Comments on: Is Your Local Warehouse Store Worth Your While? Here’s How to Find Out

By: Ilene

Ilene — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 15:42:26 +0000

We do have a membership at Costco. I would say we go there once every other month or so. I have not sat down and done the work to see if we are getting the BEST deal on TP or paper towels there or not but that’s okay for me now. We are in the market for a new car and we are looking into the Costco purchasing. It seems like we might save a fair amount by using that. Worth looking into as another reason to keep or get that membership.

By: genie

genie — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 13:23:43 +0000

Costco just started (several months ago) carrying organic quinoa in 4 pound bags for $10 – this is at least 50 cents cheaper a pound than the cheapest we’ve heard of it and $1.50 cheaper a pound than what we easily have access to. As we eat a LOT of this, we stocked up. The savings just in that item nearly paid for the membership.

I also sometimes shop with a friend who is super great on price evaluations. She keeps a spread sheet of prices in our local grocery and at Costco and can tell if the sale + coupon is better than Costco and shops accordingly. One idea is to find an equally organized friend and get a copy of their spread sheet – it is a place to start at least. I can also see this being useful if one happened to have an iphone – which I don’t.

And, our Costco is 1/2 hour drive away, too. But, I usually only go once a month and before birthday parties… even with a drive, it is nice to get out and shop someplace other than tiny town.

By: Rosa Rugosa

Rosa Rugosa — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 21:20:26 +0000

It’s fun to see the diversity among households – our savings on wine alone covers our Costco membership fee :)
We also share our membership with a family member who has been unemployed for awhile. They give us two cards, and I don’t like to drive, so I would never go there without my husband. So our second card goes to our family member.
We find that certain staples are always a better deal: kitty litter, coffee beans, tampax, tp, & trash bags, to name a few examples.
On other items, we do better with our grocer’s store brands. We’re also a two person household with a very small house, so we don’t find it worhwhile to buy as many things in bulk as a larger family might. Not just perishables, but also items that are consumed slowly, and the payback period is just too long (case of olives anyone?)
And we always do better if husband goes alone. He’s like the “heat seeking missile” mentioned on another post. He buys what’s on the list, and when he deviates, it’s usually a pretty modest, well-thought-out expenditure. When we’re together, we sort of endorse each other’s “bad” behavior, and spend way more money.

By: Erin

Erin — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 22:53:02 +0000

Hi, All!
We don’t have BJ’s, Sam’s or Aldi close by where we live (wish we did!), but thankfully, we do have Costco. Our Costco milk is about $3.25 for two gallons. Shredded cheese at about $2.00/lb, 25 lbs of flour for about $6.50. We do tend to cook from scratch, so these items are great to have. Like Andrea, I use permanent marker and write the date that an item is opened to give an idea as to how long it may last. And when you use the coupons that Costco sends out in mailings – wow! Terrific savings. When they send out coupons for items we use, I try to stock up and get a 3-6 month supply of whatever the item is -I promise that our intent is not to be greedy The mom in our family (me!), doesn’t care for shopping. So I save up and go on a BIG Costco shopping trip about once a month/month and a half – hoping to become more clever about it and go every two or three months eventually. Many of you probably know this already, but just in case – you can freeze the milk (after pouring a little into another container before freezing so as not to burst the container – I’ve done that – not fun!). The gives us the ability to NEVER RUN OUT OF MILK – WHEW! And at about $1.60 a gallon – well – can’t beat that! So, the big long story just to say this – I do feel that we get our money’s worth with purchasing just basic staples at Costco, vs. our local discount stores. And just the sense that “I don’t have to buy cheese for two months!!”, its a great feeling (from the lady for whom shopping is not a favorite thing)! And thank you, Mr. Trent for your blog – it’s been great to read!

By: MGY_Bay Area

MGY_Bay Area — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 08:54:27 +0000

Sorry, I meant
4. I find organic food less expensive than anywhere :-)

By: MGY_Bay Area

MGY_Bay Area — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 08:52:19 +0000

I like to shop at Costco for several reasons.
1. 2% cash back as I am an Executive member.
2. (I am amazed that nobody actually mentioned) there is not tax on food items at Costco. (look at your receipt)
3. Costco’s brand (Kirkland signature) is very high quality products but, less expensive. (love especially kirkland signature baby wipes, paper towel and toilet paper)
4. I find organic food less cheaper than anywhere

By: mk

mk — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 03:20:45 +0000

After many years of Costco membership, I decided NOT to renew last year, now I am living without it. Miss it, yet I’m getting used without it. I just try to simplify and minimize our household inventory and lower our consumption mode. We are small family, so naturally this change fit us. I guess it also has psychological change when I see the freezer with lot of room, you are more mindful what to look for sale for certain items that are essential to us. I have pantry & freezer “sweep” week when all frozen and packaged items need to be used for meals, skip the grocery shopping for the week or two (until supplies last). It is amazing to see how we still has a lot to cook for “sweep” week. It challenge me to be creative with the items otherwise continue to take space in the pantry.

By: Danielle

Danielle — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 20:09:50 +0000

When my husband and I decided to get a Costco membership, we discovered that the savings IN MILK ALONE covered our annual fee. Obviously, my husband drinks a lot of milk. It’s taken 2 1/2 years of marriage to get him down to 2 gallons a week by himself; five years ago, he could easily drink 8. Add in gas savings and it was a no brainer.

Even before this all happened, we went to Costco. I don’t know if Sam’s or anyone else is the same, but if someone buys a Costco gift card for you, you don’t have to be a member to use it. We have a $25 card that we are saving for after our membership lapses and we need to re-evaluate (since we moved and our nearest store is 1 1/2 hours away).

By: adrian

adrian — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 15:16:40 +0000

Costco is awesome. Cheaper than groc store on everything in bulk; Kirkland brand is astonishingly good quality; and the little Costco cafe is cool too :-) Very cheap for excellent food! We take the whole family. And i got $300 back last year on my Costco Amex card. AND when I opened a Sharebuilder acct they gave me a bonus $90 as a Costco member. AND when I opened a CapitalOne account I got an extra $70 as a costco member. AND my Costco blue Amex has excellent % rebates on common purchases. AND gas is always cheaper in my area than surrounding stores. AND the return policy is great. AND their employees are always happy!

By: Sharon

Sharon — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 06:30:31 +0000

Ann, what is your favorite cat chow?

By: tentaculistic

tentaculistic — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 01:55:46 +0000

Oh Lenore, just go ahead and rub it in that you have an Aldi near you!! :) Online threads on grocery shopping always depress me since people always seem to get such great deals at Aldi, and I have never in my life even seen one! Where are these mythical stores?? lol

I have gotten great deals at a Costco/BJ’s/Sam’s Club… and I’ve gotten suckered for huge 4-packs of gigantic shampoo, that actually cost more than if I had bought it at the regular grocery store individually! I think the good deals are in the electronics aisle. We got a great t.v. that paid for the membership by itself. My sisters get tons of gorgeous produce at warehouse stores, but whichever one they go to isn’t near me, just BJ’s.

The list with good prices is the key part. The Grocery Game does it for you, and for a pretty cheap monthly fee, but I found (myself) that buying generic was cheaper than couponing national brands. And, um, I could never find actual coupons in my newspaper, rather than just a ton of flyers. I’m probably the least competent couponer ever. I still struggle with the “good” prices of everything but boneless chicken breasts. I finally just decided that my best way of saving food money is to have a list and stick with it.

By: ~M

~M — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 01:27:40 +0000

First, I share a membership with my family so I do not pay for card – and we save by carpooling. Plus, I get help carrying the heavy bulk packages. :)

Second, I do the exact same things as Andrea: maintaining a spreadsheet that has columns for each of the stores (and Amazon grocery) that I visit. I record the unit price. For a while, I also recorded how long it took my husband and I to finish toilet paper and paper towels. I use google spreadsheets to do this so I can check it on my iphone while at the store. Also, I use my iphone camera to take a photo of a the price and unit size when I am grocery shopping.

I take a prescription medication daily. For years, I bought it at Walgreens, but with my new insurance, the price is sky high and goes up monthly. We looked at Osco (Jewel’s pharmacy) and Costco and Costco saves us enough to have us break even with the membership. So anything I saved on afterward would be icing on the cake. My favorite deals at Costco are for organic eggs and Tropicana OJ with calcium (the only kind my husband will drink) and we go through at least 1 dozen eggs and a bottle each week. They also have a good price on frozen kosher chicken breasts, larabars, canned black beans, mango peach salsa, almond butter, and certain produce (but sadly rarely have organic). As always, the trick is to figure out whether you would have bought the item anyway – so bring a list!

I belong to a club that hosts events and it is really convenient to have a Costco card and be able to buy in bulk for that too!

By: no_sked

no_sked — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 22:58:01 +0000

trent, you listed ‘garbage bags’ in your shopping list of bulk items. frankly, i’m surprised!

you actually pay for something that only gets thrown away? why not re-use grocery bags, or the plastic bags that other items come in?

By: joan

joan — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 22:12:07 +0000

I use Sam’s for a lot of items. I also write the date I open an item to see how long it lasts. I also stock up just before my membership becomes due and then I wait 2 weeks to a month after it expires to renew. I compare the amount, cost and etc. when I am buying from Sam’s. I check the grocery flyers from the newspaper, and also use coupons for some of those items. From Sam’s I use a lot of the pre-cooked bacon and that item alone goes a long way toward paying for the membership. With two other families (relatives) we buy a case of hamburger, divide it into smaller amounts and place it in the freezer. Cost $1.41 a pound for good quality hamburger when bought this way. We also divide up the produce we buy making it a good deal for three families. I’m grateful that we have a Sam’s in our town.

By: Emily

Emily — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 18:25:17 +0000

I did the math on our $40 Sams membership once. My husband and I eat a lot of salsa. Our favorite brand is nearly $9 for the largest container at the grocery and about $5 at Sams. We laughed when we learned that we save the cost of our memebership in salsa alone.

By: Sierra

Sierra — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 17:54:59 +0000

I recently wrote a post in my own blog about the Tightwad Gazette’s notion of a “price book” – a book you keep to let you compare prices at different stores. As several previous commenters have pointed out, prices change. Who has the time to track all that?

What I did was start a community price book online for those local to me (in the Boston/Cambridge area). That way, everyone can add their pricing information. You can check out the full post and see how to start your own, here: http://childwild.com/2009/04/09/the-tightwad-gazette-price-book-buying-rules/

By: laura

laura — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:55:15 +0000

Hi Trent,

I love the amount of detail you provide in each post! Another aspect to consider when comparing prices on tp and other paper goods is the sqaure footage per package. Upon first examination, a lower price per unit may seem like the best deal, but when you see how much that actually buys in quantity and you may be shocked…

Keep up the great work! ;)

By: Evita

Evita — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:33:30 +0000

A warehouse store is usually not recommended for singles and couples (all those BIG packages) but it can work with organization.

We have a large freezer and Costco is a $-saver and a time saver for this family of two. We freeze bread, meat, poultry and shellfish in meal-sized portions and we have space to stock those large packages of paper, cans and cleaning products. A trip a month is usually enough, although our Costco is close by (8 km). What I like is the consistent quality, which make shopping a no-brainer.

I buy produce, spices and specialty items weekly at a local ethnic grocery store or at the market in summer, and I have the best of both worlds!

I also carry a retractable measuring tape and have bought good-quality basic clothing. I would pay less at Walmart but the quality and durability are lower. I don’t enjoy shopping anyway!

By: Claire

Claire — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 15:53:13 +0000

To bob@#19
Check out WakeUpWalMart.com

By: SteveJ

SteveJ — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 14:19:07 +0000

@Andrea

Your level of organization is staggering. I’m in awe. I’m stealing the writing on bottles idea, I think it’s brilliant. Thanks!