Sam’s Club makes it pretty easy to cancel your membership if you find shopping at the warehouse club isn’t working out for you. You can visit the member service desk at any club if you want to cancel and get a refund right away. You also have the option to cancel via phone at 888-746-7726.
You may want to take advantage of one of those options this October to free up money in your budget. Here are three potential reasons you might want to say goodbye to Sam’s Club this month. Do any of them apply to you?
1. You want to join Costco instead
Being a member of both Sam’s Club and Costco doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. You’d have two membership fees to pay, and there’s a lot of overlap in what the two stores offer. You should pick one or the other. If you’re currently a Sam’s Club member, there are plenty of good reasons to consider a switch to Costco this October instead of sticking with the status quo.
It could make sense to switch if you live in a location where new Costco stores are opening. There are two new Costcos that will open their doors in Oregon and California during the month of October, and there are an additional five coming in November. If one of these new stores is closer to you than your local Sam’s, switching which warehouse club you’re a member of could make your life more convenient.
Even if you aren’t getting access to a new store, a switch could be worthwhile to take advantage of some special holiday items that are Costco exclusives. For instance, Costco offers tons of amazing frozen appetizers with devoted followers that are perfect for the upcoming entertaining season, and it also has many beloved seasonal offerings, like cranberry walnut bread and giant pumpkin pies.
Canceling your Sam’s Club membership now and changing your warehouse club alliance will give you the chance to take advantage of all these special delights available this time of year.
2. You tend to overspend around the holidays
Overspending starts to become a really common issue during the holiday months. In fact, a shocking 86% of millennials overspent on holiday gifts last year, according to an American Express survey.
If you have a hard time keeping your spending under control, remaining a member of a huge warehouse club chock full of deals — and designed to get you to open your wallet — may not be a good idea. That’s especially true as we head into fall because Sam’s Club heavily promotes Black Friday deals. These can cause you to give into your fear of missing out, even if you don’t actually need the items on offer.
If you give up your membership, you won’t feel as if you’re “wasting” the chance to score those Sam’s Club “bargains.” You can focus instead of minimizing your trips to the store and sticking to shopping from your holiday list so you can get only the items you need and won’t be tempted by all the stuff you see walking down Sam’s giant aisles.
3. You want to start shopping with coupons
Finally, if you’re hoping to start saving some extra money for the holidays, you may be able to do it by clipping coupons — but not if you are a Sam’s Club member. Sam’s doesn’t accept manufacturer coupons.
If you want to take advantage of the chance to reduce the cost of essentials, cancel your Sam’s Club membership this October and start shopping at your local grocery and drug stores instead. You can put the money those coupons are saving you in a special savings account to cover your holiday costs — you can add the funds you’ll save by not renewing your Sam’s Club membership, too.
For all of these reasons, October may be the ideal time to say goodbye to Sam’s. Just call its customer service number or stop by the warehouse club to cancel your membership if the time is right.
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The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.American Express is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Christy Bieber has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Costco Wholesale. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.