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Maybe it's different where you are but I have had both Sam's and Costco memberships (not at the same time) for the last couple of decades and my experience is that their food prices simply do not touch regular grocery store prices around here.

The only advantage the membership clubs seem to have is that they are usually going to have what you need if you need if you need to buy like $500 worth of meat for a party or something.

I go to Cash and Carry (well, they've renamed it about 15 times in the past few years, so it's actually US Chef's Store or something dumb like that) for wholesale pricing on meats.

Costco near me is pretty much the same price per unit category as grocery stores unless I go to their special wholesale outlets. Costco has better quality and variety that the standard grocery options though.

Around here, Sam's has been gouging for beef. If you go out into the sticks, you can find grocery stores and farms that sell cheaper. Especially if you're buying in bulk.