DH and Costco

[tulipgraham]

This weekend I went to Costco with DH's mom (i guess that makes her my mother-in-law ) Anyhow, I got my own Costco card, so DH and I can SAVE money on items. He got so angry at me for buying the card because he claims "buying in bulk for two people does not save money, and we will never shop there". I disagree, I think we will save tons of money when buying bulk meat, snacks, cheese, etc.

Does anyone else think this way?

[guest32]

Dh and I shop there, and it is just the two of us. But, we usually only buy certain things. Coffee beans and meat, that we repackage with a Foodsaver. They really do have good meat. I also but their albacore tuna and canned chicken to have on hand. We don't eat a lot of processed, packaged or frozen foods, and I do think you have to know your prices. Oh, and I like the Kirkland brand of DW detergent, and I buy thier kitchen garbage bags, the box lasts me a year. Overall, I still think we save money....

[starsapphire]

The nearest Costco to us is an hour away, and we don't go to that town very often. I heard a rumor that they're going to build a Costco here in a few years but who knows. But years ago when I had a membership and went to the town it was in more often I did love to shop at Costco for their meat and other things.

[ewokgirl]

It's only DH and me, and I shop at Sam's. It's totally worth the cost of membership, IMO. I buy TP, paper towels, really good bird seed, shaving gel for me, lean ground beef, fish, frozen pizzas, frozen lasagnas, other frozen foods, books, some OTC meds... It's so much cheaper!

Now, if I didn't have room to store the bulk items, it wouldn't be worth it, but since we do, I save money.

[northernmom2boys]

We have a card , but grocery stores are starting to stock bigger items like Costco has so it doesnt pay for us to buy the membership anymore.We do go when fil comes to town and if we want anything we give him the money.I say this but I have said this 3 other times and always end up buying the membership cause I see something I cant live without lol

[Darlene]

Only 2 of us most of the time & we shop a warehouse store & buy and store things so we don't have to shop often.
There are times when I split things (like spices) with Dd.

[chatterweb]

We are a family of 2 as well, and Costco is a wonderful place to save money. Did you get the Executive membership? I shop there once a week, usually for bottled water, and some type of canned soups and such.
For us, the membership pays for itself ($100.00 per year) We also seem to get around 20-30 dollars as well back each year.

Here are some things we buy there:
Starbucks coffee
Paper products
Dog and Cat food and Dog treats The rawhide bones are a 12 pack for under 7 dollars!!!
Pizza
Zipfizz
Bottled Water
Ensure
Beef Jerkey
Meats
fruits
I am not listing everything, and here is another bonus:

Costco will accept any item and refund your money, this has helped alot, especially with food that we try and really don't like, even an opened or half uses item, a full refund is given, no questions asked, and you do not need the reciept, they keep a record of all the foods etc, you buy there!!

[frugalnana]

We don't have a Costco, but we do have a Sam's. I go with my parents since they have a card. Some things are a bargain. Especially there big bags of salad a vegtables. Comes in handy for the summer when we have cookouts. What you probably should do is figure how much you would buy in bulk versus going to the store and show him how much you save. Thats the only thing I can think of.

[Nada.Leona]

It's just me and I buy in bulk. I usually go with another frugal friend and we split on big purchases -- she has two kids and I just take half the portion and it works out well for both of us.

[Libby]

If you know how to use the membership correctly then yes I think its a great to be a member there. If you dont have one in your town/city then no b/c the cost of you to get there to spend a minimum of $100 maybe 3 times a year - I dont think it will pay itself off.

But Im purely going on the total of the discounts you'd get for buying in bulk - have THAT pay off your membership.

Some people like going just so they can buy in bulk. If thats you, then great! Costco is your place! Sams Club too.

I find here in Canada, the only things that actually give great discounts are the meats, breads, some dairy, media (books/cd's etc) and some health & beauty products. OH! wait, the pharmacy is very reasonable - if you're able to have the generic brand of medication.

The odd time I find its handy to be able to buy the prepacked convenience foods in bulk for lunches/get togethers and the premade cakes and baked goods. Go in, come out. LOL

Oh and their snack bar is very cheap

Most of the time I'd rather purchase at the local store which now carry larger sizes of commonly used bigger ticket items. Sometimes its just cheaper to buy multiples of the non bulk items. Like BIG TIME cheaper too.

You shouldnt have to PAY to be able to buy in bulk and well soon enough, we probably wont.


PS - have you ever noticed how many couples go in there to buy one carton (18 dozen/carton) of eggs and a box of strawberries? LOL I mean its weird to see them come to a BULK pkg'ing store to buy minimal items. How is that going to validate your membership?

And as someone else suggested - make a price book btwn a few local grocery stores where you live and a few close to the costco. Compare them both with Costco prices and items you actually use and need. That should show hubby how valuable it is. Plus they do sell BIG items too - lawnmowers, furniture etc so the one time you buy that there b/c its WAY cheaper then a competitor, that should show him its worth it.