lbs of spaghetti for $2+. I am sure the $35/year is worth it. They have specials from time to time that are very good. I just got an enameled steel cooking pot, 1 1/2 gallon capacity, for under $40. They are usually well over $100.
Know the prices of items at the grocery store & Walmart, so you can compare. I have one store I use for produce and flavored water, another for meats and Walmart for dry/canned items, fresh dairy, cleaning supplies. Sometimes there are surprising sales.
I would add pasta & rice to your list, as they keep a long time. Yeast, cooking oil, trash bags and paper products like TP. Canned fruit and vegetables and some source of Vitamin C. If you have a toddler, some electrolyte replacer or enough sugar and salt and clean water to make your own. Clear broths can be soup base or food for someone who is ill.