Is Costco worth it?

[simplykate]

I'm looking for ways to save money on groceries. I get most my produce from the farmers market and I've been shopping trader joe's for things like org. dairy and packaged stuff.
Would Costco be cheaper? And do they have any organics?

[tjsmama]

I'm a huge Costco fan, so I'd say yeah, definitely. And we're only a family of two! They do carry quite a few organic products. They have several Amy's organic items, some produce, some dairy. I think there may even be a few organic meat items.

Things I buy at Costco: toilet paper, Kashi waffles (my son's favorite on-the-go breakfast), Amy's organic soups, Kashi breakfast cereal, socks for me, pj's for DS, stamps, avocados, salad (organic spring mix, WAY cheaper than the regular grocery store), batteries, bagels, etc. I don't buy a ton of produce and perishable stuff because it's just the two of us and I don't have a lot of freezer space, but I wish I could.

Another thing that's great about Costco (and you actually don't even need to be a member) is the food court. You can get a hot dog and soda for $1.50. A giant slice of pizza is $1.99, I think. DS and I frequently go at lunch time and try out all the samples. If we're still hungry when we're done, we split a hot dog or a piece of pizza for cheap!

[dogmom327]

I think it really depends on your particular Costco (some carry more organic stuff than others) and whether you can eat a lot of a particular produce (it comes in large quantities). There are a few things I like getting at Costco but really, I don't know that we use it enough to justify the cost--DH does buy some electronics there though.

[LittleBlessings]

i also ask myself the same question

[dogmom327]

One more thing to consider. Almost all the organic stuff at Costco (obviously not including the fruits and veggies) is processed food. I think this is probably one of the main reasons I'm buying less and less there and rethinking my membership. They just don't carry very much in the way of whole foods that are also organic.

[St. Margaret]

We buy cheese (parmagian), organic milk, organic butter, organic spinach, turkey bacon DH loves, toilet paper, whole wheat bread with no HFCS, big bags of walnuts, organic peanut butter.... with the way DH and DD eat, it's definitely worth it. And when we do a party with some prepared foods (ie meatballs, more cheese, frozen ravioli, booze etc) it is so much cheaper. It's just going to depend on what you want to buy and what your store carries. If you can find someone to add onto (we added on to my grandfather's and my mom's, then DH's work, now DH's dad's account), it's pretty cheap.

[Magelet]

I'm considering getting a membership, after going with my dad, and its just the two of us. also I eat only whole foods, and pretty TF.

On my little budget, last trip, I got: baking soda, yeast, canned tomatos (diced and paste), 20 lbs of onions (which might last a month, likely less. we eat 1 onion or more almost every day), a loaf of tillamook cheese, (distilled white vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, and dish towels). (the vinegar will be both food and cleaning.) I wanted to get: locally made high quality goat cheese, high quality Parmesan, wild rock fish, other vinegars, more tomatoes, some more fruit to freeze, some veggies that would store well, maybe some meat (though I prefer to buy grass-fed. they did have some neiman though...), olive oil, and more. Its not all organic (though some of it might be), but its inexpensive and whole.

[mama1803]

We use Costco mostly for household items like cleaning supplies, laundry detergent, toilet paper, paper towels, dish soap, light bulbs. The also have a nice selection of books--we've found some nice ones for the kids. The do mail out coupons as well, so we stock up on the above items when we have a coupon.

As for food, we buy very little there because most stuff is processed and not organic. We do like the huge canisters of olive oil (way cheaper than buying at a regular grocery), the canned tomatoes, grated cheese. I much prefer getting produce locally.

[dawningmama]

It isn't for us. I found that I bought things I would not have otherwise purchased just because it sounded like such a great deal. I don't like to have a lot of things around---for instance, when we have 12 rolls of paper towels, we tend to use a lot more papertowels (meh, forget the rag, we have like 7 rolls of papertowels!). I have a small house so storing all that stuff becomes and issue as well. And when my cabinets are overfull, we tend to miss/overbuy things. I need to be able to keep an eye on my inventory.

For people with the room and organization skills (and ability to only get what is on the list!), I am sure Costco is helpful. I have never been able to get out of there for under $150 and usually end up spending more like $200+ and then I still need nearly a regular grocery store trip. I go once or twice a year with a friend or the free-visit coupon and I nearly always end up with buyer's remorse. Like credit cards, I'm just not grown-up enough for a Costco membership

[YesandNo]

Costco gives free refunds on membership anytime if you aren't satisfied. So, try it for a month. They're truly no-hassle about canceling memberships.

FWIW it wasn't worth it for me. It's an entertaining place to shop and I've got some neat stuff there I wouldnt' have bought otherwise.... but that's the problem. Not a money-saver.

[Sasharna]

The meat and produce we buy there makes it worthwhile because we go through a lot of it and don't have a farmer's market nearby. We've also found good deals on non-food items that made it possible for us to buy things we could not have otherwise purchased. Overall, I'd say membership has increased our quality of life but not necessarily saved us much money.

We'd be saving more money if we ate a lot of processed foods.... but we don't. We're totally grain free, so many of our staples are either unavailable at Costco or less expensive at another local grocer. Costco items are often better quality than I can buy elsewhere, but I'm on a budget with those items and can't afford to "trade up", so to speak.

I am planning on doing a price comparison on frozen produce next shopping trip, so I don't know how that stacks up yet. The fresh produce section is definitely not geared toward a full-time organic buyer, but we're not.

[CanBoo]

Originally Posted by YesandNo

C

FWIW it wasn't worth it for me. It's an entertaining place to shop and I've got some neat stuff there I wouldnt' have bought otherwise.... but that's the problem. Not a money-saver.

Same here. We kept seeing shiny things we would not have otherwise bought.

[akmeg]

My vote is definitely yes, but I've sort of trained myself to shop there. This year in January I decided I wanted to start building my food storage a bit better, and so I started shopping almost exclusively at Costco just to see if I would notice a difference in my budget and my food storage. I've kept track of everything I buy, when I get home from shopping I quickly enter every item on my receipt into a spreadsheet in different columns and I keep a running total of what I spend each month. It's been sort of an experiment, but I'm happy to say, we've been MUCH better at sticking to our budget, our little food storage is growing, and I think we're buying healthier foods. I'm not 100% organic, so myabe it would be different if I was, but I am gluten free, so we buy almost no processed foods at all.

The things I've found to be really good deals there.......
onions, carrots, potatoes
frozen fruit
frozen organic veggies
cheese, eggs, butter, cream (especially specialty cheeses, like feta!)
meat
almonds, maple syrup
organic peanut butter!
brown rice, white rice
baking supplies
olive oil
canned tomatoes, organic tomato sauce
shampoo, soap, lotion, deo
tin foil, plastic wrap, ziploc bags
dish soap

I'm sure there's more, but that's off the top of my head. I find I buy fewer items per week, but they last so much longer so I don't have to buy them as often. I only shop there once a week, and I almost ALWAYS stick to the outer perimeter, just the back where the meat and produce are, and down the rows that have more staple foods. I have a very strict budget, my dh is actually in the process of looking for a new job and finances are tight, but I think Costco has made a huge difference in being able to stretch our budget and still eat healthy food. There are things I would buy differently someday when I have a bigger budget, because I know they're healthier and I'd rather shop locally, but things being how they are, I love Costco!

[ZoeyZoo]

I find it useful for certain things. I can't get local meat where I live and the organic selection is really slim. I find they have the best price and quality I can get. I also use them for stuff like TP and olice oil. I used to use them for toiletries too but I am finding myself going towards natural products more.

[midwestmom]

costco is totally worth it to us. We are a family of 6. They do have many organic things too.

[Sasharna]

Originally Posted by akmeg

I've kept track of everything I buy, when I get home from shopping I quickly enter every item on my receipt into a spreadsheet in different columns and I keep a running total of what I spend each month. It's been sort of an experiment, but I'm happy to say, we've been MUCH better at sticking to our budget, our little food storage is growing, and I think we're buying healthier foods.

A kindred spirit! I do the spreadsheet with different categories in different columns, too. I love it.

Your post also reminded me that there are many more things we save on at Costco besides the few that sprang to my mind when writing my first post.

[akmeg]

Originally Posted by Sasharna

A kindred spirit! I do the spreadsheet with different categories in different columns, too. I love it.

Your post also reminded me that there are many more things we save on at Costco besides the few that sprang to my mind when writing my first post.

I'm glad I'm not the only spreadsheet nerd! But seriously, it's made a huge difference in my grocery budgeting! I started doing this back in October. I love looking back each month to see how much I spent in each category, and it really opened my eyes as to how much I actually spend and on what. I also keep track of any time we eat out and any misc. spending we do, all on the same spreadsheet, and it all automatically totals at the bottom. I love it! And now I'm almost excited every time I get home from shopping to put my new items in and see how it totals up!

[Bazile]

Whether it's worth it or not truly just depends on your personal situation. For DH and I, it's not. We got a membership while we were on vacation in San Diego, so that they'd fix our tire. It was the closest garage to our hotel, and we couldn't drive back to Tucson on the donut.
In the year that we had the membership, we had a tire patched, I bought gas several times since it was on my way back from school, we bought Christmas presents (partially because MiL was with us and she wanted to go), and one fuzzy body pillow. When it expired last September, we just let it go.
We're a family of two. I try to mainly cook with whole foods. Thus, bulk processed food won't get eaten, and since there's just two of us, the fresh things will go bad. For us, bulk is family size packages of meat and frozen veggies. We live in an apartment, so we don't really have the room to store a years supply of tp, olive oil, dried pasta, and canned tomatoes. DH is also in the Air Force, so we have access to the Base Exchange and the Commissary. We can buy normal sized groceries cheaper, and the gas prices for on base vs Costco were generally nil in Tucson, though I haven't compared since we moved to AL.
If/once we have several children, we might go back for food savings, but right now, no.
With that said, if I were you I'd compare prices and look at my storage area. If you have room to store bulk items, and know they'll get eaten before they go bad, and it works out cheaper for you, I'd go with it.

[newcastlemama]

I have been trying to do most of my shopping at Costco lately and I do think it is saving us money. It also saves me a lot of time because I am not running around..It has realy great quality for the price too...I have found that quality really lacks in produce at other discount places.

Butter
Evoo
nuts
produce (love the organic spring mix!)
meats/chicken
frozen fruits and vegs
organic pb/ almond butter
cheeses
spices
Detergents
contact solution
diapers
beer
sprouted bread
and other stuff....

We only buy stuff we need/on the list and I don't mind eating the same fruit or veg everyday until they are gone. We also have good choices as far as organics and natural foods at our Costco.

[katiesk]

]

It isn't for us. I found that I bought things I would not have otherwise purchased just because it sounded like such a great deal.

yeah...

also, it would not be worth it for me, because i prefer to buy from local shops and our farmers market. (and we do not have a costco where i live!) we don't eat much meat, don't use paper towels, etc.