Is it worth it? DH and I just recently moved and the cost of food here is quite a bit higher. We're finding ourselves buying more of certain things so we don't run out during the week. Some thing we always seem to need: Chobani yogurt, my breakfast bars (Lara bars), we eat a lot of chicken, frozen meals for lunch and produce which I would be willing to buy frozen.
Would membership help with our good costs? Do they do free trial memberships?
Post by imojoebunny on Oct 29, 2014 20:48:28 GMT -5
Good lord. I went there the other day with a friend and her kids and I could only find one thing I actually wanted to buy, the $4.50, 600 tab Benadryl.
If you use the pharmacy and the glasses/contacts, or have teenage boys, it seems to be worth it.
It was the same price for 5 pounds of clementines, as for 3 at the grocery, but we don't eat 3 pounds before they go bad, so not really helpful, unless I give them to someone. Squeeze apple sauce was 18 packets for $12, 2 more than a regular store, but the flavors were mixed, which my kids don't like.
Most of the frozen stuff was out because it takes up too much room in our counter depth freezer.
Post by Shreddingbetty on Oct 29, 2014 23:23:03 GMT -5
Basic membership is $55. If you go for the next one it is $110 but you get some percentage back on your purchase and if you get a lot of stuff there it could pay for your membership. We just joined this year but our nearest costco is an hour away. They talked me into the $110 membership and told me if I didn't get enough to pay for at least half of the membership they would refund it. I love Costco, I prefer it over SAMs be used they seem to have a little bit nicer stuff and better food. A lot of clothes for DD are also good deals (PJs, ski pants) Since SAMs is closer I get most of my stuff there. Mostly fruit, toilet paper cereal, bread (and throw it in the freezer), big bags of frozen check breasts etc. if Costco were close by I would totally get all that stuff there. If you can swing the $55 I would do it. They have pretty good deals on quite a bit of stuff although I don't know how much cheaper there food is or isn't. Do you know someone that is a member whom you could go with to check it out?,
The thing i buy most is the dry cat food. I feed a colony of ferals and their 25 lb bag of super premium dry food is only about $17. That's the best price i have found by far. I do also buy my eyeglasses through them and i have been pleased with their service and pricing.
I also buy my Halloween candy there--i get the big ass box of peppermint patties...and locally to me at least i cant find those in mass quantity on a good day. Recenly i bought a dyson heater. Worth the price of membership right there--saved at least $50 from the cheapest Prime price. Oh and right now GAS is an incredible savings for me. I paid 2.80 while most of the gas stations were still in the 90s. Not that thats a $50 savings up front, but its the kind of savings that made me say "i am glad i have a membership."
I agree with the pp that said their normal chicken breast prices arent a great deal unless your local grocers never put theirs on sale. We have a regular supermarket that regularly has boneless skinless, no limit on the quantity for $1.99. Costco on a good day couldnt touch that. I have thought about cancelling my membership but over the course of a year i do end up saving at least the annual fee and it does provide me with certain convenience items i cant find elsewhere.
I go back and forth over whether it's worth it all the time. They just changed brands of string cheese here and that was one of my staples. They've also stopped making the flavor of bagel I prefer. I get frustrated when they move things around all the time. I agree with PP- they'll have an item priced the same as the grocery store, but it'll have 12 more ounces or something like that. IMO, that's not worth it if we're not going to use it before it expires. They'll carry something we use, but not necessarily the flavor/variety DH prefers. I'll see things that I'd like to try, but not a 48 ct package.
I want to love Costco, but I always feel like I'm missing some "secret" when I'm there. It's weird. I feel like everyone else is in on something and I'm wandering aimlessly around looking for that thing I bought last time.
I want to love Costco, but I always feel like I'm missing some "secret" when I'm there. It's weird. I feel like everyone else is in on something and I'm wandering aimlessly around looking for that thing I bought last time.
Try buying a hot dog first. It helps.
The snack bar is one major reason to keep our membership! Pizza & gelato for dinner!
If you eat a lot of chicken, we like their individually wrapped and frozen chicken breasts. I can't recall if it's Perdue or Kirkland brand. They are easy to defrost in some warm water, so they can be used in a pinch for dinner.
For us, it's about convenience on top of prices. So it's nice to buy the big packs of stuff and know it will last us a month at least before needing to re-buy.
Chicken isn't usually cheaper, but ground beef usually is. I like the 2 packs of pork tenderloins, great for crock pot meals.
There are a million posts about what to buy at Costco, but yes, we found it worthwhile even with 2 people. Gas is usually 0.10 - 0.20 cheaper, and toilet paper, laundry detergent, cheese, olive oil, etc are things that don't spoil quickly but are way cheaper. When we had a dog, their food was a huge savings. Do you drink? They have a huge alcohol section and it is at least $2-$3 a bottle cheaper for every day wine than the grocery, plus hard liquor is much less expensive. Same for beer.
If your area has good sales + coupons and you like to do that, household stuff is probably not that cheap. However, we never get coupons, and I like to just know that we have TP when we need it, and not have to go to 3 Walgreens to buy several 4-packs. Same for laundry detergent and dishwasher soap. I like to buy it and not have to think about it for several months. (Costco sends out a coupon book, too, for $2-$3 off those items. That's usually when I pick it up.)
I was able to get gas at Costco before I got my membership. Is that not the case everywhere?
I think NJ is one of the only states that does not require a membership - so you can go to Sam's, Costco, etc. without one. There is a law about it that I can't really remember right now.
Costco makes more sense if you have a kid (or kids) and/or pets. We save more than $55 a year on dog food alone. But I also love it there, so I go just to be in my happy place haha.
Post by crashgizmo on Oct 30, 2014 10:01:05 GMT -5
My membership pays for itself in 3 months with dog food alone. 65 pound Crash eats the Kirkland grain free brand (allergies) at $35/bag, which is basically half the price anywhere else. Add to that paper products (for the price and the convenience factor of not having to buy more than 2x/year) and the rest of the random stuff I come home with is just gravy.
I love love love Costco, and keep finding new things to buy. When I was pregnant and had to eat a ton of protein in the morning to not puke, I lived on the giant containers of plain Fage, which are much cheaper than any grocery store. Mine just started carrying 3-packs of the almond milk I like for about $1/half gallon less than Target or the grocery store. We get most of DS's school snacks there at a large discount. Some things, I'm not sure if it's that it's so much cheaper, but it's just much more convenient for me to get it all in one place, like the giant bags of thin-sliced frozen chicken, individually wrapped Mahi Mahi, etc.
Love of my life baby boy born 11/11. One and done not by choice; 3 years of TTC yielded 4 MMC and 2 CPs, through 4 IUIs and 2 IVFs. Focusing on making the world a better place instead...and running.
Also, we keep going back and forth on the upgraded (Executive) membership, but I am now sold on it. The Honda dealership that we go to is part of their car dealer network. I negotiated a better deal on buying the car on my own, but Exec gets an automatic 15% off all service, which is better than I get with their monthly "service deal" emails. Last weekend alone, I got $30 off my regular service.
Love of my life baby boy born 11/11. One and done not by choice; 3 years of TTC yielded 4 MMC and 2 CPs, through 4 IUIs and 2 IVFs. Focusing on making the world a better place instead...and running.
There is a 0.40 price discrepancy between the gas at Costco nd the local stations, which is higher than I have seen anywhere else in the US that I have been. So filling up 3 cars/week, that alone is a $12 savings for us and is worth the executive membership.
Groceries and the rest may or may not be a deal, some are and some are not.
I think it's worth it, though I have never really priced out what I save vs. the $55 membership fee. Since it's just me and my BF, I'm going to guess we about break even, but I like shopping there and the products are good, so that makes it worth it to me even if we just break even. I also really like that I can stock up on certain things and don't have to remember to buy them on a weekly basis. It's nice just pulling a chicken breast out of the freezer or grabbing a garbage bag out of the box instead of putting them on a list to buy. I'm lazy, lol.
I do think meat is cheaper. I buy chicken breasts (the frozen, non organic kind) and the hamburger meat that comes in 1/2 lb patties, and I definitely think it's cheaper. Plus the chicken usually is good quality so there is very little waste (I used to buy chicken breast for about $3/lb at the local store, but I'd have to throw out chunks of fat and gristle).
Post by Shreddingbetty on Oct 31, 2014 0:15:06 GMT -5
I just thought of another thing.....if you travel and rent cars a lot you can save a bunch by renting a car through the Costco travel website. I just rented a car in Hawaii for a week and save $100 dollars vs doing it on orbitz (same rental company) PLUS you get the additional driver for free (normally $25 a day so we never do that usually).
Costco is a little too far away from my home to make it worth it for me
But my hero Mr Money Mustache finds his membership is a great value, and tons of Mustachians use memberships, too. That is a good indicator that it can save money...mustachians can be pretty crazy frugal
We found the membership useful for the two of us, when we lived quite close to a Costco, at our last house. Sadly, here in Korea, they don't offer much savings beyond what we can get at the base commissary (although they do have a much better cheese selection).
Our next move takes us to a town quite some distance from the nearest Costco, so we won't use the membership much while there, either.
My company provides DH and I memberships as a benefit, so our membership is free...
There are only two of us, so we did have to be careful about some of the large quantity items, but I've never found it hard to go thru the large quantities of many items. And the gas savings was great, too.
Post by sunshine608 on Oct 31, 2014 7:22:47 GMT -5
Our Costco recently turned into a business one so I'm an no Costcoless.
I did find it worth for $55 but not for staples. Gas alone was worth it but there several other deal on things we bought there ( Ray-Bans,coats, dog food, clothing) that made it worth it. The meat prices were great, but its hard for things like fruit for us.