Despite the membership fee, Sam's Club can be a net positive for your budget thanks to the savings over supermarkets and big box stores.

Most of what we buy at Sam's Club ends up being cheaper for us than other stores, but there are some items that seem to be almost guaranteed to cost less. Here are a few of my favorites.

1. Member's Mark nuts

Nuts make an excellent snack, but they're not exactly inexpensive. Sam's Club's Member's Mark brand has all the popular types of nuts, including almonds, cashews, and pistachios, as well as a few varieties of mixed nuts, all at great prices.

For example, a jar of deluxe mixed nuts runs about $0.35 per ounce ($5.64/lb) from Member's Mark, and $0.47 per ounce ($7.49/lb) from my local grocery store brand.

2. Kerrygold Irish butter

So this one immediately comes to mind because we are butter snobs in this house, so we almost exclusively buy Kerrygold. The unsalted butter I buy for cooking is $0.45 an ounce ($7.20/lb) at my local Sam's Club, while my local grocer charges $0.59 per ounce ($9.38/lb).

3. Member's Mark maple syrup

Another thing we're a bit snobbish about is our syrup -- none of that imitation stuff around here. The Member's Mark 100% real maple syrup is tasty (and organic), and it is about $3.50 cheaper per bottle than the grocery store brand from down the street.

4. Most paper goods

Whether we're talking about paper towels, toilet paper, or even paper plates, you're rarely going to get them cheaper at the grocery store than Sam's Club. Member's Mark products, in particular, can be less expensive per-unit than even the grocery store brands.

But you can also get some hot deals on name-brand paper goods. For instance, buying Charmin toilet paper at Sam's Club will cost you about $0.04 per square foot. The best deal at my local supermarket for Charmin is $0.06 per square foot.

Toilet paper roll sizes aren't standardized, so putting both packages in terms of the "extra mega" roll offered by Sam's Club, this works out to roughly $1 a roll at Sam's Club vs. $1.50 a roll at the supermarket.

5. Snack-sized multipacks

Whether you like the convenience or want a portioned snack that won't go stale as fast, multi-pack snacks are handy to have around. They can get darned pricey, though, especially at the supermarket.

For example, Sam's Club will sell you snack-sized packs of Goldfish crackers for just $0.29 per ounce. My local grocer charges a whopping $0.78 per ounce, nearly three times as much.

When does the supermarket win?

Sam's Club wins on prices for lots of things, but the supermarket has some tricks up its sleeves. Here are a few cases where the supermarket gets the upper hand.

1. Fresh produce

You may not necessarily pay less for your fresh produce at the grocery store (though seasonal sales can make for great prices). However, you may save quite a bit of money by not having to throw out spoiled food.

As with most things at Sam's Club, the produce tends to come in larger sizes and quantities. If your household doesn't consume produce like a bear preparing for hibernation, then chances are good it's going to go bad before it gets finished. (Anecdotally, even the produce in more reasonable quantities seems to go bad more quickly than produce from the supermarket.)

2. Credit card rewards

It's a lot harder to maximize your credit card rewards at Sam's Club than it is at the grocery store. You can find competitive rewards cards earning up to 6% back on groceries.

Unfortunately, Sam's Club codes as a wholesale club, not as a supermarket or grocery store. There aren't a lot of cards with bonus rewards for wholesale clubs, so many folks use a flat-rate rewards card like the Wells Fargo Active Cash that earns unlimited 2% cash rewards (see rates and fees).

3. Manufacturer's coupons

Sam's Club doesn't accept any manufacturer's coupons other than the ones it applies itself via the Instant Savings and other deals. Even if it did, however, those coupons nearly always specify a product size or amount that is likely much smaller than what Sam's Club sells.

You don't need to be an extreme couponer to find some excellent deals in the Sunday paper (or your supermarket's mobile app). Depending on the deal, it could be well worth a supermarket stop.

The happy medium

A smart Sam's Club shopping strategy isn't about one-stop shopping. It's about getting good prices on the items you can use -- and going elsewhere for the stuff you won't use fast enough.

Sam's Club has a lot of great deals, but it's never the best place to buy everything. Take some time every now and then to make sure your current shopping strategy makes sense.