TheHaitian
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Post by TheHaitian on Feb 14, 2016 13:47:59 GMT -5
In the early days of our married life we had a Costco membership but realized being just the 2 of us it was not really benefiting us. We currently routinely get those offers from BJ's free 60-90 days memberships etc. We got one around Christmas and my wife decided to use it because it was right around the time we were going to have a party. She was overall happy with it. That membership ends at the end of Feb so we decided to use it again today before it expires and decide one and for all if we want to spend the money on a membership. $217.59 later... Still not sure! The lady checking us out said: if you spend more than $200/month here you might need to upgrade your membership (we spend on average $600-800/month on groceries). We like it because it would require that we make less trip to the store but then I will work in a grocery store ... Duh! - having to buy less often (good) - but the bigger portions/boxes takes up way more space (bad) - Meat packaging : ground beef will probably last 4 meals... So do we cook it all once or separate it in individual zip lock bags? Same with chicken breasts, pork and beef steaks. Mmmm... Sound like a lot of work! How about you? A fan or not?
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Feb 14, 2016 14:08:29 GMT -5
We use our Costco membership a LOT, despite there only being 2 in the household. We have a 4' x 8' shelving unit in the garage where we store the extras.
For meat, I break up the large packages of meat into serving size packages. So I'll put 2 chops/bag, 2 steaks/bag, etc. For ground beef, I'll usually break it down to about 1.5 lb packages (but normally don't buy this much). For the most part, the meat isn't necessarily cheaper (other than lamb, it's about 2/3 of what it is in the grocery store), but it does tend to be a better quality.
What we buy are the things we use regularly. For canned goods, we use chicken stock, tomatoes and beans. Butter is cheaper, goes into the freezer. Toilet paper, paper towels, baggies, kitty litter, laundry detergent, dishwashing detergent, dishwasher detergent all get purchased when on sale and we'll buy a couple at a time. Not being on sale it generally costs more than the grocery store.
For perishables, I tend to buy more in summer than winter. During the winter, I might buy one type of veggie and one fruit. During the summer, we eat a lot lighter/more salads so tend to buy tomatoes, cukes, red peppers, romaine, etc. Condiments are MUCH cheaper, and we go through a lot of Grey Poupon, kalamata olives, etc. especially during the summer.
For us, gas is about 0.30/gallon cheaper than most places in town. However, this is not usual across the US and I'm not sure why there is such a huge price disparity here and not elsewhere.
We go through things like half and half (for coffee), milk, eggs, cheese (which is a tremendous savings if you like good cheese) regularly.
I guess for the 2 of us, we spend about $600-800/mo for groceries and about half that is at Costco.
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NoNamePerson
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Post by NoNamePerson on Feb 14, 2016 14:13:11 GMT -5
I don't buy that much from Sam's - just a few things. But I love my Sam's Master Card just for the rewards. I wonder if I lose the card if I don't renew my membership So I guess I would say it's worth it. Costco finally opened here but I've just never gone across town to check it out so will stick with Sam's for the moment.
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NastyWoman
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Post by NastyWoman on Feb 14, 2016 14:13:31 GMT -5
You'd think that as a single person I have even less of a use for a membership. But Costco has aged Gouda, that I only can get at a deli around here. The price difference between Costco and the deli is such that this alone "justifies" the membership cost. There are other things I buy there, but very few... however, the cheese... don't get between this Dutch person and her cheese
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tskeeter
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Post by tskeeter on Feb 14, 2016 14:19:53 GMT -5
Costco fan
We first got a Costco membership because the meat was way better than what we could get at local grocery stores. We find that even though there are just two of us, the larger size packages work out. Got four steaks? Prepare all four, then use the leftover steaks for steak salad or steak sandwiches.
Yes, we sometimes split things into smaller packages. But, it's really not a lot of work. The cost of many Costco size packages is only a little bit more than buying a much smaller package at the grocery store, so it's usually worth the effort.
Even with an executive level membership, we find that our annual rebate is more than the cost of our membership.
All things considered, there are several things we don't buy at Costco because we don't use enough of it and it doesn't store well. Such as produce. But, if you piv ck and choose the types of things you are buying......
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Feb 14, 2016 14:21:35 GMT -5
You'd think that as a single person I have even less of a use for a membership. But Costco has aged Gouda, that I only can get at a deli around here. The price difference between Costco and the deli is such that this alone "justifies" the membership cost. There are other things I buy there, but very few... however, the cheese... don't get between a Dutch person and her cheese LOL....for us it's Gruyere. If I buy it at the grocery store, it tends to run about $16.99/lb. Costco it's $10.99/lb. Same (imported) brand. Last time I was planning on making French onion soup, I forgot to pick it up at Costco and stopped at the grocery store. I was really pissed that I forgot it then - but not enough to make another run to Costco!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 14, 2016 14:24:40 GMT -5
I love my Sam's Club membership. I use it for a lot of bulk frozen stuff and have a big chest freezer so storage isn't an issue. The credit card gives me 5% cash back on gas and 3% on dining out which is the only thing I use it for besides my Sam's Club purchases and it usually comes to about $150 - $200/year cash back right around the time my membership is due, so definitely worth the $40. The only thing I don't like about it is it's 30 miles away, so it's a once a month trip normally. I'd do Costco if I could, but the nearest one of those is over 50 miles.
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Lizard Queen
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Post by Lizard Queen on Feb 14, 2016 14:31:32 GMT -5
No BJ's here. Costco is 40 miles away. Sam's is somewhere between 5-10 miles away, which is too inconvenient for me when I've got Meijer, as well as Wal-Mart and Aldi (if I chose to shop there), about 1 mile from my home. I have had a Sam's card off and on over the years, and DH had a free one through his old job. They had great prices on their generic brand baby formula. I do like checking out their general merchandise too. As far as food goes, it's not usually that great of a deal--sometimes even more expensive than a comparable amount I can get in the regular grocery store. I did use a free 3 month membership last fall, and got my son a great price on a birthday cake. So, my take is it's hit and miss. Not usually worth the extra effort to drive across town through the 'hood.
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NastyWoman
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Post by NastyWoman on Feb 14, 2016 14:38:09 GMT -5
Dang, if reading these boards has taught me anything, it is how spoiled I am living where I do. I have at least a dozen grocery stores (not counting deli's and probably missing some of the small ethnic stores) within a 3-mile radius from my home and that includes a Costco. From work, within two miles, I can add another Costco and a Sam's club. I'll keep that in mind next time I sit in traffic going to eork, b*tching about the time it takes me to get there (and that too is shorter than for a lot of other posters)
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dannylion
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Post by dannylion on Feb 14, 2016 14:44:46 GMT -5
I love Costco! I used to have a BJ's membership before there was a Costco close to me, and there is a distinct difference in quality. Costco's stuff is just better.
I am addicted to Kerry Gold Dubliner cheese (and a couple of other fancy cheeses, but not the weird squishy ones). They are much cheaper at Costco than at other stores.
They have very good hummus and other prepared foods.
Also toilet paper, paper towels, trash bags, plastic storage bags (Ziplock, Glad, etc.), laundry detergent, V8 Juice (another addiction), fizzy water, big jars of artichoke hearts, big jars of delicious olives (Costco's own brand is my fave), big jars of roasted red pepper (easier than making my own-I'm lazy), vitamins, small electronics, cordless phones, computers, furnace filters, light bulbs, batteries, avocados, oranges, cookies, soup, salad dressing (Costco's balsamic vinaigrette is quite tasty), coffee, fish sticks, salmon, pizza, sausage patties, roasted chicken, vacuum cleaners, air compressors, car-washing brushes, food processors, blenders, TVs, and that's just what I can come up with without a lot of thought. When I finally renovate my kitchen, I will probably get my appliances from Costco. I
I like Costco so much I bought stock in the company.
Also, they pay their employees rather better than other similar businesses, and the service seems better.
Even though the lines can be long sometimes, they are very efficient and the wait is not very long.
I like Costco. I go at least once a month.
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NoNamePerson
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Post by NoNamePerson on Feb 14, 2016 14:47:27 GMT -5
Dang, if reading these boards has taught me anything, it is how spoiled I am living where I do. I have at least a dozen grocery stores (not counting deli's and probably missing some of the small ethnic stores) within a 3-mile radius from my home and that includes a Costco. From work, within two miles, I can add another Costco and a Sam's club. I'll keep that in mind next time I sit in traffic going to eork, b*tching about the time it takes me to get there (and that too is shorter than for a lot of other posters) Me too. You can pass gas here and hit a grocery stores, drug stores, gas stations and more places to eat, etc. Heck, we have grocery stores across the street from each other!! I just never get to Costco to check it out since just not on side of town I run - but it's maybe 3 or 4 miles from my house.
ETA: I'm single so buying in bulk is not a big deal with me but still keep my Sam's card for the few things I do get a good deal on there.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 14, 2016 14:49:57 GMT -5
Dang, if reading these boards has taught me anything, it is how spoiled I am living where I do. I have at least a dozen grocery stores (not counting deli's and probably missing some of the small ethnic stores) within a 3-mile radius from my home and that includes a Costco. From work, within two miles, I can add another Costco and a Sam's club. I'll keep that in mind next time I sit in traffic going to eork, b*tching about the time it takes me to get there (and that too is shorter than for a lot of other posters) It depends how you define spoiled. I like being away from all that.
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NoNamePerson
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Post by NoNamePerson on Feb 14, 2016 14:51:55 GMT -5
Dang, if reading these boards has taught me anything, it is how spoiled I am living where I do. I have at least a dozen grocery stores (not counting deli's and probably missing some of the small ethnic stores) within a 3-mile radius from my home and that includes a Costco. From work, within two miles, I can add another Costco and a Sam's club. I'll keep that in mind next time I sit in traffic going to eork, b*tching about the time it takes me to get there (and that too is shorter than for a lot of other posters) It depends how you define spoiled. I like being away from all that. I could live either way - big city or out in the woods all by myself!!!! ETA: I would just have to plan a little better!!
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Feb 14, 2016 14:54:38 GMT -5
Dang, if reading these boards has taught me anything, it is how spoiled I am living where I do. I have at least a dozen grocery stores (not counting deli's and probably missing some of the small ethnic stores) within a 3-mile radius from my home and that includes a Costco. From work, within two miles, I can add another Costco and a Sam's club. I'll keep that in mind next time I sit in traffic going to eork, b*tching about the time it takes me to get there (and that too is shorter than for a lot of other posters) The closest grocery store to me is about 7 miles away. Costco's about 15 miles. We do have a package store that we can run out to get milk that's 3 miles down the road. Driving 7 miles is not that much of a hardship, but it makes me appreciate being across the street from Kroger's and a mile away from Fresh Market when I lived in KY.
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gooddecisions
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Post by gooddecisions on Feb 14, 2016 14:59:14 GMT -5
Disclaimer- I'm the only one I know with a less than happy opinion of Costco.
We have a Costco membership, and it's nice to have but I'm not really that big of a fan. My husband loves it and is the one who goes pretty much weekly. His family pays for the membership under their business, so it does not cost us anything. Too many of their products have fallen apart. $100 king size sheets ripped within 2 years and I never had that happen with BB&B sheets, the surface of my extremely heavy $500 patio table started falling apart in less than a year, the $900 playset started chipping in less than a year, my $200 video monitor malfunctioned within a year and $20 socks got holes within a month.
Yeah, they have a great return policy, but I'm not one to make returns. If I were you and had a great company discount for food and household items, I wouldn't bother with Costco. The rest of the purchases you may not even consider wanting/needing if you're not seeing them.
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Lizard Queen
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Post by Lizard Queen on Feb 14, 2016 15:01:56 GMT -5
I feel like I live in a sweet spot of convenience, but not too much traffic and people to deal with. The only thing that's missing is a Costco nearby, but if I lived in their target market area, the COL would probably be higher as well.
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Feb 14, 2016 15:05:44 GMT -5
If I were you and had a great company discount for food and household items, I wouldn't bother with Costco. The rest of the purchases you may not even consider wanting/needing if you're not seeing them.
But he doesn't get a company discount.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 14, 2016 15:12:43 GMT -5
I like Costco. It is where I buy gas every week. Wine is cheaper there, too. I don't buy the huge packages of most foods although DH did get the huge box of nutrigrain bars that are currently on sale for less than $10. But I buy most of the household stuff there from toilet paper to paper towels to Kleenexes to spray starch to batteries, etc. Back when we had a McCormick and Schmidt's (spelling?), I got a lot of gift cards for 20% off. All of our tvs came from here. The best buy in the whole place, though, is their sheet cake. It has a pound of cream cheese in it and is divine. Even Publix's bakery cakes are too dry, but this isn't. And it costs less than $20, which is such a bargain. I also go there for lunch a lot of Saturdays when I will be grocery shopping elsewhere. I fill up the car and get pizza/soft drink for less than $3. The slices are huge. Knee Deep in Water Chloe, there's the solution to your party! Take everyone to Costco's!
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MN-Investor
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Post by MN-Investor on Feb 14, 2016 15:17:12 GMT -5
My DH and I love Costco. It's the only place we buy gas. DH loves that the gas is " top tier" and that the pumps are well maintained. We filled up my car for $1.359/gallon this week. Even though there is just the two of us, we find plenty of things to justify the cost of our membership - apples, raspberries, cashews, Canadian bacon, frozen shrimp, frozen French onion soup, light bulbs, kitchen garbage bags, etc. I bought my eyeglasses there. Because of their great return policy and available technical support, I bought my Toshiba laptop at Costco. I had issues setting it up, so contacted Costco technical support. They couldn't help me, so they got Toshiba on the line and they could help me. When it came time to buy my iPad Air 2, I bought it at Costco too, knowing that Costco would support me if I had any issues. Oh, and Costco's hot dog + soda pop for $1.50. We also have a Sam's Club membership. I'm not as big of fan of Sam's Club, but my DH likes some rolls that their bakery makes. He also buys his orange juice and cinnamon bread there. We don't have a BJ's in this area. Sam's Club is 5 miles from us, Costco is 8 miles. In the Twin Cities, that's an easy drive.
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bean29
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Post by bean29 on Feb 14, 2016 15:19:13 GMT -5
I am all about convenience. I am curious about Costco, but it is not in any of my normal stomping grounds - so I am not going to shop there.
We have a Sam's Club membership. It is a business membership and we have my in-laws on the membership. I may not renew it, but my in-laws use the pharmacy. You don't have to have a membership to use the pharmacy, but I know MIL buys food when she goes there. Their strawberries are very good. Their meat is good. Liquor is reasonably priced. Soda is expensive. Paper Products are OK. I buy ink and office supplies there occasionally. They also usually have fairly decent nursery stock. As long as MIL wants a membership we will keep it going. We used to always buy Birthday Cakes and Cheese Cakes there. We stopped b/c they changed both - but recently my kids have let it be known that they prefer Sam's clubs cakes to anything else (much cheaper so why not). Their Cheese Cake is now on the don't bother buying list though. They sell a chocolate pound cake that my family really likes. When I shop in the regular grocery store, I often buy the larger packages of meat too and repackage it at home b/c the price is better that way, all you need is some ziplock bags and it just takes a short amount of time. I like their veggie trays and or fruit trays for a party too. Way cheaper than my local grocery store.
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Feb 14, 2016 15:21:53 GMT -5
Our sam's club membership has paid for itself several times over. They are the cheapest for diapers, wipes, dog food, chicken breasts, garbage bags and swifter pads.
It doesn't take long to break down the package of chicken. I wrap two to three in plastic wrap then foil and toss in a freezer bag. Takes me less than ten minutes.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 14, 2016 15:23:34 GMT -5
I like Costco so much I bought stock in the company.
Also, they pay their employees rather better than other similar businesses, and the service seems better.
Even though the lines can be long sometimes, they are very efficient and the wait is not very long.
I did, too! I really like their business model. It's also just DH and me but we have a large freezer, so we're fine buying meat there. I rarely buy produce because the quantities are sometimes huge. It's a great source for buying food to donate to the church food pantry. We've got the Executive Membership and it works out for us; the first year DH got hearing aids, this year it looks like they'll be replacing our A/C since their quote was better than the company we typically use for the same unit. Now that we moved to a state where alcohol can be sold in grocery stores, we buy all our alcohol there.
Our grocery bills are down slightly from last year and it's got to be the impact of buying more at Costco, especially meat.
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Blonde Granny
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Post by Blonde Granny on Feb 14, 2016 15:26:39 GMT -5
We don't have Costco or BJs here, not with the home office of Sams Club and Walmart are 10 miles away. I did rejoin Sams a few weeks ago as WVG told me there was a $20 gift card if I renewed my membership by 1-31. The normal membership is $45, and that's about my 1 week grocery budget, so it did help to get the gift card.
I buy a lot of generics, which Sams doesn't carry, and when shopping now for one, it doesn't seem logical to have 50 rolls of TP and paper towels.
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Anne_in_VA
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Post by Anne_in_VA on Feb 14, 2016 15:54:19 GMT -5
We have Costco, Sam's and BJ's here but we don't belong to any of them. I keep telling DH that we should join, but we never seem to get around to it. All three are out of our way, so that may be why.
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Artemis Windsong
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Post by Artemis Windsong on Feb 14, 2016 16:06:30 GMT -5
I save enough on restaurant tortilla chips through the year to pay for the membership. Sam's bags of other chips are larger. I love their individual bags of jerky for my gym bag. Sam's Club has rotissarie chickens for $5 and they are large. Estroven is WAY cheaper. Black bean burgers and Jensen burgers are regulars on my list. When the cookie monster craving hits, Sam's has such a nice "one" serving tray. Just kidding. A friend buys most of her fruit there.
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Feb 14, 2016 16:48:03 GMT -5
We are excessive drinkers, so we used to be able to pay for the membership in savings on wine and whiskey. Since Total Wine moved in - probably not so much, but the quality of the meat at Costco is so much better than our grocery store, or at least so much better dollar for dollar. Other than that I try and keep myself contained. We just don't have storage, and I had so many idiot friends tell me they had to buy a bigger house and a suburban because the deals they got on toilet paper at Costco was worth it. I highly doubt they saved twenty thousand dollars in paper towels to justify that suburban vs. their previous car (or even a different new car of smaller stature.) We do throw enough parties that I appreciate having the membership. Even having two other families over can make a trip over there worth it. Their vegetables are also high quality. I love their Superfoods salad.
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wvugurl26
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Post by wvugurl26 on Feb 14, 2016 16:57:48 GMT -5
I have a Sam's club membership. It's the closest to my house. Well the one Costco is maybe closer if you don't get run over by the Asian ladies in big SUVs. My brother refuses to go there so Sam's club it is.
I buy all kinds of stuff. To me at this point in my life grocery shopping is a hassle and a time suck. So I like buying a big case of paper products and having it last almost a year. I buy salad stuff sometimes because it's still cheaper than the grocery store even if we don't use it all. For meat stuff I just break it down into smaller packs, the same thing I do with club packs from Wegman's.
My fiancee has BJs since it's the closest to him. We just went today and got swiss cheese from the deli, paper towels, glad press n seal wrap and shave gel. Had a couple coupons from their monthly book so saved an extra $4.50. I like that you can use regular coupons as well.
The deli is new in this store. One particular lunch meat he likes is $2/lb cheaper at BJ's than the grocery store.
I find them to be worthwhile and I'm not shopping for a big household.
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andi9899
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Post by andi9899 on Feb 14, 2016 17:09:18 GMT -5
I love my Sam's membership. I get deals on a lot of stuff that we buy. And they have cheap quality booze!
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NancysSummerSip
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Post by NancysSummerSip on Feb 14, 2016 19:34:30 GMT -5
Costco fan here. We use it about once a month. We get a lot of snack bars, nuts, drinks, baking ingredients, automotive products like motor oil, computer paper, health and beauty stuff - things like that. Just two of us, and it has paid off. I'll get wine, paper goods, eggs, fancy cheeses, fresh pasta and fish if I see something I like that I also need and the price is good.
I don't have an issue repackaging meats and poultry - to me, it's part of the investment in saving money. There's just two of us, so I have to do it even with supermarket - sized packages anyway.
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Happy prose
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Post by Happy prose on Feb 14, 2016 20:19:34 GMT -5
I have both a Costco and BJs membership. Costco is free through a work connection, and the BJs membership I split with my brother. I can't say I buy a lot of food at either. I did get a lot of Christmas presents. BJs takes coupons, and you can also use any type of credit card. Costco is Amex or debit.
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