Grocery shopping in college is an art, and unfortunately, it too often takes all four years of one’s experience to master.
It brings to mind whizzing through aisles on Sunday afternoons with assignment deadlines buzzing in my head, opening the fridge to see four separate cartons of milk (one of each roommate) that will each inevitably go bad when they are still half full, too much time spent in the frozen meal aisle, and a receipt that consistently adds up to more than I budgeted. I clearly have yet to master the art.
While most are enthusiastic to no longer be on a meal plan, grocery shopping does come with its own set of challenges. For those hoping to beat the grocery shopping game before their fourth year comes and goes, taking advantage of Big Box grocery shopping will be your key.
Stores like Costco, Sam’s Club, and BJ’s all have student-centered membership deals, and if you and your roommates are game, they will help you save both time and money (and keep you well fed).
Here are the stores, membership deals, and tips for buying in bulk and splitting costs with an apartment-full of roommates.
Where should I get a membership?
Costco, Sam’s Club, and BJ’s all offer membership deals specific for students.
Costo offers savings for new student members through a verification site called UNiDAYS, which is a website that partners with brands to offer discounts to college students. Currently, two different levels of a Costco membership are available through this platform — a Gold Star membership and an Executive Membership.
The Gold Star membership, through UNiDAYS, is offered at the regular rate of $65 per year alongside a $20 Digital Costco Shop Card, making the rate effectively $45. The Executive membership is a little pricier at $130 per year, but it also comes with a $40 Digital Costco Shop Card, so the rate is effectively $90.
Here’s the key if you’re looking to share a membership with a roommate — with both the Executive membership and the Gold Star membership, you get an extra Household Card for free to share with a roommate and split the cost.
I would recommend the Gold Star membership. The Executive membership differs by its annual two-percent Reward on eligible Costco purchases, access to Executive membership-only discounts and exclusive store hours.
Some benefits of choosing to shop at Costco include large savings on Kirkland brand products, paying up to 10 percent less on average than you would at other retailers, getting low gas prices, and filling prescriptions at a substantial discount.
Sam’s Club, unlike Costco, offers a membership discount exclusively for students. College students can join Sam’s Club as a new member and receive a 60% discount on a Club membership or $50 off a Sam’s Club Plus membership. The plus membership differs from the regular membership with its offerings of free curbside pickup, free delivery on eligible orders over $50, and free shipping on orders over $50 at select locations.
After savings, students can become a member for $20 — the membership is usually $50 per year for a basic club membership, or $110 per year for the Plus membership. Like Costco, a Sam’s Club membership includes one complimentary card, perfect for sharing with a roommate and splitting costs.
It’s important to note that the Sam’s Club discount only applies for the first year of membership — after that, a student pays the full membership price of $50, or $110 for the Plus membership.
Lastly, BJ’s has an exclusive offer for a student membership. For college students, getting a membership at BJ’s costs $25 per year instead of the normal $60, and new student members also get a $10 reward. Like Sam’s Club, this offer only applies to the first year of membership, meaning students pay the full price for the subsequent years.
BJ’s also offers a Club+ program that students can join for is discounted $50 per year with a $20 reward, and this program comes with rewards, gas discounts, free curbside pickup among other benefits.
BJ’s claims to save shoppers up to 25% on grocery store prices and $0.20/gallon on average on gas. Additionally, its website says the membership comes with a money-back guarantee.
With a BJ’s membership comes a free second card for a household member — insert your roommate — and you can also add more supplemental members for a fee.
What should my apartment be buying in bulk?
Bulk shopping offers the opportunity to save, but it also risks uneaten food spoiling or going stale after months of going untouched.
My “buy in bulk list” includes the following: paper products and garbage bags, frozen fruit and vegetables, canned beans (and any other canned items you eat often), frozen chicken nuggets (or at least in my apartment), pantry carbs like pasta, rice and oats, condiments and seasonings, and instant noodles (living up to the college student stereotype). Additionally, in my all-girls apartment, I would tack on feminine products and baking ingredients.
Other groceries aren’t conducive to buying in bulk and/or splitting among roommates. To this list, I would include fresh produce, niche snacks (not everyone reaches for a giant container of cheese puffs), and freezer dinners, especially when freezer space is limited as it often is.
What are general tips for making this joint grocery shopping work?
And now, for the nitty gritty details of making it all work in a shared apartment.
First, convene with your roommates, and review the membership options. Some things to consider — which store is most convenient? Which stores are you all familiar with? For a group of roommates larger than two, it is also important to designate which roommate will take on the cost of the membership, and which roommates will be responsible for Venmoing and/or paying their share of the membership to the cardholder.
Next, compare schedules. When do you each have time to grocery shop, how often will shopping need to be done and by whom. For bulk shopping, you will likely only need one shopping venture per month.
After crafting a grocery list of bulk items you all agree on, I would recommend that roommates set guidelines around groceries to avoid future conflict. This could look like designating certain shelves for communal versus personal food or setting food, for example.
For the pricing, many big box stores allow shoppers to browse online, which is a good way to estimate expenses and makes it easy to build a card and divide it by four (or however many roommates you have). To split costs, there are many apps available to split bills (and for more than just groceries), or there is always the option for each person to Venmo the purchaser.