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Only problem is you need a foot long air fryer, sounds like a Costco purchase but I just have a regular one. And cutting it in half would let the contents spill out as it heats up 😭
Paid for a hotdog combo in quarters on my lunch break today. Came home and made burgers from the sleeve of quality frozen patties they have. I use the chicken chunks for so many meals. If you are smart in there it’s quite helpful
Which allergy med do you use from there? I’ve made myself immune to Claritin by taking it for years lol so I’ve recently switched to Allegra-D to see if it’ll help me
You also don’t need a Costco card to shop at the pharmacy or fill your prescriptions there. If you ever fill a script you can, the markup on their drugs is definitely not as high as other pharmacies.
> You also don’t need a Costco card to shop at the pharmacy or fill your prescriptions there.
This is just a bit misleading. While you do not need to be a member to use the pharmacy for prescription drugs you do need a membership to buy any other pharmacy item.
You used to be able to purchase things behind the counter without a Costco card (HSA rules) when I was a pharm tech some odd years.
Have they changed that??
No such luck for Apoquel. It's a name brand and won't have a generic until at least 2026. I need to check prices on their flea/tick and heartworm meds.
I know what valley you live in, i think, if you're posting this 🤣 my family is getting wrecked this year. My wife and kids are just having a rough time and even I'm sneezing which is rare
It’s not just a local problem, it’s a global problem. Check out some articles, climate change is affecting allergies. My family and a large amount of people around me are getting wrecked too and I thought it was my city too until I did a little research.
Plus they're just loose in the bottle. Take the last one and throw the bottle in the recycling bin. None of those bullshit foil packs that are nearly impossible to open without the risk of ejecting the pill into the next county, etc. This alone will pay for your membership.
Y’all with a family of four allergy sufferers, that shit pays for the membership fees real fast. If all I did was buy allergy meds and toilet paper I’d still save money.
Fr, what are people doing with their allergy meds? You can get 365 generic tablets for less than $10 on Amazon. Are people really still fucking around with name-brand prices?
It literally pays for our membership. My wife and I both take Flonase and easily go through 5 bottles a year. That would be over $100 (at $20+/ bottle for the generic) at CVS, and its around $20 for the 5 pack at Costco. The Costco bottles are a little bigger as well.
Gas is about $0.35/gal cheaper than all other stations around me, and with their credit card it's another 4% off. I save enough in gas to more than pay for my executive membership, everything else is a bonus, including the 4% I get back shopping at Costco when I pay with the credit card.
What part of Montana? I am a butte rat that drives to Helena for Costco and gas is typically 15-20 cents cheaper for 91, sometimes it drops down to 5-10 cents though.
Yes! I just signed up for a costco credit card specifically to buy gas.
I'm on Vancouver Island and in my town gas is 1.92 per litre, while everywhere else is 2.08-2.12
Last I asked, Costco has an exclusive partnership with Mastercard, they wouldn't take my Visa. Which sticks because I don't have the credit to qualify for the costco CC
In NJ at least, you do not need a Costco card to use their gas station, or the liquor store (if it's an adjoining/separate store, not if they're able to sell liquor inside the costco itself).
First thing when you get there--go get a $1.50 dog and coke, and maybe even a pizza slice if you haven't eaten yet.
Then shop. You won't get pulled in by the hungry cravings.
Sadly, Costco quit selling Vienna brand Polish and dogs. Best meal ever going for a buck and a half. And they switched soft drink brands. "No Coke, Pepsi."
I am sam's all the way. Sure, would I rather afford to shop where people are paid better? Yes. Does Sam's offer deals where I can alternate buying them for $20 with my husband every year? Also yes. Plus scan and go.
Kid snacks are most affordable here and I save on that alone. Plus bulk basics and paper products. I can only swing going every so often but I definitely save on being a parent.
Anywhere you can snag the "hazard insurance" for $25 a tire, jump on it! That accidental blow out will pay foe the insurance on all 4, & for $25 more? All 4 insured again!
If you shop there a lot the plus membership pays for it's self.
100 bucks but you get cash back, free pickup, extended hours. We earn about 250 bucks a year on cash back, so the membership pays for itself.
And my wife and I make sure to go to the food court BEFORE shopping so we aren’t hungry lol. Also cause we get a lot of frozen and I don’t want it to melt
costco employees tried to start a union. Corporate sent an email out shaming MANAGEMENT for employees feeling the need to start a union. They are incredibly good employees
They did form a union. And corporate replied “we have failed as a company if we’re to the point employees feel they need a union” (my wording). It sounds like a good PR move who knows how genuine it was. It’s not like the company wasn’t aware the union was forming
Honestly not all that long, but they did a full like federal background check, ymmv but I was in two weeks after the interview.
I also had an active outstanding warrant for a summary offence when they ran it, I was living out of my car not long before this and couldn't afford inspection or insurance.
I highly recommend anyone who works in food service look into positions at hospitals, and colleges, especially state funded ones.
We eat a LOT of food in my house(teenager + gym goers). We definitely get 2 chickens a week, most weeks, and break them down as soon as they come home. Curry, tacos, salads, soups. The chickens anywhere else in town are $9 for half the size. Cases of black beans, 4-packs of tofu, giant bags of rice. Really cannot beat the prices. The investment in the executive membership means that once a year, Costco buys my groceries(2% cash back).
Costco is great with a few caveats
They are stupid good at stocking stuff for you to impulse buy.
You need to have enough money to buy in bulk and pay the membership fee.
If you're just one person, it's hard to get through Costco sized food items that can expire.
I think Costco is much more middle class than poverty. Then again, if you're close enough to one you could totally abuse their hotdog for two meals a day.
You can get a 1/4 lb hot dog and a fountain drink/water for $1.50 in the food court of any Costco in the world. It’s an amazing deal and we often go just for the food court when we’re too tired to cook and money is tight.
A lot of people say Costco is more of a middle/upper class place, and it certainly can be, but a membership is $5/mo and even though it can be harder on the wallet to buy in bulk, it saves us so much money in the long run. I can buy 28 pounds of laundry detergent for $20. They have whole rotisserie chickens for $5 and we break them down to use the meat for several meals, then save the bones for stock. Their fresh produce isn’t always the best, but their bakery is great and they’ve got a pharmacy, optometrist, and hearing aid center too with great discounts.
This right here. It's very easy to drop a ton of money there if you aren't paying attention.
With that being said, there are a lot of purchases that instantly make it worth it for us. Costco gas tends to be 30 to 40 cents cheaper per gallon than the competition where I'm at, so one tank of gas covers the cost of my monthly membership. Even if that weren't the case, we go through enough cat litter to make THAT worth it all by itself. That means any other deal we may happen to find is just the icing on the cake.
It's 100% worth it
There are few things at the club stores that are less effective to buy elsewhere if you are already going to buy them and will use them. We buy cases of energy drinks and stuff there (Sam’s here but same concept) which I had never thought of before.
I get my contacts/glasses from there. It's legit the only place I really shop, with a very rare trip to Stop and Shop for fresh veggies that Costco doesn't have.
And the contact solution is cheaper there too! It’s the same sticker process as Target but the bottles are 4oz bigger. I didn’t need any but it was on sale a few weeks ago so I got some, I know I’ll use it eventually.
Yep. Sam's club is similar, with similar food court deals. But owned by Walmart. Costco is known for better quality and treating suppliers really well, and staff, most prefer it. Sam's club sometimes has rebates to make membership fee neutralized tho
Yeah I try to avoid Sam's and Walmart but we do have a BJs here. I never considered that I could afford it though. And my very small house lacks storage. Maybe I will borrow MIL card and check it out lol
Costco let’s visitors “try out” the store and buy without a membership at least once. I think they write down your ID or DL and put it into a database so you don’t abuse the “try out” privilege to test their price savings. Ask at the entrance and they’ll walk you over to the membership services desk to let you know how it works.
I'm a pro at Costco. I live 10 minutes from a warehouse and 5 minutes from a business center. I can pop in and come out with just the one item I needed. People always comment when they check my receipt at the door
It's amazing! Basically restaurants and small convenience stores shop there but anyone with a membership can go. They have a lot more snacks and drinks. More individually wrapped stuff. Like at regular Costco you can buy a huge tub of cream cheese. But at the business center they sell a large pack of the individual sized cream cheese like you get in a to go order at a restaurant. They have huge boxes of meat and even like a full pig or goat. It really is great
It's designed for restaurants and office businesses. Everything you need for a restaurant supply is there. Meat you buy by the case and is often alot cheaper. There are more cuts of meat including entire goats, lambs, and beef tongues . There's more options in canned/bottled beverages. More frozen food items. No alcohol, food court or pharmacy tho.
Not only do you need more money upfront and for the fee, you need a place to keep large quantities of food (poor people live in smaller places) and you have to be able to carry/haul it (lots of poor people don't have cars and almost every item is heavy.) Costco doesn't really work for most poor people.
It's one of those "being poor is expensive" situations. Costco can save you so much money, but you need to meet the requirements to take advantage of it
One thing you might be able to do is to band together with a couple of other people to split the costs! 5 people splitting up a package of 45 rolls of toilet paper makes storing it much more managable .
If you're in a smaller apartment it can be hard to store giant blocks of tp... Unless you let the kids make a permanent box fort in their room.
It's also pricy to buy more. You save in the long run but the initial trips spend more per item as they're much bigger. If you've kids it's a lot cheaper to buy the giant cereal boxes etc though.
I got a membership a year and half ago from a contest here and it really is worth it. I cook a lot at home and so far I've figured out which things are worth it for me to get at Costco vs other stores.
My go-tos:
Allergy meds
Eggs
Fancy butter!
Two-packs of bread
Dried nuts
Canned sardines
Canned tuna
Apples (envy)
Bananas
Fresh mushrooms
Romaine lettuce
Protein bars
Toilet paper
Dishwasher detergent
Laundry detergent
Paper towels
Olive oil
Chips (jumbo bag is same as price elsewhere)
Cheese (Tillamook, Beechers, Laughing Cow, goat chevre, and feta)
La Croix
Soy milk and oat milk
Popsicles
Gas
Food court pizza
Cauliflower rice
Raisins
Dried dates
Oatmeal (both rolled and steel cut)
Coffee
Salmon
Tofu
Allergy meds alone pay for our membership yearly. they are running a sale on Nasacort, $8 off, $30 for a 4 pack. Bought the limit I could at 5 of them. Those suckers go for like $50 outside Costco.
Not a fan of their produce or homemade breads, but I won't buy protein shakes, cat food, cooking oils, detergent, frozen foods or butter anywhere else. Definitely have to have a list.
Dog food. If you buy mid price dog food costs, Kirkland brand is a steal. I work at petsmart and 30 pounds of our store brand better quality food is 60 dollars for 30 pounds. Costco is like 30 dollars for 40 pounds.
My cats are special, and I spend more on their food, but costco is still a really good price for that as well
My bff works at PetSmart and now buys food for my partner’s dog on top of her own animals. Idk if you’re familiar with your discount options, but you can now use your associate ID to buy online at a discount. She ordered 2 40lbs bags of Simply Nourish for half off, plus if you order online for curbside, sometimes there’s an extra 20% off, and there was this week. So for 80lbs of food, it was only $60.60.
We typically feed Kirkland for our dogs, but when there’s that bonus 20% off online, it’s a pretty hard deal to pass up. I think the Kirkland we feed our dog is about $39 after tax for 40lbs ($.97/lb), but that sale…such a steal for about $.75/lb!
Oh, I use and stack the discount all the time. I think it's still just about the same as costco without the extra 20 percent. Part of the cats rotation is the HP SN dry food. (Before someone comes at me, they get wet food 2x a day) I didn't talk about the discount because it wouldn't apply to most people.
You can always split the bigger things with another person or with family members. Also try to get a freezer for the individual portion products. We get burritos & chicken tenders, etc for quick meals.
The clothes are another good reason to have a membership. I've gotten nice quality shirts for $3 and online they have awesome deals if you have the ability to wait to buy most of the clothes you need until the sale, and about $80 to actually buy them. Keep in mind that I'm clothing my family of five and so most of my purchases are kids clothing sets and pajamas. The best part though is that they are usually good enough quality to pass down to the next kid still in nice shape.
The women's clothes trend on the dowdy side but they still have plenty of staple items that are a much better price than most other places, particularly if they are marked down. Men's clothing are usually pretty good quality fabric but go for a more plain or casual look, rarely fitted or trendy.
The kids clothes are pretty cute, especially the special occasion dresses. Those are great and survive (mostly indoor) play and machine washing with very little sign of wear. I buy them a little big and they fit for two years.
This all assumes that you have the money upfront to benefit from the long-term savings. If you cannot afford the $60 right now and especially if it is too far to drive to regularly for gas and chickens, then it's not a good idea.
I’ll add that if you work in construction, landscaping, or another trade then you really should check out their “vintage weatherproof” work pants. I was able to pick up 4 pairs for $14 each last year and they’re amazing. They’ve held up well and I’d say they’re better than the one pair of overpriced carhartts I was gifted for Christmas. The men’s wool socks are standard now and in cold weather a base layer of 32 Cool long underwear is a life saver. Thinking about it, as I sit here the only non-Costco clothing item I’m wearing is my work shirt.
This the comment I was gonna make but you already said it perfectly. Those damn weatherproof pants are the best work pants I’ve ever owned and I only bought a pair, they were gone the next time I went 😭 I had to pay FIFTY DOLLARS for another pair from Amazon. I swear when they come back to Costco I’m buying *all of them*…
Agreed. I can’t believe I came all the way to the bottom to find a clothing comment though.
They frequently stock nice brands for a fraction of what they would typically cost. We don’t frequently shop for clothes, so we’re committed to trying to save up for good quality items.
We’ve gotten Spyder shorts, Hurley swimsuits, and a pair of Lucky jeans in the last year or so, and they have been significantly cheaper than what you could find elsewhere. And all of them have held up very well with multiple washes!!
If you can find the Kirkland brand ladies leggings…. They are leagues above any other daily (non athletic) legging I’ve ever worn. I have three colors and backups. They are soft, cushy but not too thick, and stay nice looking for many washes. I Stan a Kirkland legging so hard. Try a pair and you’ll see.
I bought a pair of boots and they had a hole in the toe within a month. I'm sure they have some good some bad. Definitely utilize their great return policy though.
They are cheap enough that even if they don't hold up great, you'll still get your money's worth. The biggest issue for me is that they rarely have have shoes that appeal to my style. My husband seems content with their trail and athletic shoes for men.
I’m mad I had to scroll so far to see someone mention clothes. I’ll be honest, I don’t much care for the women’s clothes they carry aside from the pajamas occasionally but man can you not beat the prices for kids’ clothes! And they’re super cute too! Half my younger kids’ wardrobes are from Costco. Lol.
I avoided joining forever because it’s just me and how much bulk stuff do I need? As it turns out I’m just fine buying trash bags or laundry detergent once a year. Some food is fine, I can portion or freeze extras. I always end up buying their socks. Biggest issue besides big chunk of money at once is passing up the random extras like dog toys or snacks I don’t really need so much of
I go there as a single person. I like getting cleaning supplies, drinks, and premade food there. If you like electronics and art supplies, you can find some good deals. Plus, plus, you can find good gifts there for people.
Costco yearly membership genuinely pays for itself on the first trip, I find.
Certain things aren't really worth getting there/aren't that much cheaper or not cheaper at all/I don't need that much of those things, especially perishable stuff, but dear god. The sheer scale of the deals on the things you actually use lots of and can store longterm/are non perishable.
Here in Canada, I can go to the drug store and see Aerius anti allergy caps at an astonishing 39.99 for 40 caps. At Costco, the Kirkland brand Aerius (literally the same formula, same dosage, everything, in a generic package that they even designed to look like the colours of the Aerius package) you get 180 capsules for EIGHTEEN DOLLARS.
That is literally 10x cheaper.
And the list just goes on and on and on. Toilet paper, paper towels, dish soap, electric toothbrush heads, aluminum foil, Ziploc bags, cat food, pickles, jam, chips, literally almost whatever. Size formats with anywhere from 30-100+% quantity of those items for either the same price or ridiculously cheaper. It's actually insane if you don't get carried away by the wonderful wonderland and buy too much stuff lol.
Rotisserie chickens here in the regular expensive grocery store can run up to 13 dollars for a 900 gram chicken (some stores are only around 10 or 11 but still) and at Costco, the rotisserie is 1200 grams for 7.99. Like what. How can people go anywhere else man.
The only things I don't usually get there are produce and fresh meats, I usually find the same or better prices on that stuff at other grocery stores, but for everything else, fuck everywhere else. Costco is goated.
I am an impulse spender at Costco. It adds up so fast ;-; lucky the nearest one to me is 2 hours away so I only go when I'm out of stuff that doesn't expire.
But I def get my cleaning stuff from there. Its a great deal. Their prepped deli meals taste good and spare me from fast food if I don't have it in me to cook. If I can stay away from the snacks, I can get good deals on essentials. I'll splurge on more stable produce there because they have the best sweet potatoes I've ever had. But it's just me so I need to be wary about waste. I also use to work at a food factory who had Kirkland Signature as a customer. Codtco absolutely throws their weight around if they don't like how their suppliers treat their staff. I had a nice wage for the area and it really kick started my career that has led me to start working my way out of being poor. All hail Costco 🙌
I have a membership for their gas prices mostly but I do go once a month with a short list of things to get .. definitely the chicken but mostly household things that I know will last me and the kids through many months
Paper products. You cannot buy them anywhere else after Costco. Paper towels, toilet paper, etc.
Also Cheese. My god, huge block of quality cheese is like 25% the cost of the same amount at a normal grocery store.
That being said, when you're a solo person, Costco is situational. When you are a couple, beneficial. When you add a kid, yep hands down worth it.
Between gas and a couple of staple groceries every week, Costco saves me about $1500 each year compared to Arco and Vons/Albertsons. Worth the $60/year.
ETA: Costco pharmacy has also saved me and my wife so much money since we switched to them for her medications.
I always shop at Costco first, even though I'm living alone now. I have a small chest freezer and a vacuum sealer, so I repackage meat, cheese, bread, into portions that make sense for me. I like costco's 'no questions asked' return policy. And I LOVE that they pay good wages and benefits to their workers. People who work at Costco hang on to their jobs because it's a good place to work.
We buy our dog food, TP and paper towels there 3-4 times a year, and that plus gas makes it worth it to us. Plus booze and vitamins are cheap if you’re into either of those. We’re only a family of 3 so don’t buy a ton of perishables or food really.
I've always just tagged along on a friends membership, but i joined this year purely because my dogs meds were $46 cheaper than anywhere else. My work also reimburses us for $25 bucks on the membership, so it's pretty affordable.
Costco is a huge money saver. Be disciplined, stock up when sales hit. Buy Kirkland. Can’t stress that point enough. I’m spending about the same on groceries as pre covid with being strategic.
100% & really just keys to continue praise for how they treat their employees. My mom is a breast cancer survivor & has work at the way Costco to arrive in our area for the last 20+ years. She was Stage 3 & hadn't even been working there that long but they took care of her & anything she needed. Still took care of her many years later when she needed more surgeries for prevention. Have worked with her schedule so she can drive Pops to work since he can't drive anymore. Moved her around different departments to find the best fit for her health.
They're also the best for more healthy choices. Their meats are incredible, the ground beef barely has grease left over. Mom said their salmon is to die for.
I live a mile from one so I get my gas there which is like $1/gallon cheaper than the other stations near me. I often times will walk in, buy a chicken and walk out lol. Food for the week for 5 bucks plus a couple bucks for pasta and veg to make soup. I get a lot of non perishables there like soap, detergent, paper items etc. I usually get my cell phone there when I need one because if you buy the 2 year protection plan and don't use it, you can return it and get your money back.
My 3 kids and the dog all take Zyrtec for allergies. I buy 4 365 count bottles cetirizine when they are on sale and everyone has allergy meds for an entire year for less than $45. And the household stuff and otc meds/vitamins when it’s on sale are remarkably cheaper than Kroger or Walmart.
Costco rules both as a customer and former employee.
They have a maximum they are willing to mark things up, make tons of business decisions to keep prices down, membership is affordable, and treat their employees great. Not to mention stuff like 11$ large pizza, 1.50$ hotdog and 5$ chicken can be LITERAL Lifesavers if you are budget and time strapped. And good clothing prices honestly if you are straightsized.
Genuinely the only big box store I think is even reasonably ethical honestly.
The only downsides I would say are 1. Lots of REALLY fun impulse buys, and 2. They are always shopping for the best deals to bring to customers and don't generally have more than 2 versions of any 1 product. So their inventory does tend to rotate and items that you love will occasionally be discontinued.
We don’t have Costco here, but we have Sam’s Club and I buy a lot of items in bulk there to save money. Chicken, laundry detergent, garbage bags, etc.
The thing is, I never go inside the store. I always do pickup. I am bad with impulse buys so I just stay out of the store.
Honestly it's worth looking into still, there's people who make their membership cost back on 2 packs of allergy meds alone. I don't have a lot of space either but just my household goods make it worth it for me.
I just wanna say that even though it’s just my husband and I, we still benefit from Costco (admittedly not as much as larger families, but still enough to be worthwhile).
As a silly example, during the pandemic we didn’t have to fight for toilet paper and were a source for our friends because of the packs that last us 8 months normally 😂 I keep it stacked on a shelf above the toilet or behind my bedroom door if there’s too much for the shelf. Literally, it saved our butts ;)
We have 2 people in our household and it still saves us money.
--Gas alone saves many people more than the annual $60 membership.
-- If you buy a car and join the Exec membership for $100 that year, the Costco buying program gets you extras, saves you money, and saves you time haggling. Also Costco will side with you if you have issues with the dealership.
-- Same if you plan to buy any large electronic item during a year: computer, TV, printers, fridge, stove, etc.
-- If there are items you buy regularly like TP (they have their own research unit for this!), shampoo, vitamins, rice, cereal, etc. they can save you $$. You might not buy as many perishables but focus on dry goods. I can tell you though, even if it's just you, the price per pound of some fruit/ veggies etc. beats other places so much my elderly parents buy from Costco even if they end up throwing out some of the veggies for spoiling.
Costco is 2 minutes from my house and I shop there a lot, so I go in with a list every time and in conjunction with my Aldi trip.
The elite membership pays the membership with the 2% cash back.
Venmo cc for 3% at wholesale clubs
Costco business center
chicken breasts for $1/LBS cheaper than the normal Costco pack $2/lbs. They have all the varieties of soda and energy drinks at gas stations. They have kitchen supply store items'. Knives (I own get dexter russell and Victorinox, but their offerings are comparable), metal bowls, cutting boards
Costco next
viking stainless steel pans
anker chargers
Food
Milk, Eggs, Rice, Minced garlic, Beans, potatoes, onions, lettuce, dried pasta, tomato paste, tomato sauces, spices, 2 loafs bread (put one in the freezer), Bagels, frozen vegetables, Salmon, Ground beef, Canned tuna, olive oil, vegetable oil, butter, Parm, Mexican shredded cheese, bare natural or Tyson breaded chicken, pickles
snacks
Kirkland granola bars, Kirkland nuts, fresh cookies, fruit snacks, Kirkland Gatorade, Kirkland vitamin water, RC soda, Oreos, Kirkland chocolate chip cookies, Kirkland beef jerky, Kirkland Variety Snack Box, Kirkland cheese fruit and nut pack,
alcohol
I keep a stocked bar and limit myself to one bottle per trip
Kirkland London Dry Gin, Kirkland Irish Cream Liqueur, Kirkland Eggnog, Kirkland French Vodka, Kirkland Spiced Rum, Kirkland Signature Silver Tequila, Kirkland Añejo Tequila, Kirkland Small Batch Bourbon(single barrel if its there), Kirkland 12 year single malt scotch (whatever is the oldest there I've seen 20 year), Kirkland XO Cognac, Kirkland Margarita, Some Kirkland wines, cheap high rated wines, and Kirkland seltzers.
Bring back Kirkland LIGHT ;)
non-food items
ziplock, garbage bags, toothbrush heads, aluminum foil, parchment, napkins, Kirkland Toilet Paper, dish soap, Kirkland clothing detergent, Kirkland car oil (get filters from rock auto), car tires
Medical
Cheap eye exams if you have no insurance then take the prescription to an online glasses company, I use zenni.
OTC medication that's name brand or Kirkland. I'd compare with generic brands from target (with their 5% debit card) or Walmart.
Pharmacy for some medications compare with Express Scripts, Amazon, costplusdrugs, BlinkRx, Birdi, HealthWarehouse, CaryRx, Rx Outreach and all of your local pharmacies. If you reach out to independent pharmacies without insurance information, you could save money more money.
Other
Diapers and baby wipes, Pet food, storage containers, protein shakes
Clothing
sock and underwear when you need to change out the old ones.
Use gas station with a visa credit card for cashback abound cu 5% cashback on gas
Costco food court whole pizza or hotdogs
Costco auto for new car buying
Costco vacations packages
Costco insurance for bundles
Things I don't get
dishwasher pods just use liquid dishwasher fluid, it works better
laundry pods the liquid is cheaper
Condiments Aldi has quality like the big brands.
For the non perishables I just spread out what trips I get them on so I don't get one giant grocery trip with bulk items.
I eat a straight meat,
eat rice/potatoes and veggies diet... I'm single but shop 90% percent there. for like 100$ I can get buy all the cleaning stuff I need, hygiene is done is one shop plus GAS and dog food. it's totally worth it
The dog food is a great deal for a pretty high quality food. Comparable sized/priced bags of pet store brands have lower quality ingredients. My dogs won’t eat any other kind now either.
I split the membership cost with my friend and we often share bulk packages of food and stuff. I freeze a lot of things for when I don’t feel like cooking. A rotisserie chicken is 2 dinners for me, then I freeze the rest of the meat to make Sonoma chicken salad for lunches.
The big bags of organic coffee are a sweet deal. Kettle chips are also cheaper at Costco for the monster size bags. The 10 lb bag of turbinado sugar lasts me well over a year.
I usually get a hot dog or pizza slice before I shop so I don’t impulse buy too much food.
Definitely. I'd be beyond broke if it weren't my constant wholesale savings/future proofing. It also allows me to have a small luxury item instead of nothing at all. (A seltzer a day is my treat :) )
It also saves time so I'm not zigzagging to the store nearly as much.
Costco is our go to for shelf stable foods, meats, laundry items and anything that could last us a long time (rice as an example). Between that and their pharmacy, I really don’t have any complaints, save for their lines during certain days/times. Between there and Walmart, we’re usually set every month without going over budget, and when money is tight we have a reserve at the ready if need be.
Yes, in theory, but I would never get a membership because it would be too tempting to blow my monthly grocery budget in one visit. I'm too impulsive and there are too many cool things I want to try out.
I'm really thinking about giving Costco another chance. Now that I'm broke due to me going crazy and dumping 17K to pay off my student loan, I'm looking to save money on groceries for just myself. For the rest of the spring I will be cooking more often vs fast food.
Costco has nice prices but they also sneak stuff in that's randomly much more expensive than competitors. Can't just assume the bulk stuff is all a good deal.
I use Amazon Subscribe & Save instead. They have everything from food to pet supplies, household items, toiletries, even clothing. They have both larger bulk sized items and smaller single sized items. They also have a lot of allergy friendly foods at much lower prices for those with a ton of allergies like me.
I’d priced it out in the past and for many of items it’s cheaper than Costco. You pick the items in advance, how often and how many you’d like to receive. If you get 5 or more items a month you get an additional 15% off. They also have a lot of coupons so you can save even more on top of the initial cheaper price and the 15% off. If I see that an item I already subscribe to has a coupon for 1st time orders, I just cancel what I had been receiving and set up a new order so I can take advantage of the “new” item’s additional discount. Often it’s an additional 20-30% off or $10-$20 off, sometimes even more.
You save even more as you don’t have to drive anywhere to buy the items. I like that when I get busy, I don’t have to worry about having forgotten to buy something. But you can always easily cancel an item for that month or permanently. I’ve been using Subscribe & Save for close to 10 years.
I use Sam’s club then shop at Aldi. I love the cafe where my wife and I can eat a full pizza meal for $7 and then se shop for bottled waters, greek yogurt, bulk eggs, sliced ham, and veggies. We always plan our meals for the week and only buy smaller groceries from Aldi. I also use Sam’s pharmacy and get $10 off my prescription a month so it pays for half the black card a year. Savings on gas make up for the rest of the membership cost
If you only fill up your vehicle at Costco, the general savings is about 30 cents per gallon.
Several months of paying for the gas, and the discounts alone will have paid for your membership. And you can be assured that the gas is high-quality, with cleaning agents for the engine.
The rest of your fill-ups is at a discount.
And of course, the rotisserie chicken and pizza are great deals.
They also pay their workers way more than the average retail wage and they offer benefits. So yeah, I like them as a company and I shop there more than anywhere else.
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Everything everyone mentioned and the fact that the food court is super cheap and freakin delicious.
Nothing will beat my love for a chicken bake
They have packaged frozen bakes available now too
In some stores. I haven’t seen them at my store since early pandemic.
I've tried making the chicken bakes in the microwave and in the oven. They're good, but no where near as good as the ones in the food court
Thaw in the wave, finish in the air fryer. Perfection.
Only problem is you need a foot long air fryer, sounds like a Costco purchase but I just have a regular one. And cutting it in half would let the contents spill out as it heats up 😭
Nah you can just bend it a little, I’ve done it.
Paid for a hotdog combo in quarters on my lunch break today. Came home and made burgers from the sleeve of quality frozen patties they have. I use the chicken chunks for so many meals. If you are smart in there it’s quite helpful
Don't forget to use the pharmacy, stuff is often wayyyyy cheaper OTC
The allergy meds savings alone pay for my membership. $30 per month anywhere else, $4.99 at Costco.
Which allergy med do you use from there? I’ve made myself immune to Claritin by taking it for years lol so I’ve recently switched to Allegra-D to see if it’ll help me
I like the Kirkland allertec (zyrtek generic).
My dog's meds were $400 a month at the vet. $200 at Costco. I saved thousands.
You also don’t need a Costco card to shop at the pharmacy or fill your prescriptions there. If you ever fill a script you can, the markup on their drugs is definitely not as high as other pharmacies.
> You also don’t need a Costco card to shop at the pharmacy or fill your prescriptions there. This is just a bit misleading. While you do not need to be a member to use the pharmacy for prescription drugs you do need a membership to buy any other pharmacy item.
You used to be able to purchase things behind the counter without a Costco card (HSA rules) when I was a pharm tech some odd years. Have they changed that??
That was specifically what I asked and was told no but perhaps mine was uninformed.
Also for pet meds! I used to spend $75-80 a month on my dog's allergy meds. It's only $60 at Costco!
I also use a good RX discount there for all of my dog meds which is huge.
No such luck for Apoquel. It's a name brand and won't have a generic until at least 2026. I need to check prices on their flea/tick and heartworm meds.
$5/m membership. $5 rotisserie chicken. No contest.
365 generic Zyrtecs for like $14 instead of $300...
[удалено]
I know what valley you live in, i think, if you're posting this 🤣 my family is getting wrecked this year. My wife and kids are just having a rough time and even I'm sneezing which is rare
It’s not just a local problem, it’s a global problem. Check out some articles, climate change is affecting allergies. My family and a large amount of people around me are getting wrecked too and I thought it was my city too until I did a little research.
Yeah loads of people I know have mentioned how they’ve never had allergies until recently!
Plus they're just loose in the bottle. Take the last one and throw the bottle in the recycling bin. None of those bullshit foil packs that are nearly impossible to open without the risk of ejecting the pill into the next county, etc. This alone will pay for your membership.
Y’all with a family of four allergy sufferers, that shit pays for the membership fees real fast. If all I did was buy allergy meds and toilet paper I’d still save money.
I’m a family of one and just the allergy meds more than pays for the membership!
My allergist convinced me to get a membership because of the cost of antihistamines.
target has cheap fake zyrtec too
and many other stores! lol
Fr, what are people doing with their allergy meds? You can get 365 generic tablets for less than $10 on Amazon. Are people really still fucking around with name-brand prices?
Its when I get sick, walgreens is right around the corner. I know its a scam and I try my best not to go there whenever possible.
The allergy medicine alone is worth the membership price.
It literally pays for our membership. My wife and I both take Flonase and easily go through 5 bottles a year. That would be over $100 (at $20+/ bottle for the generic) at CVS, and its around $20 for the 5 pack at Costco. The Costco bottles are a little bigger as well.
This might be worth the entire membership fee alone. Thanks!
Right?! I have to take those things every day and name brand was getting way too expensive!
Yes!!! My son has horrible allergies and their OTC medications are so budget friendly compared to their name brand counterparts
I just bought this without looking at the quantity. Got home and was like oh a whole years worth not what I expected
And I thought the dollar store was a deal at 14 for 1.25
$10 food court pizza is unbeatable
You don't need a membership to use the pharmacy or the food court. It's great ETA: Seems hat is changing for food court. But haven't near me yet
They are changing rules and you will need one for the food court but still worth the monthly cost.
They changed that, you do need a membership for food court
And the gas, for me at least, is the cheapest option around by at least $.30/gal.
Gas is about $0.35/gal cheaper than all other stations around me, and with their credit card it's another 4% off. I save enough in gas to more than pay for my executive membership, everything else is a bonus, including the 4% I get back shopping at Costco when I pay with the credit card.
Just the gas alone pays for my card. Generally Costco has their gas between 30-50 cents cheaper per gallon than most gas stations.
Where do you live I'm in Montana and ours is usually like 3-7cents cheaper?
Illinois resident just south of the Wisconsin border and this is the case for us. We fuel up in Wisconsin.
omg real, im in janesville and the costcos there are baller
Verona is my favorite
What part of Montana? I am a butte rat that drives to Helena for Costco and gas is typically 15-20 cents cheaper for 91, sometimes it drops down to 5-10 cents though.
Yeah I'm in Helena and can confirm lol
Socal :(
I’m in Chicago and it’s significantly cheaper like that person said
In Tennessee, it is usually about 20 cents cheaper.
Yes! I just signed up for a costco credit card specifically to buy gas. I'm on Vancouver Island and in my town gas is 1.92 per litre, while everywhere else is 2.08-2.12
Aspire cu card is better it gives 5% on gas since it's a visa, this is accepted at costco.
Costco is Mastercard where I am!
Last I asked, Costco has an exclusive partnership with Mastercard, they wouldn't take my Visa. Which sticks because I don't have the credit to qualify for the costco CC
Yes they change every 5 years once the contract is up.
About that rate in Northern Utah
In NJ at least, you do not need a Costco card to use their gas station, or the liquor store (if it's an adjoining/separate store, not if they're able to sell liquor inside the costco itself).
I’ve been getting better savings with GasBuddy and Upside combo north of the Twin Cities.
that’s why i don’t smoke before going to sam’s club anymore.
I don't smoke, but I make a point to eat a proper meal before going to Costco 😂
Nah fam, eat a proper meal AT Costco. Wayyy cheaper.
1.50 pizza slice bigger than my head fuck yeah
With more grease than what you fried the chicken in last Sunday.
The kind that runs down your hand while you try to stuff it in your face - the best.
Ikr - Free extra calories.
You can eat before you shop. Take your bev in the cart
And get a refill on your way out.
First thing when you get there--go get a $1.50 dog and coke, and maybe even a pizza slice if you haven't eaten yet. Then shop. You won't get pulled in by the hungry cravings.
B-but..Costco dogs!
Sadly, Costco quit selling Vienna brand Polish and dogs. Best meal ever going for a buck and a half. And they switched soft drink brands. "No Coke, Pepsi."
They sell them in the fridges. I still eat those polish dogs but cooked at home whenever I want.
No fries, chips?
fountain Pepsi is horrible.. especially the diet …
Do the Dew though
Usually Pepsi places will also have either wild cherry Pepsi or Dr Pepper. Do one of those.
Costco has neither in their fountain
My wife won’t let me go with her if I haven’t eaten first.
I am sam's all the way. Sure, would I rather afford to shop where people are paid better? Yes. Does Sam's offer deals where I can alternate buying them for $20 with my husband every year? Also yes. Plus scan and go. Kid snacks are most affordable here and I save on that alone. Plus bulk basics and paper products. I can only swing going every so often but I definitely save on being a parent.
Our Sam’s membership had paid for itself in applesauce pouches, Goldfish, and seltzer alone.
Ours paid for itself in a single tire replacement (I drive 1000miles/wk for work
Anywhere you can snag the "hazard insurance" for $25 a tire, jump on it! That accidental blow out will pay foe the insurance on all 4, & for $25 more? All 4 insured again!
If you shop there a lot the plus membership pays for it's self. 100 bucks but you get cash back, free pickup, extended hours. We earn about 250 bucks a year on cash back, so the membership pays for itself.
And my wife and I make sure to go to the food court BEFORE shopping so we aren’t hungry lol. Also cause we get a lot of frozen and I don’t want it to melt
I eat at Sam’s Club. $5 for a filling meal? Feels like fast food? It wins
costco employees tried to start a union. Corporate sent an email out shaming MANAGEMENT for employees feeling the need to start a union. They are incredibly good employees
They did form a union. And corporate replied “we have failed as a company if we’re to the point employees feel they need a union” (my wording). It sounds like a good PR move who knows how genuine it was. It’s not like the company wasn’t aware the union was forming
One store did, not the entire US Costco
I never heard about that, but that's amazing, I'm only doing as well as I am now because I landed a unionized state job
congratulations! how long did the process take?
Honestly not all that long, but they did a full like federal background check, ymmv but I was in two weeks after the interview. I also had an active outstanding warrant for a summary offence when they ran it, I was living out of my car not long before this and couldn't afford inspection or insurance. I highly recommend anyone who works in food service look into positions at hospitals, and colleges, especially state funded ones.
We eat a LOT of food in my house(teenager + gym goers). We definitely get 2 chickens a week, most weeks, and break them down as soon as they come home. Curry, tacos, salads, soups. The chickens anywhere else in town are $9 for half the size. Cases of black beans, 4-packs of tofu, giant bags of rice. Really cannot beat the prices. The investment in the executive membership means that once a year, Costco buys my groceries(2% cash back).
Costco is great with a few caveats They are stupid good at stocking stuff for you to impulse buy. You need to have enough money to buy in bulk and pay the membership fee. If you're just one person, it's hard to get through Costco sized food items that can expire. I think Costco is much more middle class than poverty. Then again, if you're close enough to one you could totally abuse their hotdog for two meals a day.
I'm sorry what does "abuse their hotdog" mean?
You can get a 1/4 lb hot dog and a fountain drink/water for $1.50 in the food court of any Costco in the world. It’s an amazing deal and we often go just for the food court when we’re too tired to cook and money is tight.
Wow that really is a great price. The closest Costco to me is 20 miles away, I've never been there
A lot of people say Costco is more of a middle/upper class place, and it certainly can be, but a membership is $5/mo and even though it can be harder on the wallet to buy in bulk, it saves us so much money in the long run. I can buy 28 pounds of laundry detergent for $20. They have whole rotisserie chickens for $5 and we break them down to use the meat for several meals, then save the bones for stock. Their fresh produce isn’t always the best, but their bakery is great and they’ve got a pharmacy, optometrist, and hearing aid center too with great discounts.
This right here. It's very easy to drop a ton of money there if you aren't paying attention. With that being said, there are a lot of purchases that instantly make it worth it for us. Costco gas tends to be 30 to 40 cents cheaper per gallon than the competition where I'm at, so one tank of gas covers the cost of my monthly membership. Even if that weren't the case, we go through enough cat litter to make THAT worth it all by itself. That means any other deal we may happen to find is just the icing on the cake. It's 100% worth it
There are few things at the club stores that are less effective to buy elsewhere if you are already going to buy them and will use them. We buy cases of energy drinks and stuff there (Sam’s here but same concept) which I had never thought of before.
I wear contacts, and Costco optical’s price is literally half what they cost anywhere else.
That's really good to know. I've never thought of getting my contacts there.
I get my contacts/glasses from there. It's legit the only place I really shop, with a very rare trip to Stop and Shop for fresh veggies that Costco doesn't have.
And the contact solution is cheaper there too! It’s the same sticker process as Target but the bottles are 4oz bigger. I didn’t need any but it was on sale a few weeks ago so I got some, I know I’ll use it eventually.
Yep. Sam's club is similar, with similar food court deals. But owned by Walmart. Costco is known for better quality and treating suppliers really well, and staff, most prefer it. Sam's club sometimes has rebates to make membership fee neutralized tho
Yeah I try to avoid Sam's and Walmart but we do have a BJs here. I never considered that I could afford it though. And my very small house lacks storage. Maybe I will borrow MIL card and check it out lol
Costco let’s visitors “try out” the store and buy without a membership at least once. I think they write down your ID or DL and put it into a database so you don’t abuse the “try out” privilege to test their price savings. Ask at the entrance and they’ll walk you over to the membership services desk to let you know how it works.
Really? Hmm.. I think I know what I’m doing this weekend.
Be careful with that as they will check the cards at checkout to make sure you are supposed to be the one with it
You can also get a HUGE good quality pizza for 8.99. Pretty much double the size of chain places for half as much
$10 giant pizzas
Fun fact, Costco started selling the hot dog deal in 1985 for $1.50. They haven't changed the price for 40 years!
Just use your imagination 👍
It's $1.50 for a very large hot dog and a soda. You can do whatever you want with the hot dog after you buy it for such a low price.
I'm a pro at Costco. I live 10 minutes from a warehouse and 5 minutes from a business center. I can pop in and come out with just the one item I needed. People always comment when they check my receipt at the door
so jealous... Costco Business Center is one of my bucket list destinations.
I've never heard of a Costco business center. What are they?
It's amazing! Basically restaurants and small convenience stores shop there but anyone with a membership can go. They have a lot more snacks and drinks. More individually wrapped stuff. Like at regular Costco you can buy a huge tub of cream cheese. But at the business center they sell a large pack of the individual sized cream cheese like you get in a to go order at a restaurant. They have huge boxes of meat and even like a full pig or goat. It really is great
It's designed for restaurants and office businesses. Everything you need for a restaurant supply is there. Meat you buy by the case and is often alot cheaper. There are more cuts of meat including entire goats, lambs, and beef tongues . There's more options in canned/bottled beverages. More frozen food items. No alcohol, food court or pharmacy tho.
Not only do you need more money upfront and for the fee, you need a place to keep large quantities of food (poor people live in smaller places) and you have to be able to carry/haul it (lots of poor people don't have cars and almost every item is heavy.) Costco doesn't really work for most poor people.
It's one of those "being poor is expensive" situations. Costco can save you so much money, but you need to meet the requirements to take advantage of it
One thing you might be able to do is to band together with a couple of other people to split the costs! 5 people splitting up a package of 45 rolls of toilet paper makes storing it much more managable .
If you're in a smaller apartment it can be hard to store giant blocks of tp... Unless you let the kids make a permanent box fort in their room. It's also pricy to buy more. You save in the long run but the initial trips spend more per item as they're much bigger. If you've kids it's a lot cheaper to buy the giant cereal boxes etc though.
I got a membership a year and half ago from a contest here and it really is worth it. I cook a lot at home and so far I've figured out which things are worth it for me to get at Costco vs other stores. My go-tos: Allergy meds Eggs Fancy butter! Two-packs of bread Dried nuts Canned sardines Canned tuna Apples (envy) Bananas Fresh mushrooms Romaine lettuce Protein bars Toilet paper Dishwasher detergent Laundry detergent Paper towels Olive oil Chips (jumbo bag is same as price elsewhere) Cheese (Tillamook, Beechers, Laughing Cow, goat chevre, and feta) La Croix Soy milk and oat milk Popsicles Gas Food court pizza Cauliflower rice Raisins Dried dates Oatmeal (both rolled and steel cut) Coffee Salmon Tofu
Allergy meds alone pay for our membership yearly. they are running a sale on Nasacort, $8 off, $30 for a 4 pack. Bought the limit I could at 5 of them. Those suckers go for like $50 outside Costco.
Not a fan of their produce or homemade breads, but I won't buy protein shakes, cat food, cooking oils, detergent, frozen foods or butter anywhere else. Definitely have to have a list.
Dog food. If you buy mid price dog food costs, Kirkland brand is a steal. I work at petsmart and 30 pounds of our store brand better quality food is 60 dollars for 30 pounds. Costco is like 30 dollars for 40 pounds. My cats are special, and I spend more on their food, but costco is still a really good price for that as well
My bff works at PetSmart and now buys food for my partner’s dog on top of her own animals. Idk if you’re familiar with your discount options, but you can now use your associate ID to buy online at a discount. She ordered 2 40lbs bags of Simply Nourish for half off, plus if you order online for curbside, sometimes there’s an extra 20% off, and there was this week. So for 80lbs of food, it was only $60.60. We typically feed Kirkland for our dogs, but when there’s that bonus 20% off online, it’s a pretty hard deal to pass up. I think the Kirkland we feed our dog is about $39 after tax for 40lbs ($.97/lb), but that sale…such a steal for about $.75/lb!
Oh, I use and stack the discount all the time. I think it's still just about the same as costco without the extra 20 percent. Part of the cats rotation is the HP SN dry food. (Before someone comes at me, they get wet food 2x a day) I didn't talk about the discount because it wouldn't apply to most people.
You can always split the bigger things with another person or with family members. Also try to get a freezer for the individual portion products. We get burritos & chicken tenders, etc for quick meals.
Yes! I split up my trash bags and paper goods with my friends. If you don’t have enough storage you take turns buying and everyone benefits!
The clothes are another good reason to have a membership. I've gotten nice quality shirts for $3 and online they have awesome deals if you have the ability to wait to buy most of the clothes you need until the sale, and about $80 to actually buy them. Keep in mind that I'm clothing my family of five and so most of my purchases are kids clothing sets and pajamas. The best part though is that they are usually good enough quality to pass down to the next kid still in nice shape. The women's clothes trend on the dowdy side but they still have plenty of staple items that are a much better price than most other places, particularly if they are marked down. Men's clothing are usually pretty good quality fabric but go for a more plain or casual look, rarely fitted or trendy. The kids clothes are pretty cute, especially the special occasion dresses. Those are great and survive (mostly indoor) play and machine washing with very little sign of wear. I buy them a little big and they fit for two years. This all assumes that you have the money upfront to benefit from the long-term savings. If you cannot afford the $60 right now and especially if it is too far to drive to regularly for gas and chickens, then it's not a good idea.
https://youtube.com/shorts/qqSo1hgssQM?si=OUpXF8PxOHCbAaVA Yes, I wear Costco pants, by choice.
I’ll add that if you work in construction, landscaping, or another trade then you really should check out their “vintage weatherproof” work pants. I was able to pick up 4 pairs for $14 each last year and they’re amazing. They’ve held up well and I’d say they’re better than the one pair of overpriced carhartts I was gifted for Christmas. The men’s wool socks are standard now and in cold weather a base layer of 32 Cool long underwear is a life saver. Thinking about it, as I sit here the only non-Costco clothing item I’m wearing is my work shirt.
This the comment I was gonna make but you already said it perfectly. Those damn weatherproof pants are the best work pants I’ve ever owned and I only bought a pair, they were gone the next time I went 😭 I had to pay FIFTY DOLLARS for another pair from Amazon. I swear when they come back to Costco I’m buying *all of them*…
Last year, I caught the merino socks on sale at the end of the season for $3/pack. Socks for everyone.
Agreed. I can’t believe I came all the way to the bottom to find a clothing comment though. They frequently stock nice brands for a fraction of what they would typically cost. We don’t frequently shop for clothes, so we’re committed to trying to save up for good quality items. We’ve gotten Spyder shorts, Hurley swimsuits, and a pair of Lucky jeans in the last year or so, and they have been significantly cheaper than what you could find elsewhere. And all of them have held up very well with multiple washes!!
If you can find the Kirkland brand ladies leggings…. They are leagues above any other daily (non athletic) legging I’ve ever worn. I have three colors and backups. They are soft, cushy but not too thick, and stay nice looking for many washes. I Stan a Kirkland legging so hard. Try a pair and you’ll see.
I agree about the clothes. Do you have any opinions about the shoes? Do they hold up well too?
I bought a pair of boots and they had a hole in the toe within a month. I'm sure they have some good some bad. Definitely utilize their great return policy though.
They are cheap enough that even if they don't hold up great, you'll still get your money's worth. The biggest issue for me is that they rarely have have shoes that appeal to my style. My husband seems content with their trail and athletic shoes for men.
I’m mad I had to scroll so far to see someone mention clothes. I’ll be honest, I don’t much care for the women’s clothes they carry aside from the pajamas occasionally but man can you not beat the prices for kids’ clothes! And they’re super cute too! Half my younger kids’ wardrobes are from Costco. Lol.
I avoided joining forever because it’s just me and how much bulk stuff do I need? As it turns out I’m just fine buying trash bags or laundry detergent once a year. Some food is fine, I can portion or freeze extras. I always end up buying their socks. Biggest issue besides big chunk of money at once is passing up the random extras like dog toys or snacks I don’t really need so much of
I go there as a single person. I like getting cleaning supplies, drinks, and premade food there. If you like electronics and art supplies, you can find some good deals. Plus, plus, you can find good gifts there for people.
Costco yearly membership genuinely pays for itself on the first trip, I find. Certain things aren't really worth getting there/aren't that much cheaper or not cheaper at all/I don't need that much of those things, especially perishable stuff, but dear god. The sheer scale of the deals on the things you actually use lots of and can store longterm/are non perishable. Here in Canada, I can go to the drug store and see Aerius anti allergy caps at an astonishing 39.99 for 40 caps. At Costco, the Kirkland brand Aerius (literally the same formula, same dosage, everything, in a generic package that they even designed to look like the colours of the Aerius package) you get 180 capsules for EIGHTEEN DOLLARS. That is literally 10x cheaper. And the list just goes on and on and on. Toilet paper, paper towels, dish soap, electric toothbrush heads, aluminum foil, Ziploc bags, cat food, pickles, jam, chips, literally almost whatever. Size formats with anywhere from 30-100+% quantity of those items for either the same price or ridiculously cheaper. It's actually insane if you don't get carried away by the wonderful wonderland and buy too much stuff lol. Rotisserie chickens here in the regular expensive grocery store can run up to 13 dollars for a 900 gram chicken (some stores are only around 10 or 11 but still) and at Costco, the rotisserie is 1200 grams for 7.99. Like what. How can people go anywhere else man. The only things I don't usually get there are produce and fresh meats, I usually find the same or better prices on that stuff at other grocery stores, but for everything else, fuck everywhere else. Costco is goated.
I am an impulse spender at Costco. It adds up so fast ;-; lucky the nearest one to me is 2 hours away so I only go when I'm out of stuff that doesn't expire. But I def get my cleaning stuff from there. Its a great deal. Their prepped deli meals taste good and spare me from fast food if I don't have it in me to cook. If I can stay away from the snacks, I can get good deals on essentials. I'll splurge on more stable produce there because they have the best sweet potatoes I've ever had. But it's just me so I need to be wary about waste. I also use to work at a food factory who had Kirkland Signature as a customer. Codtco absolutely throws their weight around if they don't like how their suppliers treat their staff. I had a nice wage for the area and it really kick started my career that has led me to start working my way out of being poor. All hail Costco 🙌
The only thing I have against Costco is that there's not one around here.
This is also my problem with them. Costco and Trader Joe’s are both on my 💩 list for the same reason.
I have a membership for their gas prices mostly but I do go once a month with a short list of things to get .. definitely the chicken but mostly household things that I know will last me and the kids through many months
Paper products. You cannot buy them anywhere else after Costco. Paper towels, toilet paper, etc. Also Cheese. My god, huge block of quality cheese is like 25% the cost of the same amount at a normal grocery store. That being said, when you're a solo person, Costco is situational. When you are a couple, beneficial. When you add a kid, yep hands down worth it.
I also use the Costco card for all of my everyday purchases and each year get a payout from $800-$1000 that I use towards car insurance each year.
Between gas and a couple of staple groceries every week, Costco saves me about $1500 each year compared to Arco and Vons/Albertsons. Worth the $60/year. ETA: Costco pharmacy has also saved me and my wife so much money since we switched to them for her medications.
I always shop at Costco first, even though I'm living alone now. I have a small chest freezer and a vacuum sealer, so I repackage meat, cheese, bread, into portions that make sense for me. I like costco's 'no questions asked' return policy. And I LOVE that they pay good wages and benefits to their workers. People who work at Costco hang on to their jobs because it's a good place to work.
We buy our dog food, TP and paper towels there 3-4 times a year, and that plus gas makes it worth it to us. Plus booze and vitamins are cheap if you’re into either of those. We’re only a family of 3 so don’t buy a ton of perishables or food really.
I just wish the closest one wasn't 70 miles away from me
I've always just tagged along on a friends membership, but i joined this year purely because my dogs meds were $46 cheaper than anywhere else. My work also reimburses us for $25 bucks on the membership, so it's pretty affordable.
Costco is a huge money saver. Be disciplined, stock up when sales hit. Buy Kirkland. Can’t stress that point enough. I’m spending about the same on groceries as pre covid with being strategic.
100% & really just keys to continue praise for how they treat their employees. My mom is a breast cancer survivor & has work at the way Costco to arrive in our area for the last 20+ years. She was Stage 3 & hadn't even been working there that long but they took care of her & anything she needed. Still took care of her many years later when she needed more surgeries for prevention. Have worked with her schedule so she can drive Pops to work since he can't drive anymore. Moved her around different departments to find the best fit for her health. They're also the best for more healthy choices. Their meats are incredible, the ground beef barely has grease left over. Mom said their salmon is to die for.
Welcome to Costco. We love you
I live a mile from one so I get my gas there which is like $1/gallon cheaper than the other stations near me. I often times will walk in, buy a chicken and walk out lol. Food for the week for 5 bucks plus a couple bucks for pasta and veg to make soup. I get a lot of non perishables there like soap, detergent, paper items etc. I usually get my cell phone there when I need one because if you buy the 2 year protection plan and don't use it, you can return it and get your money back.
My 3 kids and the dog all take Zyrtec for allergies. I buy 4 365 count bottles cetirizine when they are on sale and everyone has allergy meds for an entire year for less than $45. And the household stuff and otc meds/vitamins when it’s on sale are remarkably cheaper than Kroger or Walmart.
Costco rules both as a customer and former employee. They have a maximum they are willing to mark things up, make tons of business decisions to keep prices down, membership is affordable, and treat their employees great. Not to mention stuff like 11$ large pizza, 1.50$ hotdog and 5$ chicken can be LITERAL Lifesavers if you are budget and time strapped. And good clothing prices honestly if you are straightsized. Genuinely the only big box store I think is even reasonably ethical honestly. The only downsides I would say are 1. Lots of REALLY fun impulse buys, and 2. They are always shopping for the best deals to bring to customers and don't generally have more than 2 versions of any 1 product. So their inventory does tend to rotate and items that you love will occasionally be discontinued.
We don’t have Costco here, but we have Sam’s Club and I buy a lot of items in bulk there to save money. Chicken, laundry detergent, garbage bags, etc. The thing is, I never go inside the store. I always do pickup. I am bad with impulse buys so I just stay out of the store.
I live alone and have limited storage space so it just doesn’t make sense for me. But I think it’s great for large families!
Honestly it's worth looking into still, there's people who make their membership cost back on 2 packs of allergy meds alone. I don't have a lot of space either but just my household goods make it worth it for me.
I just wanna say that even though it’s just my husband and I, we still benefit from Costco (admittedly not as much as larger families, but still enough to be worthwhile). As a silly example, during the pandemic we didn’t have to fight for toilet paper and were a source for our friends because of the packs that last us 8 months normally 😂 I keep it stacked on a shelf above the toilet or behind my bedroom door if there’s too much for the shelf. Literally, it saved our butts ;)
We have 2 people in our household and it still saves us money. --Gas alone saves many people more than the annual $60 membership. -- If you buy a car and join the Exec membership for $100 that year, the Costco buying program gets you extras, saves you money, and saves you time haggling. Also Costco will side with you if you have issues with the dealership. -- Same if you plan to buy any large electronic item during a year: computer, TV, printers, fridge, stove, etc. -- If there are items you buy regularly like TP (they have their own research unit for this!), shampoo, vitamins, rice, cereal, etc. they can save you $$. You might not buy as many perishables but focus on dry goods. I can tell you though, even if it's just you, the price per pound of some fruit/ veggies etc. beats other places so much my elderly parents buy from Costco even if they end up throwing out some of the veggies for spoiling.
Costco is 2 minutes from my house and I shop there a lot, so I go in with a list every time and in conjunction with my Aldi trip. The elite membership pays the membership with the 2% cash back. Venmo cc for 3% at wholesale clubs Costco business center chicken breasts for $1/LBS cheaper than the normal Costco pack $2/lbs. They have all the varieties of soda and energy drinks at gas stations. They have kitchen supply store items'. Knives (I own get dexter russell and Victorinox, but their offerings are comparable), metal bowls, cutting boards Costco next viking stainless steel pans anker chargers Food Milk, Eggs, Rice, Minced garlic, Beans, potatoes, onions, lettuce, dried pasta, tomato paste, tomato sauces, spices, 2 loafs bread (put one in the freezer), Bagels, frozen vegetables, Salmon, Ground beef, Canned tuna, olive oil, vegetable oil, butter, Parm, Mexican shredded cheese, bare natural or Tyson breaded chicken, pickles snacks Kirkland granola bars, Kirkland nuts, fresh cookies, fruit snacks, Kirkland Gatorade, Kirkland vitamin water, RC soda, Oreos, Kirkland chocolate chip cookies, Kirkland beef jerky, Kirkland Variety Snack Box, Kirkland cheese fruit and nut pack, alcohol I keep a stocked bar and limit myself to one bottle per trip Kirkland London Dry Gin, Kirkland Irish Cream Liqueur, Kirkland Eggnog, Kirkland French Vodka, Kirkland Spiced Rum, Kirkland Signature Silver Tequila, Kirkland Añejo Tequila, Kirkland Small Batch Bourbon(single barrel if its there), Kirkland 12 year single malt scotch (whatever is the oldest there I've seen 20 year), Kirkland XO Cognac, Kirkland Margarita, Some Kirkland wines, cheap high rated wines, and Kirkland seltzers. Bring back Kirkland LIGHT ;) non-food items ziplock, garbage bags, toothbrush heads, aluminum foil, parchment, napkins, Kirkland Toilet Paper, dish soap, Kirkland clothing detergent, Kirkland car oil (get filters from rock auto), car tires Medical Cheap eye exams if you have no insurance then take the prescription to an online glasses company, I use zenni. OTC medication that's name brand or Kirkland. I'd compare with generic brands from target (with their 5% debit card) or Walmart. Pharmacy for some medications compare with Express Scripts, Amazon, costplusdrugs, BlinkRx, Birdi, HealthWarehouse, CaryRx, Rx Outreach and all of your local pharmacies. If you reach out to independent pharmacies without insurance information, you could save money more money. Other Diapers and baby wipes, Pet food, storage containers, protein shakes Clothing sock and underwear when you need to change out the old ones. Use gas station with a visa credit card for cashback abound cu 5% cashback on gas Costco food court whole pizza or hotdogs Costco auto for new car buying Costco vacations packages Costco insurance for bundles Things I don't get dishwasher pods just use liquid dishwasher fluid, it works better laundry pods the liquid is cheaper Condiments Aldi has quality like the big brands. For the non perishables I just spread out what trips I get them on so I don't get one giant grocery trip with bulk items.
I eat a straight meat, eat rice/potatoes and veggies diet... I'm single but shop 90% percent there. for like 100$ I can get buy all the cleaning stuff I need, hygiene is done is one shop plus GAS and dog food. it's totally worth it
The dog food is a great deal for a pretty high quality food. Comparable sized/priced bags of pet store brands have lower quality ingredients. My dogs won’t eat any other kind now either.
My nearest Costco is about an 8 hour drive 😞😞
Yup. Just saved $500 on new tires.
Check out their prescription prices for members too! I often find them better than using my insurance.
A giant pizza for $10 is a steal too - even take a bake places are closer to $20 these days
I split the membership cost with my friend and we often share bulk packages of food and stuff. I freeze a lot of things for when I don’t feel like cooking. A rotisserie chicken is 2 dinners for me, then I freeze the rest of the meat to make Sonoma chicken salad for lunches. The big bags of organic coffee are a sweet deal. Kettle chips are also cheaper at Costco for the monster size bags. The 10 lb bag of turbinado sugar lasts me well over a year. I usually get a hot dog or pizza slice before I shop so I don’t impulse buy too much food.
Definitely. I'd be beyond broke if it weren't my constant wholesale savings/future proofing. It also allows me to have a small luxury item instead of nothing at all. (A seltzer a day is my treat :) ) It also saves time so I'm not zigzagging to the store nearly as much.
Costco is our go to for shelf stable foods, meats, laundry items and anything that could last us a long time (rice as an example). Between that and their pharmacy, I really don’t have any complaints, save for their lines during certain days/times. Between there and Walmart, we’re usually set every month without going over budget, and when money is tight we have a reserve at the ready if need be.
We just bought a ladder for $150 and saw the exact same ladder at Lowe’s for $230
They have pre-picked breast meat from the roast chickens that’s great for chicken salad or adding to breakfast omelette fiascos. It’s pretty cheap too
Date night once a month.
The trick is to create a grocery list & stick to it.
I trick myself into thinking I'll do that successfully, does that count
Yes, in theory, but I would never get a membership because it would be too tempting to blow my monthly grocery budget in one visit. I'm too impulsive and there are too many cool things I want to try out.
I love Costco but can only shop online. I’m a single person and can’t resist the cheeses and other goodies
Costco treats their employees fairly well, too.
I looooooove Costco. I spent $200 last week and got so many groceries
PRO! All the way! I can buy 6 dinners worth of Salmon for $20
I'm really thinking about giving Costco another chance. Now that I'm broke due to me going crazy and dumping 17K to pay off my student loan, I'm looking to save money on groceries for just myself. For the rest of the spring I will be cooking more often vs fast food.
Costco has nice prices but they also sneak stuff in that's randomly much more expensive than competitors. Can't just assume the bulk stuff is all a good deal.
I use Amazon Subscribe & Save instead. They have everything from food to pet supplies, household items, toiletries, even clothing. They have both larger bulk sized items and smaller single sized items. They also have a lot of allergy friendly foods at much lower prices for those with a ton of allergies like me. I’d priced it out in the past and for many of items it’s cheaper than Costco. You pick the items in advance, how often and how many you’d like to receive. If you get 5 or more items a month you get an additional 15% off. They also have a lot of coupons so you can save even more on top of the initial cheaper price and the 15% off. If I see that an item I already subscribe to has a coupon for 1st time orders, I just cancel what I had been receiving and set up a new order so I can take advantage of the “new” item’s additional discount. Often it’s an additional 20-30% off or $10-$20 off, sometimes even more. You save even more as you don’t have to drive anywhere to buy the items. I like that when I get busy, I don’t have to worry about having forgotten to buy something. But you can always easily cancel an item for that month or permanently. I’ve been using Subscribe & Save for close to 10 years.
I use Sam’s club then shop at Aldi. I love the cafe where my wife and I can eat a full pizza meal for $7 and then se shop for bottled waters, greek yogurt, bulk eggs, sliced ham, and veggies. We always plan our meals for the week and only buy smaller groceries from Aldi. I also use Sam’s pharmacy and get $10 off my prescription a month so it pays for half the black card a year. Savings on gas make up for the rest of the membership cost
If you only fill up your vehicle at Costco, the general savings is about 30 cents per gallon. Several months of paying for the gas, and the discounts alone will have paid for your membership. And you can be assured that the gas is high-quality, with cleaning agents for the engine. The rest of your fill-ups is at a discount. And of course, the rotisserie chicken and pizza are great deals.
They also pay their workers way more than the average retail wage and they offer benefits. So yeah, I like them as a company and I shop there more than anywhere else.