These Sam's Club items basically make a membership pay for itself. We did the math.

Diapers and baby wipes

A jumbo pack of Huggies diapers sells for $47 at Sam's Club, while the same quantity (148 diapers) would cost almost $64 elsewhere. At that rate, savings on diapers alone would offset the membership fee in less than three purchases.

Assuming 18 purchases a year, or about 1.5 boxes a month, yields a payback score of 599, meaning the savings would pay for the membership fee more than five times over for this item alone.

Pet food

A 38-pound bag of Blue Buffalo dog food sells for $65 at Sam's Club, while the equivalent weight at a typical retailer would cost $92. At that rate, the membership fee would be offset in about two purchases.

Assuming 10 purchases a year, this item yields a payback score of 544, meaning the savings would cover the membership fee four times over on this item alone.

Coffee beans

Sam's Club sells 2.5-pound bags of Starbucks Pike Place roast coffee beans for $10 per pound, while typical retailers sell the same beans for about $14.40 per pound.

At that rate, the savings would offset the membership fee with the fifth purchase. Assuming a household consumes one of these bags a month, the payback score is 264.

Baby formula

Costco sells large containers of Similac for $56, about $8.80 less than the same product would cost at a typical retailer.

That means a membership fee would be offset after six purchases. Assuming one purchase a month yields a payback score of 211.

The club also sells generic baby formula at roughly half the unit cost of Similac, and Sam's offering is produced by the same leading supplier, Perrigo, that other major retailers use for their store brands.

Contact lens solution

Opti-Free contact lens solution is about 30% less expensive by volume when purchased at Sam's Club than at a traditional retailer.

A household that uses one 16-ounce bottle a month would typically buy six of these packs in a year, for a payback score of 139.

Allergy medication

The pharmacy aisles have a lot of savings for warehouse club shoppers.

A bottle of 120 Zyrtec tablets costs $40 before discounts at Sam's Club, while the same quantity from other retailers can easily cost nearly $65.

Assuming two purchases a year results in a payback score of 99, effectively breaking even with the annual fee.

Bacon

Bacon is incredibly subjective. Still, the closest match to this $4 per pound Members Mark thick-cut bacon fromSam's Club costs $7.33 a pound at a Midwestern grocery chain.

At four pounds per package, that works out to a difference of $13, which would offset the membership fee after about four purchases.

Assuming a household consumes 12 pounds of bacon a year, that would account for three purchases, for a payback score of 80.

Greek yogurt

A 2.5-pound container of Chobani Greek Yogurt costs $6.24 at Sam's Club, while the same quantity from a conventional retailer would cost about $3 more.

Assuming a household consumes one club-sized container a month on average works out to a payback score of 71.

Vitamins

Vitafusion multivitamins cost $13.38 for a pack of 220 gummies, roughly $11 cheaper than buying from a conventional retailer. (Men's and women's versions cost the same.)

Taking one per day would require at least three purchases, which would result in a payback score of 67, or about two-thirds of the membership fee.

Dishwasher pods

Cascade dishwasher pods cost about $8 less at Sam's Club (before the discount shown on the yellow price tag) than an equivalent quantity bought at a typical retailer.

If a household runs the dishwasher once a day, it would need four club-sized packs of pods in a year, which works out to a payback score of 65.

Cheese

Sam's has 2-pound blocks of Members Mark colby jack cheese for sale at $2.68 per pound, which is about $1.30 less per pound than typical retailers.

Assuming a household uses about half a pound a week would amount to roughly 24 pounds a year, or 12 club-sized blocks, for a payback score of 64.

Pasta

At $1.42 per box, Sam's Club's six-pack of Barilla pasta costs about $3 less than the same amount bought elsewhere.

Assuming a weekly spaghetti night that uses one pound of pasta, this works out to nine purchases a year, resulting in a payback score of 50.

HVAC filters

We're back with the boring old HVAC filters.

Manufacturers recommend replacing them at least every three months for optimal performance, and that can add up quickly.

Sam's Club's four-pack of 3M Filtrete air filters costs $24 less than the same product elsewhere. Most households only need to buy one pack a year, though, so the payback score would be 48.

Paper goods

Warehouse chains are known for comically large packs of paper products, like these 32-packs of Charmin toilet paper.

Before discounts, the $30 pack works out to $0.94 a roll, which is 16 cents cheaper a roll than a similar pack bought elsewhere for $35.

Assuming a household uses 10 rolls of toilet paper a month would mean four purchases a year, resulting in a payback score of 41.

Laundry detergent

This Tide laundry detergent from Sam's Club costs $24.98, or about $0.15 an ounce, versus $0.17 an ounce for the same product at other retailers.

Assuming a household would go through two 170-ounce jugs in a year gives a payback score of 16.

Cooking oil

This Pompeian olive oil is about $0.11 an ounce cheaper than it costs from a traditional retailer.

Assuming a household uses one club-sized jug a year yields a payback score of 15.