Creatively Cheap emailed me a link her post on how Costco saves their family $2,000 per year. Wow!
Here’s a snippet:
Before we started shopping at Costco, our grocery bill was around $130 a week for a family of four. That is my husband and I, a four year old, and a baby. We had a $520 monthly grocery bill. And that was way to much for me. We decided to give wholesale shopping at Costco a shot in hopes of saving us a little money each month.
Our first trip went ok, but it wasn’t as good as I hoped. We spent $500 on what we planned on lasting the entire month. Okay, so we saved $20…Not really that great! To our surprise, the meat we bought to last the whole month, lasted two months! And we had other items last a lot longer than we planned, like peanut butter, frozen fruit and veggies, and butter.
The next trip I had a new plan: Don’t buy everything we needed. Some things are cheaper elsewhere and we really didn’t need everything we bought last time.
The second trip we only spent $280 (I planned on only $160, but my husband put some extra stuff in the buggy!). And we got the necessities to last an entire month. I plan on spending about $15 a week (or less if I can) at a near buy grocery store to get things like milk and fresh fruit and veggies (stuff that’s hard to buy in bulk). So, if you add that up, we will spend $340 this month on food. We will save $180! And honestly, I think we can get out of Costco for less than $280, so next month my goal is to save at least $200.
You do have to pay a membership fee to shop at Costco or Sam’s Club, but ours was only $55 for an entire year. If we save $180 a month on groceries, that adds up to a total of $2,160 that we would save for a whole year! The $55 seems worth it!
Read the whole post with all sorts of great tips and price comparisons here.
I was very interested to read this article because we’re supposed to be getting a Costco in our city in the not-too-distant future.
I personally prefer Costco to Sam’s because of the variety of organics that they carry. But Costco’s prices are higher than Sam’s Club and we get a gift membership to Sam’s each year from my husband’s parents. So we go to Sam’s Club!
A new Sam’s Club is opening a mile from our house this month which will be so nice!
It’s important to know prices when shopping at warehouse stores; not everything is cheaper there. We get certain things there–spices, olive oil, organic salad greens and dairy products are some of things we’ve found great prices on!
My mom has a Costco card so if she is visiting, sometimes we’ll go to Costco and stock up on a few things–like organic peanut butter!
Costco is the only warehouse store in our area, but it is an amazing money-saver for our family. It is a 2+ hour trip (each way) to the city and the grocery stores (there is a tiny market in the town we live in but high prices and limited selection do not allow for regular shopping there.) A trip to costco each month costs us nearly $600 but it is the only store we shop at (ours sells shelf-stable milk varieties, and frozen fruits/veggies to get us through a whole month) and we can buy nearly everything in a single trip. I have discovered a lot of the clothing basics are cheaper for our family there too (socks, undies, t-shirts, etc…) and sometimes the non-basics when they hit a clearance price. Also because I am only in the store once a month, I am careful to buy exactly what we need and the opportunity to impulse shop is not there.
We used to spend $800/mth for food and decided to go to Costco instead. We got the executive membership for the money back, even though DH thought it wasn’t worth it. After calculating, we saved about $400/mth now versus what we used to spend. Costco has ORGANIC fruits/veg so their prices are reasonable for that. When DH lost his job, it was a no-brainer to go here. Milk can be purchased cheaper at a regular supermarket at times but butter is much cheaper at costco. Cereals and meat are cheaper as well. If you know your prices and size of containers, you’ll see that costco can outmatch any competitor most of the time.
You can save money, if and only if you don’t buy extra things you don’t need. We save on bread, milk, chicken and some fresh foods.
http://www.squawkfox.com/2011/04/15/costco/
That article is the original source for the image here (comparing veggies from a shop which is, seriously, named ‘Real Canadian Superstore’) and totally worth a read. And an image credit.
Thank you so very much for linking to that article. I didn’t realize the image was not the poster’s that I linked to. I’ll credit it at the bottom of this post.
My hubby is a tv addict and must have his direct tv ESP now that it is football season. We upgraded our SAMs card to the plus version which is $100 for the year rather than the $45. But you can call direct tv and with the plus membership they will take $10/ mo off your bill. This saves us $120 a year. Plus you get coupons during each month. We already saved $5 in coupons this month on pork and grapes. So $125-55 nets me a savings of $70 so far.
One thing to note with all these comments is that Costco has variations in products and pricing based on store. We moved across the country Wisconsin to Colorado and our Costco was much better and cheaper in Colorado. There are many more organic products and they carry a lot of local meats and cheeses. In Wisconsin, there was less organic and some of the prices were higher. Either way, I am still totally a fan. I love Costco, and find that overall the prices beat what I can get at a regular grocery store with a few exceptions.
Well…….not for me. Costco is over an hour away. Costco is my favorite out of the 3 clubs, so last year we purchased a membership. We went 3 times. That was a waste of $55.00
This year I bought a Sam’s membership from the living social deal. I think for what i paid, I got it all back in free food and a giftcard, so that was worth it. I agree with creatively cheap. Don’t buy everything at the warehouse club. You need to know your prices.. I get my toilet paper free with rewards at staples or officemax, so there is no point in spending money to get it at the warehuse club. I can get 12 packs of soda at cvs when its on sale, even better with ecbs & coupons, for cheaper than the cost at the warehouse club. A big package of meat usually has a lower price per pound than at the grocery store. Hmmm……..even sometimes on the weekends, if you bring the family, you can flll up on samples, instead of having to buy lunch or go home and cook lunch for your gang.
Every few years we do a price check of Costco on the items we buy. Since we shop at discount stores, garden, eat gluten free, and grow some of our own chicken and eggs, our story is different from average, but we found that our savings at Costco would barely cover the membership fee. On top of that, I know we’d spend more in that tempting center section with all the lovely deals.
Therefore, for us, Costco is not a good option. For people in other circumstances, it obviously does work.
Over the years, we’ve had memberships to Sam’s, BJ’s and now Costco. We definitely prefer Costco for the items we buy, the general atmosphere and customer service! In addition to the food, paper products and gas we purchase regularly at Costco, we’ve also bought appliances, electronics, glasses, car batteries and air conditioners from there as well.
Mary Ellen
The Working Home Keeper
Costco treats its employees far better than Walmart (Sam’s) in terms of insurance, living wage, etc. That, along with quality of their food and Kirkland Signature generic brand items (esp shampoo, diapers), keeps us going back.
We love shopping at Costco. They have wonderful produce and a large variety of frozen items. They also have laundry soap, dishwasher soap, and other cleaning items in larger sizes that really save you money. We buy paper towels, tissues, toilet paper and napkins in the larger sizes too. We save A LOT of money shopping at Costco. Only wish we had a Costco closer to where we live. The closest one is 70 miles away. Needless to say we only go there once a month. But since we buy in bulk sometimes we only need to go every 2 months. We are retired so every penny really does count.
They are in the process of building a Costco right across the road from the Target I shop at!! I will definitely have to talk to my hubby about getting a membership! Thanks for the re-post!! =)
I am a huge Costco fan for their groceries. They are my main store to buy groceries – I go about every 3 weeks or so. I buy all of my dairy, eggs, cheeses, a lot of produce (2 hungry teen boys to feed), bread (which I keep in the freezer), flour, sugar, vanilla, oils, juices, rotisserie chicken, steak, hamburger, pasta, chicken stock, salsa, tuna, and coffee. Also occasionally a case of beer. Squares of foil for wrapping sandwiches and leftovers and freezer ziplocs are also a necessity. (I try to wash and re-use the ziplocs whenever possible to save more money of them.) Paper towels and TP also, and dog food and bones! Laundry soap, dish soap, Pledge and Windex.
I love their growing organic selections.
They have apple juice Kirkland brand. Not concentrated.. just apples. That’s the only ingredients listed! It’s delicious!
Great post! I love my Costco! It is amazing how much cheaper the organic stuff is there. But I like your idea of buying the fresh stuff at other places, too. Sometimes I don’t end up using all of the produce, and it ends up getting thrown away. The fruit I can freeze for smoothies, but things like spinach and kale don’t freeze well. You have to try the organic orange juice there – it is by far the best!
Gas is usually at least 10 cents cheaper per gallon at Costco. We also have a Costco American Express which gives us 3% cash back on gas. That alone pays for our membership plus a lot extra!
We save on yeast, canned dog food, kitty litter, meats, etc. We don’t usually buy fresh produce as i find that the size is too much for our small family. The savings on the allergy medicine alone have paid for our membership, and we can’t find tires cheaper anywhere else!
We have a 2 person household, I find that shopping Wags, (walgreens), safeway and fred Meyers (Kroger) with coupons and doubling them I do much better..Who pays for that Costco card and they try to tempt you with lots of stuff a person really doesn’t need…We don’t have that much we buy, we use fresh and more fresh..little meat if any, like fish we get from real fisherman..Plus we go to many places and visit at a beach and enjoy our times with friends from childhood preferring it to amassing huge amounts of this and that.. I mean really 500 rolls of toilet paper? People are more important than amassing huge quantities of food!ciao ciao and more ciao!
Two person household here too but I love Costco. I am sure people don’t shop there weekly for their toiletries and household goods. I certainly don’t! I buy paper towels, toilet paper and laundry detergent every 3-4 months. I buy meat monthly and fresh/frozen produce weekly. We eat veggies and fruit with every meal, including breakfast. Plus I use quite a bit of olive oil making my own salad dressings and mayo. For us, it definitely pays to shop at Costco. I don’t buy stuff we don’t need unless it’s a really good deal, like the 600 count sheets I bought last year.
Adding: Yes I could shop at Publix, which is really our only other option but I’d spend double the money and get half the veggies and fruits we need. I don’t buy processed foods, flour, sugar.. etc etc.. at all so using coupons is not an option either.
The bread I buy at Costco is basically 2 loaves for the price of one at a regular store. I save a ton by shopping their. I had a Sam’s membership and never used it, I love Costco and can get great deals with the coupons. We have the $110 membership, but only spent $38 out of pocket after our reward. I go once in a while to Sam’s with my Mom to get the popcorn as she has a membership their.
costco is great! lots of organic stuff at great prices…
The most helpful thing I find about shopping at Costco is that my trip is very simplified. Instead of having to choose between 5 different brands of something, Costco made the decisions for me and negotiated the price too. Buying bulk is also helpful so that things can last us a good while, so I don’t have to go back to the store every week. With 2 little ones, I have to plan my trips very efficient. Even though we have to pay more up front, the time and money saved in the long run is very worthwhile.
Dropped my membership b/c my teenager got sucked in to all of the non-food merchandise. It was so exhausting and no fun to constantly say no. Anyone overcome this challenge?
Leave the kid at home. Seriously. I dont like shopping with my kids, i get distracted and forget things and everything takes twice as long. Even with the older kids (my kids range from 16 down). I normally do one big shopping trip a month then a little one every week. I do the big by myself, past 9pm on a weekday when there are fewer customers. My husband puts the kids to bed and i can get a months worth of groceries in about an hour to an hour and a half.
And it’s not just food that we save money on…kids clothing is very inexpensive, and we love their organic pajamas! I also recently saw Lucky Jeans for $30, and Levi cargo shorts for $19.99. Sets of Bob Books are only $9.99, and a 2 pack of Veggie Tales DVDs go for $8.49.
During Christmas time, you can get their wrapping paper that is thick and a pleasure to wrap with, for about $13. One roll lasts me 3 years! Their toys are also great quality and a great price (today I saw a Leap Pad 2 set, with Leap Pad 2, gel case, and $20 card for $89. All those separately on Amazon (even on sale) is $110.
Also, their gift cards are a great deal. We just got $100 worth of restaurant gift cards for $79.
I also want to mention that booking our vacation through Costco Travel (first trip we’ve taken in nearly a decade, so I had no clue what prices would be like), saved us roughly 30% over expedia, and over 50% than had we booked everything separately.
I LOVE both Costco and Sam’s, for different reason I guess. When we lived in CA, I was a diehard Costco shopper. When we moved to IN a couple years back, I was completely devastated that the Costco was quite a drive away but Sam’s was very close. I wasn’t a Sam’s shopper. So, I still used my Costco membership and made the drive. That was before we had our baby boy and gas prices skyrocketed. My mom had a Sam’s membership and signed me on for the free card on her account. I converted. Now, I have both memberships’s and love them both. But, I have found that Costco is cheaper than Sam’s on some of the staples I need like Fancy Feast, Kirkland TP. They also carry a different stock so they have things I like that Sam’s doesn’t carry like Dawn Power dishsoap, Kirkland sea salt, Johnny’s garlic seasoning, Hormel thick cut bacon. I just have a list for each store of the items I like and get them there. I will say I pay for both memberships on my own now and it is totally worth it for us. Other than Aldi and an occasional Walmart trip, those are the only stores I shop. For me at Sam’s Club, the dramatic savings on the bulk spices I buy is worth the membership cost alone. Seriously, I purchase all of my spices in bulk there and since I cook 97% at home, this saves me a tremendous amount of money considering a tiny bottle of McCormick such-and-such spice at Walmart might cost $4, I can get a HUGE container of it for the same price at Sam’s. Also, during the holiday season they are the go-to place for baking supplies, chocolate chips, nuts, etc. So so much cheaper!
Whether a membership is worth it to someone entirely depends on their eating habits, how many people are in the family, budget, etc. For us, we primarily cook everything at home and very very rarely eat processed foods. It is cheaper for me to buy things in bulk. I also have a lot of storage space and a deep chest freezer so it is easy for me to do this.
We have a family of soon-to-be 7 (including three small boys who eat like grown men…lol); and the city we live near is building a Costco. I do all the cooking at home 97% of the time, just like you, and am very interested in cutting costs on groceries AND cutting down errand time (I have to take all of my children with me most of the time…an hour trip turns into 5 hours…). Thank you for giving us great details on how you shop at Costco and Sam’s!! =)
Laura,
You are VERY welcome! It was just my little insight as to why my frugal self would pay for both memberships. There are things that I try to exclusively buy at Aldi that are way cheaper and allow me to stockpile easily like dry pasta, white rice, dry pinto beans, peanut butter, dry oats, bottled water, canned veg, pasta sauce, definitely fresh produce, brick cheese’s, grated parmesan. If you are lucky to live near an Aldi, I highly highly recommend them. I usually compare prices by calculator in Costco, Sam’s and Aldi and buy what is on my list at the cheapest place during my errand run. But, like I said there are many staples on my list that either Costco or Sam’s carry that my Aldi does not…or at least not the brand/quality I like for the money. But, I am a grocery shopping geek and going to either Costco or Sam’s is heaven for me. I know, I am weird. I don’t do the normal girl shopping like shoes, makeup, clothes. I like food! LOL I also try to do all necessary errands on the same day so that I save gas, barring my toddler cooperating since like you I have to take him with me most of the time too! And yes, an hour trip does quickly turn into a 5 hour adventure with little one’s, doesn’t it? LOL
One more thing it depends on is what your other options are. Some places do not have grocery stores like Aldis or ones that have good coupon policies (like ones that double or do mega sales) and their only option are high priced, poor couponing stores. Others might live near both an Aldis as well as some great couponing stores in which case warehouse stores might not be worth it.
You definitely have to know your prices and follow the sales, but you CAN save a significant amount of money by shopping at Costco. Meat, in particular, is less expensive and, IMO, a higher quality than what you can get at the regular grocery store. Milk, half-and-half, and blocks of cheese are BIG savings. I find cereal is cheaper to get at the grocery store if you stock-up when it is on sale, especially if your grocery store doubles coupons. Condiments, vinegar, oil, chips, gum, nuts and crackers are other items that are routinely less at Costco. I’ve had hit or miss success with their produce, so I don’t usually count on them for that. I’ve also gotten some really good deals on name brand clothes, like Tommy Hilfiger, Dockers, and Carters (for the little ones). Bottom line, if you’re willing to pay attention and put out a little effort, Costco can save you money, but not if you just go in assuming that everything you put in your basket is going to be a bargain.
We love Costco and my respect for this company grew even more recently. My identity was stolen and they spent a weekend opening up about 15 credit cards in my name without any problem (using a fake Iowa license). However, when they went to Costco in Indiana to try to open up an American Express, the employees were suspicious enough to look up my membership and give me a call. I was able to verify the fraud and they called the police and had her arrested! I credit this to the fact that Costco pays their employees well and they care what happens there. I like being able to support a company that respects their employees while saving me money to boot!
When our kids were younger, the savings on just two cans of formula paid for our membership for the year! Now our staples are shredded cheese, milk, gas, almonds… I would also recommend their store brand (Kirkland) – we’ve found it to be high quality. We purchased carpet for our basement and were very happy with the results. It was similar to Home Depot pricing but with a better pad underneath.
Wow! So happy for you. I do agree, the Costco employees are always hard at work. I like the fact that they are paid a decent wage to work. I never see them standing around talking. If they are talking, they are walking or doing something as they talk. At Sam’s, the lines are much longer and the employees are taking their time when folding shirts and I do see them standing talking but I can tell that is not allowed at the busy Costco that I go to.
Remember that store conditions (dirty/organized) and employees/service (politeness, busy, long lines, etc) depend on the store. We went to both Sam’s and Costco on the same day twice when my parents came to visit (they have a costco membership so my boys wanted to go on sample sprees lol) and the lines (because they didn’t have enough lines open) were much longer at Costco. And both stores were very well kept and organized. Just like Walmart, I hear horror stories from people about how dirty/rude/unorganized, etc Walmart stores are. I have been into stores like that and definitely believe the people but have also been to Walmart stores where the cashiers were polite, several lines were open, and the store was neat and clean. Likewise, I have seen Target stores that were cluttered, dirty, and only had three lanes open with very long lines while several employees seemed to be standing around not doing much. I have lived on both coasts as well as TX so I have been to many locations of many stores so I have seen the good and the bad of many chains. The only store that I have seen that was consistently bad (though like I said, I’m sure there probably are good stores, I just haven’t been to them) was Kmart. I have been to at least 5 different stores over three different states (none of them where I was in TX) and they have all been dirty and/or cluttered/unorganized and had items with no prices, sales that did not ring up correctly, and some had very rude or clueless cashiers.
On K-Mart, I’ve been in around 10, in three states and all of them were just plain out nasty. They’ve been shutting down here lately. I completely agree with your insights on the store conditions.
We have limited shopping options where we live but we have a Costco which we love and definitely helps us save!!
Just a few weeks ago I went to Sam’s on a promotional day for nonmembers out of curiosity. I menu plan and use coupons, so I was wondering if someone like me would save money. The closest Sam’s is about 20 miles away so me and my sister went together to see if it lives up to the savings hype.
IMO YES and NO.
You can save money on things that you normally cant coupon for and have to watch for sales like meat, cheese, spices, sugar, flour, olive oil, coconut oil etc. basic staple items.
The snack items I can use for my kids lunches and coffee were reasonably priced and would be nice to have in bulk.
I would not save money on things like toilet paper, shampoo, makeup, vitamins, household cleaners, laundry detergent, first aid items etc. Most of those things you can stock up when you combines sales and coupons at regular stores and pay half the regular price.
Im still on the fence about a memberships, im thinking if I could plan meals a month ahead and do some freezer cooking it would cut back the time I spend in the grocery store and save some money. I just wish it was closer.
I have not researched “prices” but we live 45 minutes away from a Sam’s Club and so I have to question the savings as well (after I paid a yearly membership) and factored in gas and time, not to mention being tempted to buy things that we don’t need (larger quantities of items).
My savings on baking items alone more than pays for my sam’s membership. Of course I also pass one on the way to my main grocery store also, so there’s no real gas cost involved.
We shop at Costco about once a week. It is definitely the least expensive place for organic products like coconut oil, chia seeds, almond milk and some produce. We try to buy as much organic as possible and Costco does make it easier. I don’t have a Sam’s Club in my area to compare, but I have always had great success with Costco. They make returns really easy and they always have the best prices on gas in our area. Totally worth the membership.
Having recently moved to Hawaii, the increased costs of groceries has been one of the biggest adjustments for us. Despite my warnings, visitors are always shocked when they step into the Safeway down the road. Because of that, the Costcos here are like heaven and are busy alll the time. Now if only my local costco would start carrying Kerrygold butter. I do buy some things at Safeway, especially chicken when its on a great sale, but a majority of our budget goes to Costco.
In the past 15 years I’ve learned that you either prefer Costco over Sam’s or Walmart vs. Target. It all comes down to what you prefer, the atmosphere and surely the customer service. No company is worth my hard earned money when they don’t care about their customers and are downright rude. Is it worth it? Not for me it isn’t.
I love Costco!!! Whenever I make a trip to see my mother I stock up! I actually make a circle around town getting things I need from 4-5 stores. Where we live, groceries are outrageous and stores are hard to come by. I actually have both Costco and Sams Cards and shop both on my way back from Mom’s. But, if I had to choose, I would pick Costco due to the organic/healthier type items. For me that stacks the deck against Sams and their sometimes lower prices. (There prices are not that much cheaper and definitely not on all items)
I love Costco. Whenever I make a trip to see my mother I stock up! I actually make a circle around town getting things I need as where we live groceries are outrageous. I have both Costco and Sams Cards. If I had to choose, I would pick Costco due to the organic/healthier type items. Sams prices are cheaper in some things but they just don’t carry the organic he
The amount of savings (or lack of) is totally dependent on each individual or family situation. Costco lets anyone go in and peruse, so it’s best to check it out for yourself before purchasing a membership. Personally the only thing I’ve found that I can’t get cheaper elsewhere (stocking up on rock bottom priced items, using coupons, playing the grocery game, price-matching, etc.) is quinoa. Fortunately I have several friends with memberships that offer to pick it up for me, and it benefits them in a small way because they get a % back from both Costco and from their credit card company. If that wasn’t the case I’d be tempted to get a membership because we LOVE quinoa and go through it quickly. It’s only $9.99 for a 4 lb. bag (up from $8.99 when Costco first came to our area).
I just can’t beat Costco’s price on both corn and flour tortillas and baking things like brown sugar, yeast, & vanilla. However, we keep our Costco membership just for what we save in contact lenses and contact solution alone. 🙂
One of my favorite things about Sam’s Club is the savings on additional items such as optical, gas, and tires. What I save on eyeglasses is worth the membership!
Comparing prices is best for food stuff. Ironically, I actually don’t buy a lot of food at Costco except baking type supplies (flour, yeast, coconut oil, sugar, etc.).
We buy a lot of goods at Costco though. They had the best price on new tires this month. And more computer (and service) for our money. Gas is routinely $0.10-$0.20/gallon cheaper. We get our ink cartridges refilled for $8-$10 depending on the brand and it’s just like new. Printing pictures has been cheaper for me since most of the deals with shipping end up more than Costco’s price. This can vary depending on the quality of the specific Costco, but I’ve had a lot of luck! We also buy glasses and contacts there. The glasses I bought at Costco have lasted 3 years compared to a similar set I bought at a discount place that lasted 1 1/2 years.
Costco offers a 90 day return policy on electronics, and extends the manufacturers warranty to 2 years on computers. They also have a concierge service for electronics. We bought a computer from them in July, and it turned out to have a defect. Since we owned it for 38 days we would have been out of luck at most stores and had to deal with the manufacturer. At Costco we were able to take the computer back, receive a full refund and buy another one. Costco will deal with the return to the manufacturer.
We also recently booked a mini vacation through their travel services and were able to save more than any coupon/bargain hunting I had found.
I prefer to shop at Costco over Sam’s. I find that the prices overall are the same (milk cheaper at one, butter at the other), but I like the fair employee practices at Costco, so it supports my philosophy of spending my money where my mouth and values are.
The pure maple syrup is defiantly cheaper at Costco if you do not live up north. I almost had to have my mom send me some from Maine before I found it there.
Yes, Costco can save money if you shop there in a disciplined manner. I have certain things I buy regularly at Costco. I buy the Kirkland brand of trash bags because a box lasts a long time and they are better quality than the generic found in other stores. I buy Scotch brand sponges in bulk there when they have them on discount, because I’m brand-loyal in that one instance. I buy children’s Advil there in bulk when I can’t find a better price elsewhere. They have the best price on butter that I can find locally, and their milk prices beat my grocery store’s (I never can find sales on milk). I buy sugar there in 25 to 50 lb. bags which I store in a large container. They do not carry unbleached flour in bulk, or non-fat dry milk (emergency milk).
However, I buy things like bread, breakfast cereal, honey, canned goods, produce, snacks, etc. at discount and salvage stores. Except for avocados. Avocados are consistently good at Costco. All their produce is really good, it’s just that I can get a better price at the salvage store. Most toiletries come from CVS couponing or grocery store couponing. I buy my t.p. at the local grocery store because it’s exactly like the 1,000-sheet Scott brand, only cheaper. When you have a big family, if you don’t buy 1,000-sheet you are a slave to replacing tp rolls! Costco’s generic isn’t 1,000-sheet, last I checked. I think it’s cheaper by the sheet to buy it at my local store.
One thing about Costco: even though I don’t think the savings are better than couponing for many brand-name items, the quality is nearly always *excellent.* Therefore, you can be certain you are getting good quality for special purchases like sheets, towels, drinking glasses, etc. when you need them. I like to buy household items at yard sales whenever possible, but sometimes it’s just not possible to buy those needs used (especially for a large family like ours).
My biggest tip at Costco is DON’T bring your hubby—They always find non-essentials to buy…LOL
isn’t that the truth! LOL I warned my hubby we were only going for staple items and not prepackaged junk that resembles food.
YES, we think shopping at Costco saves us money! And I love that Costco has a fairly decent selection of more natural products. I get coconut oil, Kerrygold butter, organic extra virgin olive oil, natural peanut butter, plain yogurt, lower sugar jelly, pure maple syrup, nitrite-free bacon, organic fresh spinach and organic frozen berries, as well as other things, at way better prices than I’d pay elsewhere. In fact, I have a friend who has a Sam’s membership who often asks me to pick items up at Costco for her! The price at Costco is either better, or the item isn’t carried at Sam’s at all.
Plus, free samples equals an outing where the kids (or, to be honest, my husband) are concerned! 😉
I save a fair amount of money buying all my dairy, some produce (ours in CA has a good selection of organic, usually for a pretty good price), nuts, meat (good organic selections/prices), dried fruit, maple syrup, etc. We have been able to sustain our whole foods and selectively organic diet cheaper by doing about half our grocery shopping there. We spend $200 a month on groceries total for a family of 4. Our membership is gifted to us, though, and I’m not sure if it would save us TOO much if I were to factor in that cost. Haven’t tried.
We just got a Costco membership in June, & have loved it.
After watching one-too-many food documentaries in January, we’ve been on a Sally Fallon/WAPF type diet, & our previous minimal, coupon-crazy grocery budget just wasn’t “cutting it” any longer. We’re quickly burning through diary products, eggs, nuts, & produce (all of which rarely have a coupon!). We’ve found that we save much more by purchasing these quality staple items in bulk, even over the sale prices elsewhere.
I try to abide by the “dirty dozen” organic recommendation, and I’m finding that our location doesn’t have very much fresh organic produce, except carrots & lettuce & spinach & occasionally a few others, but they do have a pretty good selection of organic frozen fruit/veggie choices, which I’ll use more in the winter.
Re: meat/dairy, one day I hope to have my own farm!, but ’til then the prices for organic are much better than they are at grocery stores. For example, I pay less for organic butter at Costco than I do for non-organic butter on sale at Publix.
ALSO, customer service at Costco is AWESOME. Not sure if this happens everywhere, but the lady who sold us the Executive Membership ($110, with the perk of getting 3% cash back) told us that if we didn’t spend enough in a year for the membership to pay for itself, they will write us a check for the difference!
The only thing cheaper than aldi is the cheese and driving 40 miles in an SUV is not worth the savings. We go once every few months and get gum, protein powder, cheese, and maybe contact solution. My mil gives us her second card otherwise we couldn’t justify the amount of the card. My mom has a Costco card and offered to take me but after looking at prices online, I haven’t gone. The best way for me to save money is to buy cheap foods at aldi and just avoid other stores.
Prices at Aldi are quite inexpensive, but there isn’t one nearby and I pick up certain items at Costco regularly. In case you’re still curious about whether it’s worth checking out Costco with your mom, Costco’s online pricing is different than what one finds in stores. The online catalog contains a number of specialty items, many of which aren’t found in stores, and prices include shipping & handling.
Thank you for the post and if you click on her link she has a free downloadable Wholesale Shopping List you can use…
We love Costco!
P.S. Here’s an article on the “secret codes” used at Costco that let you know when items are marked down at their lowest selling point….I thought it was interesting! I didn’t write it though, just a reader and thought I’d share. http://hubpages.com/hub/Secret-Codes-Will-Save-You-Money-At-Costco
Thanks for the link! I’ve heard about the codes but never gotten a handle on them…glad to have a reference. 🙂
My family and I had a Sam’s Club membership a while back and enjoyed using it, but I actually found that I could get a lot of stuff cheaper with coupons at other stores. I think there are certain items that are cheaper through Sam’s Club such as various meats, some dairy products, and some produce. For us though the price of the membership wasn’t worth it to keep. If we start needing more of those items that are cheaper at Sam’s Club, we may decide to pick it back up. If we do, it would be worth comparing Sam’s Club and Costco, so thanks for the tip. I really think it depends on the specific items you use the most as to whether it is worth it. It’s interesting to hear different perspectives on the warehouse stores.
Costco is great if you have good self-control. I always want to buy everything when I go in there. Thankfully I do not. We do save a lot of money on almond milk, quinoa, nuts, hummus, olive oil, toilet paper, paper towel, flour tortillas, and cat food. (Their pet food is great quality and WAY cheaper than lower qualify stuff at Target, Petco etc)
We split a membership with family so it is definitely worth it as long as you only buy certain items! Their samples are fantastic.
Curious… how do you split a membership?? Do you live at the same address??
One can no longer split a Costco membership with a non-household member- super bummer. They WILL now check your license to make sure your addresses are the same.
We still split our membership, but maybe no in the way you are referring to? We go either together with our neighbor, or we go with our list from our neighbor and pick up the items they need, using the cash they give to us. No one has ever said a thing to me, and I get the cash back at the end of the year for both of our purchases:)
Well I think that depends who you get… I am splitting my membership with my daughter-in-law. I live in NY and she and my son live in Chicago. Last visit recently we went into Costco and I signed them up under mine and they never said boo…. different last names too.
Costco saves us TONS of money every month. We live in NYC where groceries are ridiculously expensive. Costco goes a long way to make things more reasonable for us. For most things that are not perishable I try and have a unit price available to compare the costco price to before I buy. I use Amazon’s subscribe and save price for most stuff as a baseline.
This article came at a great time! I plan on shopping at Sam’s at the beginning of the month. I am sure my bill will be quite large because I do a lot of items such as: flour, sugar, spices, meats, condiments. So if I spend a little more and can save the following months, SCORE! 😀
Plus the gas savings!! They are about $0.30+ a gallon cheaper than the other gas stations around here.
And the cheap hot dogs and other food at food court 🙂
I have one right in town. We go once a week. I have a few regular things like spinach and milk that I buy each week and other things we always buy there, but lasts longer than a week. Stuff we buy religiously there are coconut oil, olive oil, vanilla, hummus, Nesquick, frozen blueberries, oranges, dishwasher detergent, socks, postage stamps, pan spray, butter, shredded cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, and half-n-half.
I don’t usually buy their meat though. Their meat is good quality but is also expensive. We usually do Zaycon for meat which is also wholesale, not stuffed with antibiotics, grass fed, and much less per lb.
I think it comes out cheaper if you buy at the regular grocery store during a sale and use coupons to stock up on non perishable items such as cooking spray etc. Costco is great for cheeses etc. but not everything
Is Zaycon antibiotic free and grass fed?! I thought when I looked awhile ago it wasn’t!
We order from Zaycon too (as well as purchasing straight from the rancher in our area for 1/2 cows twice a year). Antibiotic free from what we were told with our beef and chicken purchases, and grass fed! Best tasting, freshest meat you can get second to the fresh from the farm beef we purchase.. it SMELLS fresh (and you can definitely tell a difference compared to the styrofoam packed versions).
I dont have a Costco near me but I do have Sam’s Club which I love! Usually we save money on milk, orange juice is alot cheaper then my local Kroger, fresh fruit in bulk like blueberries & strawberries (if we know we will use them), and Nesquick chocolate milk is so cheap, oh and diapers and when we need formula Sams has their own brand for $20 for 3lbs! I also pick up books there because they are half the price as other stores. I love whole sale stores! I seriously cannot brag enough, even their birthday cakes are cheap and tasty. Some things I DONT buy is eggs (cant go through them fast enough), large quanity of perishables….
I also discovered spices are pretty cheap there as well! You can seriously find anything even clothes, when my son wore those fleece onsie pajamas they were always cheaper then Kohls or JcPenny. My husband even got me Twilight DVD’s 4 movies in a gift pack for only $15 ! Crazy the deals I find there! Love the optical department to my contacts are $20 less a pack there then anywhere else!
Sam’s Club claims to be cheaper than Costco. Is this actually true?
I personally don’t like Sam’s, they have little, if any organic options. The only item I purchase at Sam’s is light olive oil and chili powder. However, I found a chili powder through amazon I like more and with subscribe and save it’s cheaper. I have yet to find olive oil on amazon cheaper than Sam’s. I have the Costco gold membership because I like getting “cash back” at the end of the year. You have to use it at Costco but it’s nice and of course dependent on how much you spend. If you shop at Costco a lot it’s definitely worth the membership upgrade.
We have both SAMs and Costco. I love our Costco. Great prices, clean store ad wonderful customer service. Our SAMs is like an overgrown Walmart. Dirty store, rude cashiers and terrible customer service!
Lori, the cashback does not have to be used at Costco…I always go to the customer service desk and they will cash it for me. This works out especially if the cashback amount is more than you planned on spending that day.
Sorry! I meant to say Sharon.
Awesome, thanks for the tip!
I have both Sam’s and Costco memberships, too. We got our Sam’s membership basically for $10 through a Living Social deal. I would rather pay 5 times that for Costco! Sam’s is NOT cheaper here-in any ways that count. And with our cash back on our Executive/American Express Sam’s can’t touch our Costco cash back. P.S. You can also get the “overage” of your rebates back as cash if you spend them at the register. Since we shop there anyway, I figure it is a little easier than waiting at customer service!:)
Oh we always get cash back, which they will do at the customer service desk. We spend hundreds every time we go but even if our check wasn’t quite large, I would want that extra percentage for next year!
I have been to costco (nearest one to me is 40 min) and I think sam’s is alot cheaper….I couldnt figure out the hype on costco.
I think Costco’s quality is better than Sam’s but that’s my personal opinion.
Mine too 🙂 I’m closer to Sam’s, but will drive a little farther to Costco because of the quality of their products. Plus my husband is hooked on their coffee (Kirkland brand, roasted by Starbucks) so he thinks it’s worth it too 🙂
I agree. Costco also has the best return policy around!
We have a Costco membership and this year got the free Sam’s club membership. I had heard people say they Sam’s was a little cheaper, so we went a couple of times and priced the things that we buy. They were not at all cheaper than Costco at that point. There may have been one thing, but most were the same prices or even more expensive. We are closer to Costco, so that made it easy.
It really depends on the item when comparing individual prices of things at warehouse stores. I live near a town that has all three (Sam’s, BJs, and Costco). We have Sam’s because it is basically $25 for us ($40 plus $15 giftcard back for military) and we don’t buy a lot of stuff at warehouse stores for ourselves. Then we have access to a BJ’s because of my husband’s soda mess (he buys stuff for them through both BJ’s and our Sam’s membership). And we visit Costco when my parents visit because they have a membership. I have seen different sorts of items cheaper at all three, it just depends on the item and if they are on sale. Like I said, my family buys very little from the warehouse stores so we go with the cheapest. One thing I do like to buy there is ink. Ink for my printer never goes on sale and I found that Sam’s (I think the other ones did as well) carries a three pack (one color, two black) of my cartridges for less than buying two black ones at Staples (or if I have a very good coupon at Staples, not that extreme but still cheaper at Sam’s).
Costco now will refill your ink cartridges. They said it will usually work up to 4 times on one cartridge. for mine I think it was $10. SO much cheaper. Even though it works fine for some reason the printer has always thought I am out of ink still… from the beginning, but it works fine.
I agree with Sharon – the quality is better. We were loyal Sam’s Club members for years until we tried Costco. The quality of the meat alone is worth it. It’s good stuff!
I got bulk flour and yeast when I baked more bread, now it’s dish soap (Kirkland stuff smells so good!), spices, and especially quinoa – you can’t beat the price anywhere on that stuff!
When we had our children, the diapers, wipes and formula (all name brand) were hands down cheapest at Sam’s – in some cases more than half the grocery/big box store price. That’s why we started shopping at Sam’s club. Now we buy bread flour, yeast, spices, meat, cheese, milk and yogurt there. In our area baking staples and cheese are definitely cheaper at Sam’s club. I’ve found that the canned goods we buy are cheaper at the grocery store and so is the fresh fruit. We have a CSA and a garden for veggies but I will occasionally buy fresh veggies at Sam’s, depending on the season and price. I haven’t actually shopped at Costco since we’re far closer to Sam’s, so the gas and time isn’t worth it (we live in a major metro area and I’m 15 min from a Sam’s and 35 from a Costco).
You can go online to their web site and look at prices once you select your local store. In our area, Sam’s is cheaper for the things we buy than Costco. I know other people for whom it is cheaper to buy at Costco. My cousin loves Costco and swears by their pricing but she shops very differently than I do!
Good luck,
Lea
We have a Sam’s Club 2 miles away and a Costco within walking distance.
I have a Sam’s Club card.
You need to compare what you personally buy. Go in and write down prices and make a decision. I’ve gone back in and compared a few times, but I’ve stuck with Sam’s Clubs, because I’ve found that the items that I buy are cheaper there. In addition, Sam’s Club carries popcorn in a 50 pound bag (Costco does not). That was an important one for me.
Most everyone I know has a Costco card, but they buy totally different things than I do, so it works for them. I really think it depends on what you buy.
What do you do with 50 pounds of popcorn? How long does it take to use?
You freeze it and eat it of course 😀
We have both and I cannot stand Costco. It’s expensive, dirty and poorly organized. I am a Sams Girl through and through, because it’s what works for us 😀
When I’ve compared, I’ve not found Sams to be less expensive for items I buy. Plus, Costco has a coupon flier out almost all the time, rotating through different products!
We have both, and I have taken a regular shopping list into both stores on 2 separate occasions to price check. Sam’s was overall 15% less expensive. In addition, our Sam’s membership is only $40, compared to $55 for Costco. Almost more importantly to me, every time I have been to Costco there were really long lines for checkout and people in the parking lot were downright hostile. I will continue to drive past Costco 3 miles to get to Sam’s. The people at my Sam’s are super nice. I am not into organics, but I also don’t buy a lot of pre-packaged food. I tend to buy staples and household stuff at Sam’s.
And I’m sorry – I meant to reply to Jennifer.
We have always had great success at Costco. We had to formula-feed 4 children, and only spent about $30-40 a month on formula using their Kirkland brand. We now have an executive membership (which costs $110 per year) that has given us more than enough cash back to continue having a yearly membership for free. I don’t have anyone using formula or diapers anymore, but we definitely still spend a lot there on food. I bring a huge cooler in my van for a costco trip, and only shop for small things and sales at the grocery store. The frozen meat tip is good although if the store carries fresh ground turkey, (which is only sometimes) it is a great deal and fresh. As a bonus, my kids LOVE to get to “eat out” at costco. Between all the free samples and paying on $1.59 for a hotdog AND drink or $10 for an entire pizza, it is one of the only places this family eats out.