Getting My Son's Birthday Cake at Sam's Saved Me a Fortune. Here's Why

When my son turned 3 years old, he really wanted a dinosaur cake to celebrate. I wanted to comply and make his dream for this big event come true, but when I reached out to my local bakery about making a custom dinosaur cake, the prices were absolutely outrageous. 

The bakery wanted over $250 for a cake, which seemed absolutely absurd for a child's birthday treat that would be devoured in moments.

I was definitely not going to pull so much money out of my checking account for a cake, but I didn't want to disappoint my son. Fortunately, Sam's Club came to the rescue. 

Here's why I opted for a Sam's Club cake

Sam's Club offered me a much more affordable option. I was able to get a 1/4 sheet cake that serves 24 people for the bargain price of just $19.89 -- a fraction of what the bakery wanted to charge me. 

Sam's Club had a Jurassic World cake that wasn't exactly what I was looking for, but it had some detailing that I knew could make work to serve as the base of my son's dream cake. I was able to get the Sam's Club cake and then purchase some dinosaur figurines from Dollar Tree as well as some fondant toppers from Etsy. 

With the Sam's Club cake as the jumping-off point, I added my own detailing and dinosaurs to make a truly amazing masterpiece cake that I knew would exceed my son's expectations. And I was right -- my cake ended up looking as good or better than what the bakery would have provided. And since I used real dino figures on the top to set the scene, my son has some toys that he got to keep and still plays with (once we had wiped the icing off). 

The Sam's Club cake was also moist and delicious, so it was a big hit with the party guests. And, I was able to pick it up that morning since Sam's Club was open early in the morning on a weekend, while the expensive local bakery would have required me to pick it up the night before. 

Big-box stores provide a great opportunity to save on more items than you'd think

After adding my toppers and paying Sam's Club for the sheet cake, I ended up spending less than $30 on a cake that was a huge hit -- and I had charged about $220 less on my credit card than I otherwise would have.

This is just one of many examples of how warehouse clubs can provide savings to members on things you might not expect. While it may require a little more creativity to make it work, if you're throwing a big party -- or even a wedding -- why not consider whether a Sam's Club cake could work for you, instead of a much costlier custom-made pastry from a bakery that charges a big premium?