Is a Costco membership cost effective or not?

[mom2tbcnm]

What do you ladies think? I am trying to spend 300$ a month on groceries for our family. I shop Aldi and a local store most of the time. Is Costco going to save me more than Aldi or Walmart? I would have to drive farther to go to Costco (about 10 miles) I just got an ad for a bunch of coupons and a $10 cash card if I join. Does it really save $?

Thanks

Katty

[LisaKinVA]

Like anywhere, you have to be careful. There are some things that are REALLY good deals... and there are others that aren't so great.

 

We get our milk there... it's about 80cents to $1 cheaper per gallon than at the grocery store (at 3-4 gallons a week, that's a BIG savings). We get our bread there. We get most of our fruits there... and select veggies. When it comes to canned goods, it depends. A good grocery store sale almost always trumps Costco every day on the small canned items -- but if your family is big enough to use the larger canned items... it's cheaper.

 

Diapers & wipes, we almost always buy at Costco -- unless I have coupons and hit a good sale at Target or CVS.

 

If I were making my own bread, I'd probably buy flour there too.

 

If you use a lot of rice, flour, etc. buying it in bulk can definitely save some money buying there vs. a 5lb bag of flour at the grocery store.

 

Meat -- again -- almost always cheaper at Costco, AND you can get it even cheaper in the Case Packs (70-80 pounds of meat), but you have to be able to freeze it (and use it).

 

Oh, and we get our gas at Costco too... usually about 10 cents a gallon cheaper than anywhere else (even Wal Mart).

 

We shop Costco pretty much every week. But, like anywhere else, you need to stick to your list!!!

 

 

Lisa

[Erica in PA]

What do you ladies think? I am trying to spend 300$ a month on groceries for our family. I shop Aldi and a local store most of the time. Is Costco going to save me more than Aldi or Walmart? I would have to drive farther to go to Costco (about 10 miles) I just got an ad for a bunch of coupons and a $10 cash card if I join. Does it really save $?

Thanks

Katty

 

I have not shopped at Costco, but from occasionally shopping at Sam's Club and BJs with various family members, I would say that you probably would not save money on groceries over stores like Aldi or Walmart. The warehouse stores carry primarily name brand or gourmet-type items, and while they are cheaper than buying those same items at a chain grocery store, I can't see them matching the low prices that you get on off-brand items at stores like Aldi. I go with my sil every month or so to Sam's Club, and I buy toilet paper, paper towels (though I've heard some people say that paper products can be gotten more cheaply on sale elsewhere), various meats, and produce. The meat and produce prices are comparable to good sales at the chain grocery stores. I personally wouldn't pay for a membership there, and I wouldn't drive way out of my way to get there. Aldis and Walmart are probably about as cheap as you can get, unless you have some discount-surplus grocery stores in your area. That's where I get most of our groceries.

[BalanceSeeker]

We love it, but you have to be careful. I've gone through and priced stuff out per oz or lb to make sure it was truly a deal. Here's the staples that I buy consistently, because I'm a health nut and I'm frugal, too:

 

Frozen "natural" chicken 1.99/lb (10# bag)

Milk - theirs is pasteurized, not ultra-pasteurized, which I prefer for health reasons

Cheese - $10 for a 5# bag - freezes well

Cottage Cheese

Eggs

Almond butter or organic peanut butter

Flat-out wraps for easy lunches

Albacore tuna (1.25/can)

Walnuts

Pre-marinated, frozen salmon (5.99/lb)

Bag of frozen Normandy veggies

Romaine (3.00 for 5 hearts)

ground turkey

organic tortilla chips

sweet potatoes

Gasoline

Toilet paper

the occasional small appliance and stuff for the house

 

Some of these prices just can't be beat anywhere. I have the membership where you get cash back on purchases at the end of the year.

 

Christa

[Jean in Newcastle]

Do any of your friends, family or neighbors have a Costco membership? If they do - and they are generous people - I would take them up on any offers to take you with them every once in a while to stock up on non-perishables.

[TraceyS/FL]

It's very much worth it for me. I spend $2-250 a month at Costco, and that includes all of our meat for the month.

 

I price checked what i buy at Costco/Sam's (sam's is slighty higher in price and some lower quantities, but i know have a sam's 1.5 miles from my house and Costco is 60 miles each way) against Aldi and I did better at Costco, and with the quantity i was buying - i am able to stay OUT of the store the rest of the time.

 

The thing with Costco meat is that it is GOOD quality - i think the highest grade. 90% fat free hamburger is $2.54/#. I get about zero fat off of it - so i actually get #1 when i brown it or cook with it. That really helps stretch it.

 

I posted a thread with some prices in December i think, that might help you. And on pricing, overall, prices have stayed pretty steady at Costco over the last year. The frozen chicken i buy has gone up $2. That is the only thing that has really increased.

 

I just stopped at Sam's and bought TP (Scott, 36 rolls for $18.88), oil, cheese and bananas. I go in with a precise list and stick to it since i just don't have the extra money to buy other stuff. But oil and TP were the 2 things i didn't get my last BIG trip because i bought a few other things - and they didn't have TP. That was cutting it close, i was down to 2 rolls. The kids were in a panic! LOL!!!

 

But, know what you buy and go price it. You can walk around and not join - take a notebook and make a list and have your Aldi & WM prices - WITH quantities and see. But only you can tell what you buy.

[Deidre in GA]

on food items alone, maybe not. but i get my glasses, some prescriptions, jeans for my son, and gas for the car. those things and food make the membership worthwhile for me. i also charge everything on my costco/american express card. the bill is paid in full at the end of every month but i get 1% - 3% rebate for what i charge with the card including 3% on gas purchases anywhere except supermarket gas stations like walmart/murphy's or kroger. the rebate is paid once a month in february. my costco is also 10 miles away so i only go once a month.

[Sara R]

Do any of your friends, family or neighbors have a Costco membership? If they do - and they are generous people - I would take them up on any offers to take you with them every once in a while to stock up on non-perishables.

 

Also, I've heard that you can spend a Costco gift card at Costco, even if you don't have a membership. So you could give a friend with a Costco membership money, they could use the money to buy you a gift card, then you could shop.

[Gretchen in NJ]

I am not sure that you would save on food or things like TP, paper towels, etc....... I think hitting the sales at you local stores are much better.

 

We do save money on big purchases like TVs, a barbeque, and an out door table. I also save on my computer paper and notebooks for school. I love their notebooks. They carry the white ones with the sleeves on the front and side. I like to make a cover page and side label for my girls notebooks. They each have their own color which makes things around here much easier.

 

You must be very careful when shopping there. Not all of their prices are cheaper. We find we spend more at Costco. They always have a great deal on things that we don't need right now, but we sometimes buy it to save money.:001_huh:

 

Remember, you can't buy one roll ot tape. You have to buy eight.:tongue_smilie:

[Desert Rat]

It depends on what you buy. They have great meat for our area. We feel it saves us money but we use it only to supplement our regular shopping at Walmart. The biggest savings we have found is cheese and eggs. We buy all of our paper products there-toilet paper, paper towels, kleenex, and paper plates. For us it is well worth the $50 membership cost. Savings in these products alone pays for the card in a few months. Costco's produce is really good too but you have to be able to eat it. For us that means grapes and oranges are a go and vegetables aren't.

HTH

[cjzimmer1]

I think this really depends on YOUR shopping habits.

 

After reading about how wonderful Costco is from this board, other boards and family members I was excited to see when one opened near me. I kept a list of the items I was likely to buy, the size of the container and the price. I then went to Sam's where I normally shop(selectively since even it isn't always a good deal) and wrote down all the comparison's. My mom did the same thing (same Costco, different Sam's). We both came to the conclusion that the things that WE buy it wasn't a very good deal at all.

 

I have read about many people saying how great the meat prices are (my aunts in WA in particular) but honestly I found them to be very expensive. Most everything is a dollar a pound or more higher than sales at grocery stores. I think much of it depends on what you normally buy and part of the country you are in.

 

My advice would be to go check them out. Just tell them you want to look around. Write down everything you think you might buy somewhat regularly, than compare the prices. If the savings is high, you know it would be worth it to you. If there isn't much savings, by the time you factor in the gas and extra time it probably isn't worth it.

[JenniferB]

We love Costco, but we have a somewhat large family (4 adults, 4 children + 1 daycare child). It really works for us to buy large things of pickles, condiments, bread, meat, frozen items, and spaghetti sauce. I buy pasta, a few canned items, and some fresh produce at Fred Meyer. When we were a smaller family, the membership didn't benefit us, because we wasted a lot of the bulk things, throwing them out when they went bad, or when we were just plain sick of them. Now, we use up everything easily, and it's a big savings. But, we don't buy everything there.

 

We spend about $125-$150 per week at Costco with an additonal $20-$40 per week at one other store for a few other items.

 

We go through 8 gallons of milk per week, just to give you an idea of how much we have to buy.

[Caroline4kids]

We LOVE Costco! We are a military family living on an Army post and even with the commisary we still go to Costco. The quality is always so much better, and cheaper for a lot of things.

 

It is the impluse buying that will get you.

 

I use a Once a Month Cooking plan and then make trips to Costco and Sam's club sometimes.

[G5052]

Even going monthly, it probably saves me several hundred $ or more, and I like a lot of their name-brand products. We combine the trip with a visit to the "big" library and do other errands that we don't have in our area. We have small family, but the savings for us is in the OTC medication section, vitamins, allergy furnace filters, meat, and snacks. I have pre-teens that snack a lot, so buying bulk granola bars and fruit has been a big help.

[Julpost]

I definately could not feed my family as well for the same amount if it weren't for Costco. Sticking to your list is essential and for me, buying just the staples and cooking from scratch at home is what makes it such a good choice for us. I try not to buy any of the prepared food or frozen foods. I find the quality of what I buy to be very good. I highly recommend it. Plus, if you buy an executive membership, you receive a % back at the end of the year...so the membership pays for itself. SO, SO worth it. Plus I just love how the company treats their employees and in turn, how nice my experience has been with their employees.

[joannqn]

I've comparison shopped Costco compared to my store sales prices. I found that for most things combining sales and coupons at Safeway and Albertsons is cheaper than Costco.

 

For example: skinless, boneless chicken breast flash frozen in the bag (cheapest chicken costco has) is $2.15lb. I can get fresh skinless boneless chicken breasts at Albertsons for $1.88lb on a regular basis and cheaper than that on occasion.

 

That said, we shop at Costco for a limited number of items: milk (although Safeway is about the same price), cheese, sour cream, eggs, pet food, tortillas, dried pinto beans, diapers, wipes, jeans and khakis (for DH), and generic Claritan.

 

Their fresh meat is better quality but quite a bit higher priced than what I can get at the grocery store on sale. Money is tight so the lower quality, lower price of grocery store wins. Some day I hope to be able to afford to buy our meat at Costco.

[Veritaserum]

At $300/mo. for your total budget, I don't know. I love Costco. That's where I buy bread, butter, meat, cheese, milk, produce (lots of organic options for a great price), some snacks (again, organic/non-artificial ingredients), diapers, and baby wipes. That's also where we buy printer paper and batteries. Sometimes we'll buy other things like DVDs, books, or clothes if there is a good deal on something we want. I spend enough there to justify the $100 memebership (2% back).

 

ETA: We also buy toilet paper, laundry detergent, dishwasher detergent, storage bags, garbage bags, and other things that I'm probably forgetting. Did I already say I love Costco? :p

Edited February 7, 2009 by Veritaserum

[AnnetteB]

Our Costco membership more than pays for itself with the rebate we get each year on the American Express card. Milk, eggs, cheese, meats, laundry detergents, paper products, cat food, blue jeans, and produce are all less there. If you buy consumer electronics products there, Costco has an excellent return policy and doubles the warranty period. They replaced our overhead projector after two years with the current model and a one year old laptop that broke. They also mail out recall notices on products like tires and peanut butter. It is kinda spooky that they know what we buy. Our dd's insulin, test strips, and syringes are the best price there, too.

[5knights3maidens]

I buy

organic pb

tortilla chips (alot better than Aldi's..taste wise)

organic frozen mixed vegetables

frozen broccoli

organic carrots

frozen fruit

frozen natural chicken breasts

french fries (not all the time)

almonds

Gummy Vitamins

craisins

raisins (I do not like Aldi's since the time I found bugs in them :tongue_smilie:)

Sometimes I use their coupons for things I do not usually buy like: snack bars or anything with $3.00 or more off

That is what I could think of off the top of my head right now. :001_smile:

[Tracey in TX]

If you are shopping at Aldi, you may find Costco more expensive than what you currently pay for items. We shop at Sam's Club or Costco weekly, as it is cheaper than the grocery store. It is contingent upon your personal buying habits. Maybe you can go with a friend and compare costs before you pay the $30 membership fee.

[*Inna*]

We love Costco for many reasons, but previous posters are right - you really need to be aware of the unit prices.

 

Also, they send a coupon book every two months or so. We use that a lot.

[Cherrie]

I don't know if it is much cheaper for staples but meat for sure. I also think the meat is much freasher than most places. I purchase meat for the week so I have things ready to go and not have to worry about thawing.

[Jenny in Atl]

For what we buy.... YES!!! We pay for the membership after the first trip, easy.

[Beth in OH]

We both came to the conclusion that the things that WE buy it wasn't a very good deal at all.

 

:iagree:I went to Costco and asked if I could browse the store without a membership. The ID person at the door said it would be fine, but I simply couldn't purchase anything. I thought it was a lovely store with quality merchandise, but it didn't match our family's habits. I decided not to purchase a membership.

[alpidarkomama]

We have decided it's no longer worth it for us. I use paper diapers at night only and can get those just as cheaply at our discount grocery store. Many of the Costco deals are on snacks/pre-made foods and we just about don't eat anything like that except maybe crackers. Bulk grains we get at a local mill for a great price. We used to keep the membership for the really cheap kosher cheese we could buy there, but since the cheese became unavailable we dropped our membership. :)

[kalanamak]

I read recently that they might be cutting prices because of the economic kerfuffle. Or was that on the NPR evening money program?