My trips to Costco cause me great anxiety.
Not for the reasons you may think. I can usually get in and out of Costco in less than 30 minutes. I know exactly what I am going to buy. And I can take all three kids without a problem, because it is generally the only store they will behave in. Plus they usually get to taste all kinds of free samples.
Costco causes me anxiety because I almost always leave with only 10 or 12 items, but end up spending close to $200 that I don't have.
I like the idea of Costco and I like everything at Costco, but I don't know if I can justify it. I just want to know which things really are worth buying there, or if I should just not bother renewing my membership in January.
I started looking online to see if anyone had some answers. This lady had some very specific ideas, but I don't buy any of that stuff anyway.
Do any of you have advice for me?
7 comments:
Fruit is a great deal there. Often milk, butter, cheese are all great money savers. The diapers there used to be a great deal too. We like to stock up on frozen strawberries and bunches of bananas for smoothies from the warehouse store. Our Costco membership is paid for by Michael's work, but we pay for a Sam's Club membership (since Costco is much further away from us) we figured out how much we were saving and determined it was worth it after all. And I love "Costco Lunch" (meaning samples :P)
Things I buy at Costco that I can't find anywhere else:
25 pound bags of Lehi Roller Mills flour for just over $5. One time they ran out and I panicked because I didn't know where else to buy such good quality flour for such a great price.
Big bags of quality pecans and almonds.
All my baking supplies: real vanilla, cinnamon, yeast, brown sugar... that giant container of cinnamon is only $2.50. All of their spices are amazingly priced. I bake a lot so these things are all very important to me.
Their 25 pound bags of white rice and white sugar go back and forth, sometimes the cannery is cheaper and sometimes Costco. But Costco is a lot more convenient than the cannery.
This year I saw a game I really wanted for Nick at Walmart for $25. It seemed like a lot to pay so I didn't buy it right then. Later I found it at Costco for $9.45.
Giant tub of organic spinach for $3. Bags of Satsumi oranges have been really good this year, better than cuties, and I haven't seen them anywhere else.
I guess I am not a good judge because I have grown so attached to the things I always buy there. High fiber bread for $1.89, 2 gallons of milk for $3.50, 2 dozen eggs for as low as $1.50. I don't have to watch ads to get the best price on things I buy all the time when I shop at Costco. I am always pretty close to the sale prices at regular stores.
I hope that helps! Good luck with your decision. If you decide not to renew, just buy yourself a gift card at the end of this year. You can use a gift card even if you are not a member. Then you will have a few more trips to decide.
We don't have a membership for that very reason. I think once we have teenagers than it might be justifiable, but I hate that it is IMPOSSIBLE to spend less than $100 there. But I do miss their potstickers and ravioli (sigh).
Tara, I think I must have typed this somewhere else, but I also had the thought that you could try an executive membership. We come really close to making up our membership cost with a rebate check at the end of each year, and we just put the check towards our new membership.
I think the best way to save money at Costco is to buy raw ingredients there rather than prepackaged convenience foods, even though theirs are so tempting. I have to limit our family to one of those a month, and I try to pick one that has a coupon. Last month I had a coupon for their frozen orange chicken, and it was enough to feed our family twice. Other than that, I have to cook from scratch to make our grocery budget stretch further.
I am an avid couponer (I spend under $200/ month for everything for a family of 5... diapers, toiletries, cleaning supplies, food, etc.). Most couponers will say skip the Costco membership, BUT I've found a way around that... We have an executive membership (wouldn't be worth it on it's own), and we have our homeowner's and car insurance through Costco. We also have their American Express card which we use only for gas and pay off every month. It pays 3% cash back for gas. Our rebate for this year is already about $100, which completely pays for our membership. Things I buy at Costco are: bananas, frozen chicken breasts (you can find it cheaper, but Costco's chickens aren't given any hormones), some clothes, spinach, romaine lettuce, organic carrots and big-ticket items because of their quality products and great return policy. I ALWAYS skip the meat department (crazy expensive!!!), cereal, milk (because I prefer the Creamery milk at 3/$5), convenience foods, snacks, cleaning supplies and toiletries. If you want any more info, message me. :-)
tar..i actually have a couple things to say on this (very surprising for me). I have a membership ($5 a month ) with dealstomeals.com. they compare all local grocery store prices and tell you whether or not the grocery store sales are cheaper than wal mart and costco. ALSO, I record prices per lb for common items and only buy what is really cheapest at costco or that I really love. I buy their chicken (cuz it's more moist than anyone elses), cheese, milk, bananas, nuts, cott chz, spinach, and romaine lettuce. Oh and I have the executive membership which is totally the only way to go because it ensures even if you don't shop there a lot, you will always get back what you spent on the membership in rebates. good luck!
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