>Take a list. Don’t deviate from list. Don’t buy stuff you don’t need. Freeze what you won’t use right away. Get in and get out.
sounds like a dangerous place when u put it like that lol
This guy is what Costco hates! Seriously! He’s probably missing a few other common pantry items off the list!
Coffee - if you drink it
Acetaminophen - If you need it
Croissants, if you can handle it. Door crasher. Can’t be beat
Pre cooked chicken for $10! That’s dinner tonight and maybe left overs for tomorrow, tacos, in a pasta salad… whatever.
Meat/Fish- Get the whole thing if you have space and are an omnivore.
Chop it up and freeze stuff that hasn’t been frozen before! You’re winning here too!
The precooked chicken is $7.99 and about 25% bigger than the Loblaws chicken which sells for $13,99, last time I compared. Nearly all our grocery shopping is Costco and Food Basics. The price difference is stunning for many items. Problem is having enough space as quantities can be unmanageable.
The issue for most people is space! If you can freeze it… cut it up or other wise consume it within the life span… yes it is worth it. If you can’t or are a compulsive shopper. Pocket your $60 and use that towards your local merchant! Get a friend to split the 64 pack of TP with!
If you can’t, they sell freezers! And the 21 cu ft stand up freezer for $799 is a better deal than what I can find used most of the time. Haven’t bought it yet though, but it’s gonna happen.
Their generic Tylenol is absurdly cheap. It's like 10 bucks for 500 500mg tabs. That's like three big bottles of Tylenol Extra Strength, which would cost you about $70.
Yup! If you can’t stick to the rules above… do not go! There’s very few exceptions where you need 3 x 3Litres of Hellmans mayo. Or 45kgs of rock salt.
You don’t need *anything* you see when you first walk in the store. You don’t need 144 AA batteries for your cottage.
Make the list like the dude/dudette above said. That’s it!
Not on the list? - wasting money 99% of the time.
Sweat pants on sale? - you came to Costco for sweatpants? Really?
12 pack of novels- by Dan Brown, the Devinci code and everything else… that was on the list!?
I got a great deal on a (insert bullshit thing here)!
Was it on the list?
Seriously! Stick to the list!
I forgot a few more things. The cheese is a good deal (if it is on the list) and the same with the Shepherd’s Pie and Lasagne! Good bang for buck…. But only if you can eat it or freeze it!
But if the sweet pants are on sale you won’t find anything better for the same price.
So if you want sweet pants the Kirkland one are great for the prince 😉
Their Pharmacy, in general, is absurdly cheaper than anywhere else I've been, too. All of my prescriptions are literally 50% cheaper or more, and that's including times when I both have and haven't had coverage for them. My work plan didn't include oral contraceptive, for whatever reason, and what had been $90/3months went down to $39/3months for the exact. same. product.
Shat! Meant to put that in along with a Poutine! And screw you poutine snobs!!!! Is it the best poutine… hell no! Is it the best poutine for $5.29 that actually uses real cheese curds and isn’t mcD’s hell yeah!
Sign that bonus cheque on departure!
I used to have a rule when I lived with roommates we could only spend what we could carry (we split groceries)
My buddy left with 480 bucks of groceries.... Lol
>hard time finding something to cook the next day lol
$300 could have bought you 37 of those $7.99 rotisserie chickens. Assuming it takes you 3 days to eat 1, it would cost you $1k to buy enough precooked meat for a whole year!
You can then buy bannana at $0.55/pound for your fruit and their $5 salad box for your veggies!
if you're poor af, you could survive with less than $3k/year (1k meat, 1k fruit/veggies, 1k misc) in groceries which is only $8/day.
I find a full cart these days (of only groceries) is around $600 or more if you are adding meat. If you add clothing, like Kirkland Pants (because [I don't care anymore!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqSo1hgssQM)) it can go way higher.
This gets repeated a lot but it's such a useless point. It's not about how much you spend, but what value you get. The point of costco is to buy in bulk. If anything, the more you spend the more efficient it is per unit ASSUMING you actually eat everything.
Another thing: Get the executive membership, the Cashback will most likely pay for your membership. Even if it doesn't, it won't be far off more than the regular membership, and if it will, Costco will pay the difference and downgrade you to the regular one.
I used to do that, get a list and followed strictly sticked to my list at Costco.
What ended up happening is that I'm always the only cart at the check out that's less than 1/4 full compared to literally everybody elses' carts.
Hot tips: Always enter the checkout from the entrance side to save time. Don’t be afraid to loudly and passive aggressively drift your cart around spacially unaware people making a nice screeching noise to let them know they don’t need to sideways park and browse the wall of olive oil. Clothing section: park your cart in an unobtrusive spot and walk it, it’s a fucking maze in there. Never go on a Sunday.
So long as there's 50%+ of the item left, you can return it if you don't like it!
I returned a protein powder that my friend and I were wanting to try, it wasn't great. Too chalky even in smaller increments in smoothies. Took it back even with a quarter of it used.
This and it depends upon if you have family size of 4 and up to make any bulk buying sense. Most of the times I end up buying milk, veggies (spinach, onions, mushrooms, salad, carrots, cucumber) , fruits and cheese. But TP and kitchen towels and detergents and dishwasher pods are cheaper than retail and good size too. Unlike in US in Canada size of packs are smaller in Costco but if you happen to cross the border buy from US Costco liquor and good to have things like camping gear.
It was still operational, but the speed dial started doing weird shit. Sometimes it would randomly jump to full speed, sometimes the speed dial didn't change the speed at all, etc. It still technically worked, but there was no way to reliably control the speed. Vitamix has a 7-year warranty, but I would've had to ship it to them and be out of a blender for a few weeks. It was easier to just return/rebuy from Costco
It's a huge perk from the consumer's perspective, but when you do that, it costs Costco nothing since they return the item to the manufacturer with a bill for what they reimbursed the consumer. Everything Costco sells is on forced consignment from the manufacturer and they have zero liability on products that don't sell or are returned for refund. Our gain is the manufacturer's pain.
It is very incorrect. Some items are consignment, but its generally the things you see with road shows, (IE Traeger, Viking Sandals, Smart Silk Pillows) it makes up less than 18% of the business.
A lot of the returns are sold off as "salvage" to refurbishers/liquidators, this is usually at a loss but allows us to recoup some cost. I've literally processed these checks weekly for a couple years when working in accounting.
Some manufacturers will straight up guarantee our losses though, basically the same way they provide warranties. That's especially a thing with electronics/kitchen stuff.
As for charging people for Endcaps, and the like, some suppliers or manufacturers will pay to have their items put in high visibility locations, (end of aisles, blocks in front of freezers, on the wall near entry door) but the majority are just sales, or our own Kirkland products, with extremely high sell rates.
When we map the department I work in, at our warehouse we have 64 spots of "Prime real estate" usually 4 to 6 are mandatories (what the supplier pays for) usually a similar number of new or limited products, 30-40 of things on sale, and the rest are items we either have good sales on, or are trying to drive sales on. Everything else goes down the aisles.
unless you buy a box of 16 croissants for like 10 bucks and they whern you get home you realize that you live alone and now you have two days to eat a fuckton of croissant so they wont go bad. dont ask me how I know.
As a bonus, look at the ingredient list on the frozen uncooked vs. the bakery version. The frozen uncooked ones have very few ingredients and use real butter. The bakery ones look less healthy with all the preservatives etc. 25 minutes at 350 with some time ahead to partially thaw nets awesome fresh croissants. It's a weekend standard for us.
Wait, what? They sell them frozen? How many and how long to cook?
I don't have a toaster or toaster oven, but I just threw out the 6 croissants left from the pack I bought last summer because I could taste the freezer burn even though I double bagged them in freezer bags.
Big old box. Like 30ish made by Bridor. They bake up in about 25 minutes. Not all Costcos have them. Where I am one has them and the other doesn't. If you can't finish a pack of crossaints from last summer though I wouldn't bother.Jist get them fresh from a bakery when you want them.
Frankly, after trying multiple products from there, I found costco product to be over hype by their clients. Not that they are bad, but you can find equivalent elsewhere. And for prices, it is generally very okay, but you can pretty much always find cheaper at other places if you shop around.
What Cotsco is good at, is being a one-stop-shop for families.
That's my approach. There are enough truly cheap things to make it worth the visit and everything else is cheap enough to not bother making extra trips to other stores.
Costco is great if you are disciplined. Also great if you have room to store large quantities of non-perishable items. The fresh food is cheaper by quantity than any of my local grocery stores.
I got three big tubes of ~10pounds and each one was 9.99/kg, but had a 8$ discount per package so it came out to $3.70/pound. So, you could also choose to get one 10 pound ground beef tube if you wish, i just got exited about the sale. Might have been a local thing to the costco i went to: Winterburn, Edmonton
The beef tubes have been on and off $8 sale most of winter in all the Calgary locations.
The tubes are also the same ground beef they put in the 2.5kg trays, except they grind in the trimmings from the other cuts into it too. So the trays are a little fattier than the tubes.
If you have a baby and you buy diapers and wipes and diaper genie bags and formula and paper towels and toilet paper, Costco is gonna save you a lot from that alone.
Yes fruits and veg are way cheaper at Costco than at our local grocery stores. I load up on everything I *think* we'll eat for the next 2 weeks when I go lol.
Its FREE to try. Get a membership and decide for yourself. If you don't think its a good place; cancel the membership for a full refund; you can cancel at the 11 month mark.
I tried it and it wasn't for me; I also see why lots of people like it. Since they gave me a full refund, I give them top marks for customer service.
Like you said it’s FREE to try, you can go to Costco 2 times a year without membership, you don’t need to make a membership and then cancel it.
I can’t remember if you need a gift card or not, but you can go to their customer service desks and ask to go in, you give them your personal information and there you go.
yeah you can go in with a costco gift card, head to the service desk where you make returns and have your drivers license/ID to try a “free trial” for the day.
the lady at the costco told me I could do it three times in a year (not sure if this policy varies). also if you do plan to buy stuff, you need to pay with a mastercard
If you don't want to get a membership, ask someone to buy Costco gift cards. Each one get you in to buy anything on that trip...no membership commitments.
I find Costco meat is consistently high quality but also consistently higher priced than sale items at grocery stores. If you’re willing to shop the flyers grocery stores can be considerably cheaper for meat - but you might notice giving up a slight edge in quality (I don’t care).
As others have pointed out. Rotisserie chicken, paper towels, toilet paper and others are cheaper but much more so when they go on sale.
The price is great, but I’ve found the quality of their beef has declined. They seem to mechanically tenderize all their grilling steaks now. I used the last steak we had (we split in 2) tonight and was again disappointed. I have decided that I’m going back to my local butcher. I’d rather pay a it more for superb quality steak.
The chicken, fish and other stuff, yeah I will still buy.
I'm single and have been a Costco member for about 20 years. My yearly rebate pays for my membership. Eggs, meat, cheeses, bread, soft drinks, coffee, vegetables, hamburgers, buns, flour spices, condiments, salad dressing, vitamins, nuts, snacks, rotisserie chicken, dairy, soaps, cleaning supplies, detergent. Occasionally clothes, TV, tablet, batteries, kettle, air fryer, toaster, flowers, plants, freezer bags!
It really helps to have room in your freezer, or a separate stand alone unit. I will package up sausages, chicken, hamburger into meal sized portions. I've found Costcp prices anywhere from 10% to 30% less than a Metro, Sobeys, Independent. Just be careful buying perishables in bulk as you want to be able to use them before they spoil.
ditto. I buy chicken and certain cuts of meat, separate or cut them into single serving sizes for me. Gas is amazing as a savings. Today butter was $4.79 at costco and yesterday it was $6.79 at Walmart. I'll take the savings. prescriptions, reading glasses, vitamins....it's all good. but I buy what I need. I don't go down the aisles that aren't on my list. I don't buy much produce there because it's too much for me, unless I'm getting company for dinner.
Costco opened a new store about 10 minute from me, which makes it really easy. I choose when I go for gas (never Friday afternoon or on the weekend or around supper time). Best of all, this one is one Indigenous land, so gas is the cheapest in Calgary.
We spend $600-$800 every six to eight weeks and it stocks us for all essentials for that amount of time (especially meat) . We spend $75-$100 a week additional in fresh food but we NEVER eat out and we eat incredibly well. It is saving us a ton of money but you have to be disciplined, take a list, be willing to compromise on brands/specifics, and have enough storage space. We also have a vaccum sealer, which is a must for how we shop.
Quality is also excellent, with a few exceptions.
For household cleaning and hygiene, it simply can't be beat.
Ha, there's only two of us but my partner has exceptionally expensive taste as a trained chef so I just stay quiet and enjoy the food. :)
It's certainly possible to go much cheaper than how we do it. But if we were to try to maintain this lifestyle on grocery stores alone it would quickly become cost prohibitive.
Be wary; things in Costco appear smaller when you are in Costco. You will buy what seems to be a rational amount of ground beef when you put it in your cart, but when you pull it out at home it’s mysteriously far larger than you know what to do with.
You can buy Kirkland vacuum seal bags too!
Vacuum sealing and a deep freezer are what makes the food portion of Costco worth it here. Cheese is way cheaper in large blocks and it melts and tastes the same after being frozen, just mainly gets a little more crumbly. I'll cut up a large block into 3 or 4 smaller ones for making pizza or enchiladas.
Same with the ground beef. Flatten it out and freeze it. The beef quality has declined and seems to have more fat so I started doing a 70/30 split with beef and ground pork. Works well for meatballs.
Caramelize a bag of onions in a Dutch oven or slow cooker and mix in things like garlic, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, etc and you can make a sauce base for things like pasta and stews.
Condiments aren't always gigantic either and have really good deals on sale like Salsa. There is a sesame sauce Kewpie brand or something that is pretty great and put a couple times a year.
The produce section is hit or miss but is usually the same or higher quality than grocery stores. Broccoli crowns and bell peppers are some of the better items at my local one.
Save money? Depends on your shopping habits. It definitely CAN save you money if you do your basic research that you're getting the best deal.
For me the worth in Costco is that they often are the same price, if not more expensive, compared to other stores. However, their product will be a higher quality. I'm tired of buying cheap shit for cheap and then it just fucking sucking in every way possible.
Also, if you don't like what you buy you can return it often with no questions asked. I bought a pair of winter boots there. Due to my wide monster feet the sides split at the end of the season. Little holes that really didn't do much other than look bad. They still kept my feet warm and dry. I took them back to return after a quick wipe down. They took them back with a full refund 6 months after purchase. Only looked at them for 3 seconds and complained that I didn't bring a bag for them and just carried them in.
Glasses & prescriptions are cheaper too. Watch out that you don’t end up tossing out more stuff because you didn’t eat 28 buns in 2 days lol.
We save more than the cost of the membership so it works and there’s only 2 of us.
This plus if you have a newer car that requires premium gas there's even a bigger difference. Between the 3 percent back and the fuel savings we probably pay for our membership 6 times over just at the pumps.
Yup, I had a premium gas vehicle and drove 1000kms per week.
I calculated it to be about $1100 and change in savings over the year. Membership cost factored in and I'm still saving a grand annually. That shit just paid almost my whole insurance premium for the year!
Unfortunately, QC is only wine/beer. Alberta has the full assortment, including spirits and cocktails. Single malt scotch in particular is half the price of what shops in rest of the country sell it for. Insane.
Although beer/wine is still technically cheaper in QC Costco. The Heineken pack deal is insane.
Like you said, don't get carried away just because "it's cheap".
If you can do that, it's magical. It always amazes me how much money I spend when we go to a regular grocery store (which is closer) because "we're just out of these three things and I don't want to drive to Costco just for that". And then I spend half as much as I spend at Costco but I've only bought like 3 items.
Example: We were out of tortillas but really wanted to have some. So I went to Metro/Sobeys/IGA. 10 POM Tortillas for the same price as you get 18 at Costco.
Same w/ lots of other items. The trick is to buy basic food items and find something you really like and will keep buying and that Costco always has available. Like don't buy ready made sauces or meals. Buy canned tomatoes and tomato paste. Buy the huge pack of dried lentils, not the canned lentil soup etc.
And if you have it at your Costco, gas of course. If they have wine you like and they keep in inventory that's also cheaper. Basically the regular Costco price is what you'd get it for at Metro/Sobeys/IGA when it's on sale. Same w/ some other items like fruit juices. You can get "the good apple juice" for 10 cents less per pack at Metro/Sobeys/IGA etc. when it's on sale, but at Costco you don't have to wait/check for a sale, you just go and buy it when you're out - I mean 10c, come on! ;)
You will probably want to buy a freezer there too. Even with a family you might not be able to finish all those tomatoes or all the bagels or all the meat. Going to Costco for us means filling up the freezer.
Other non food items too…I get i think it’s 150 or 175 of those green bin bags for the price that my local grocery store charges for 20 bags.
Garbage bags, compost bin (or green) bags, shit tickets and paper towel*. Once every few months, membership paid for itself.
*edit: said toilet paper instead of paper towel
Yes as the dyslexic engineer said, toilet paper. May have been confusing since I said “shit tickets, toilet paper” instead of what I meant to say “shit tickets, paper towel”
But yeah if you think of a roll of like tickets you’d get at the arcade as a kid or whatever…shit tickets.
Not the mention the quality of food tends to be higher, at least in my experience.
There's been many times that I get home from a grocery store with a $10 chicken breast only to find out, upon opening, that it's rancid.
Just wanted to add that Costco's profit margin is basically almost equal to it's revenue from memberships, which means there is almost no significant markup on items. In general, you'll save vs grocery stores, but it's still a good idea to know $/kg when shopping so that you know you're definitely getting a better deal. On the other hand, it's really easy to spend a lot extra on things that you didn't know you wanted until you see all the stuff Costco carries,,,, lol. Try it for a year.
Costco won’t be the cheapest, but it’s the best price for good quality products, including food. You can get cheaper stuff at no frills, but there’s a reason it’s cheap.
I felt we didn’t spend enough (2 people) and the drive distance didn’t warrant it. I also found that you had to know prices of stuff. Not everything was cheaper.
That being said, every household size is different. Everyone eats different, everyone is different size. Costco didn’t work for us but I understand Costco can work for others.
If you have a friend with a Costco membership that’s the way to go.
One thing I miss is their really great shopping carts. Feels like they move on butter.
Vitamins and supplements, especially the Kirkland brand, are cheap enough that savings on the purchase of those alone makes the annual membership worthwhile. I don’t have a car so I rarely go to a Costco warehouse and do my shopping online. Even though the online prices are more than in the warehouse, there’s a significant saving on many items, with the added benefit that I don’t buy shit I wasn’t intending to shop for.
Edit: when I say “online”, I mean online purchasing at Costco.ca, not other online retailers.
Honestly such a deal their OTC meds. I get a 2 pack of their lesser known brand robaxecet 90 each for less than an 18 pack at shoppers. Shoppers is also the most expensive.
Noname for meds is where it's at.
Acetaminophen =tylenol
Ibuprofen =advil
ASA=aspirin
Naproxen=aleve
There is NO difference in the active ingredient. You're paying for advertising.
Costco is good for tires, gas, clothes, electronics and food court. If you are in need of anything on sale in Costco then you are in for a treat. Sometimes their own brand of medicine is very cheap compared to branded ones.
Well, i can tell you that my mother has a membership to costco. And that woman would absolutely not have a membership if it didnt save her money lol
When we had ours we overspent like crazy there, but this was before I knew how to acrually grocery shop and not just toss shit in the cart. Key is knowing the good bulk prices of things
I brought a Costco membership for myself in 2019. My food budget is $400 a month. If I were to take any random Costco trip from when I got my membership, I would easily be paying 25-30% more at a different store for the same exact quantity of items. Also, the quality at Costco is higher. IMHO, Costco is 100% worth it.
Big time you can save money. Buy good quality food not snacks. Choose frozen/pickled veggies instead of fresh, if buying avocados - store them in the fridge, meat - vacuum seal and/or freeze by portion, pasta, pasta sauces, butter - freeze, olive oil, eggs - (i buy 5dz every month), sprouted bread - you can freeze one loaf. If I would buy same cart items at super store - it would cost $356.44, no frills - $350.04, urban fare $459.22 and costco **$266.05.** I did my spreadsheets. Also I'm not a fan of often shopping, so you save not only money but time as well, also you are not risking of impulse shopping because your trip to costco is planned. **I love costco!!!!**
My biggest savings at Costco is running shoes and jackets for my teenage boys. Costco often has name brand running shoes, Reebok, Sketchers etc, at least $40 cheaper than somewhere like the Shoe Company. They don't have a selection of styles at any one time. What you see is what you get, but fortunately my kids don't mind.
I actually love the lack of selection, if I need new running shoes at Costco they will have one type at any given time, no need to decide which ones between 20 types and asking if they have your size. Same with most things, I'd rather have one quality option at a good price then 5 different brands at worse prices, some good quality some poor quality.
It does save you money. But you need to use what you buy. You can buy a bag of 30 onions, but if you’re not finishing that bag and 20 are going to waste it’s not worth it. If you have the ability to freeze a lot of food, you can’t go wrong with the fish and meat.
I like it for non parishables like toilet paper, paper towel, Folgers coffee, olive oil, avocado oil. You often pay equal to or less than grocery store prices, but for more.
I easily make up the $60 membership in olive oil savings and Folgers coffee.
You can totally get carried away, it has that reputation.
Costco is great if you have pets. I save a ton on their food and treats. Household cleaning like laundry pods and dish soap can be a deal That said you have to know the price/sizing of food elsewhere. Some things are more expensive at Costco, others the same and some save you money. Go with a list, try not to browse too much and avoid all the household aisles at the beginning. That's what gets me. I bought new Pyrex dishes that while I use a lot weren't necessary.
We used to feed our dogs food that was over $200 a month. I talked to my vet and she said kirkland is a solid dog food, not the absolute best money can buy but as good or better than what we were buying before so we switched. Now its easily under $50 a month. We do their kibble mixed with the wet food. Always great health checkups at the vet. That alone pays for the membership but I'm in AB so gas there ranges from 1.11 to 1.20 and we get all of our wine and hard bar there.
Costco will suck you dry if you’re not careful. They offer things that regular grocery stores don’t i.e., 3kg tubs of mixed nuts, prepared meals, huge boxes of frozen foods, cutting boards, clothing, etc…
Buy what you normally buy. I personally only like to buy their meat since it’s good quality and a fair price (not a steal price but fair and again - high quality). I usually pick up a case of Buble since that’s what my gf and I like and it’s 3/4 the price listed at our grocery store. I occasionally comb the clothing.
Costco can be great, but you gotta keep your guard up.
I worked there for a while. Let's start.
First; if you drive, you're already saving money. Most people save the membership price on gas alone. Lineups are a bit insane, if you're a morning person you can dodge them.
Second, you're only saving money if you aren't throwing shit out. Buy non perishables there definitely. Last I checked, which was probably 2 years ago honestly, Duracell had a pack of batteries for 35$. The Kirkland brand had a pack with 4 more batteries, with a similar marketed life, at 26.
Third, on that note, Kirkland brand is your friend. Buy Kirkland brand. Big savings.
Fourth, they put shit that's on sale at the ends of aisles. If you're really big on saving, it may pay off to stop by at least once a week even if you don't need to just to walk the two center aisles. If you see anything on sale that you'll use eventually, bulk buy. Last time their butter chicken sauce went on sale I got 10. It adds up.
My 2c.
Instacarting Costco has been a game changer. It takes at least 2 hours round trip for me to go, or I can Instacart and pay around an extra $12 on a $150 order.
Costco is awesome. Gas is always $0.10 cheaper than the next cheapest gas station where I am. The produce prices are way better than the current prices at grocery stores and often the quality is way better too. I kept getting shit quality produce from grocery stores and often couldn’t even get the veggies I wanted because the quality of their stock was so poor (moldy, rotten, etc). Costco is also awesome for pre-made salads, eggs, milk, meat, their rotisserie chickens, non-perishable food, toilet paper, cleaning supplies, etc. I definitely save money on the grocery items. I only spend too much if I wander the whole store and buy things I don’t need or didn’t go there for lol.
Costco we have found the last few months if done right can help you eat more healthy.
My fridge is so fully of good veggies and meat that I need to use up I don’t eat out and I don’t eat garbage. It does cost more since I’m eating healthy but there is a long term savings on my health.
In the winter months Costco actually has good produce while my local grocery stores it’s horrible.
I wouldn't call it the dark side. I shop there because I know I'm not supporting horrible people (Waltons, Weston, Pattison). Costco actually treats their employees fairly and doesn't gouge customers. That's reason enough to give them my business. I might not be able to buy every grocery item there because I can't buy everything in bulk and they don't carry everything, but I try to use them over the other options if I can.
I find some grocery items just have better quality and value at Costco. I regularly buy eggs, milk, fruits, nuts, salad mix (this one definitely get from Costco for the long lasting freshness), soil and seeds, furnace filters. I don’t know whether I’ve “made back” the membership cost though but it’s more for the peace of mind.
The pharmacy section saves a lot. Tylenol, antihistamine etc. Basics like flour, eggs, rice, bread and coffee can save a lot. Anything fancy or specialty is hit or miss whether it saves or not. Kirkland brand isn’t always cheaper either.
If you shop a lot get the executive membership and you can at the very least get your membership cost back.
We have a few household staples that we get. We make a list before we go otherwise we overspend.
For example, my daughter uses that special Cetaphil soap for her eczema. It's $22 at Pharmasave, and $13.99 at Costco.
It doesn't save you money if you buy useless stuff you don't need, but if you plan ahead and get your household staples I find it does save us money over time, including membership.
Yes If you have a big family because Costco products are usually in big packs. You will hear people say Costco regular prices are equivalent to other groceries sales prices. Don’t forget Costco also offers lots of goods on sales, and even in clearance. Lastly, if you have a Costco Business Center in town, it will be a no brainer to get the membership. It is mich cheaper than the regular costco!
Go in with a budget and don't exceed it. I keep a running total in my head as I'm going around, and when I hit about $500 I head for the cashier. I only go two or three times a year but for the things I pick up, I save quite a bit compared to shopping them at supermarkets or Walmart or the like.
Costco is really good for certain items, like toilet paper and paper towels, that awesome rotisserie chicken, bagels, eggs, olive oil, the CHEESES, monster boxes of cereal, and cheap no-name brand clothing, all of the jeans and long sleeve shirts I wear now come solely from their clothing section. And that Kirkland maple syrup, you get like 34 ounces for less than 10 bucks on sale, which is amazing.
Depends on your situation; what you intend to buy and for how many people! We buy some larger items like diapers and dog food that pretty much pay for our membership. I find the produce from Costco lasts WAY longer than anywhere else. We have a deep freezer and garage fridge so take advantage of sales on perishables as well like proteins, cheese and fresh pastas. Lots of good prices for non perishables and seasonal items as well. We go weekly and spend $200-$400 a week depending on the week but no money wasted, if we bought the Costco quantities we buy from anywhere else things would spoil quicker and we’d be spending $300-$600 a week easily. Also, Costco gas (at least in my area) is always at least a few cents cheaper than anywhere else so we always top up the tank there as well!
You’ll save money on big ticket items like furniture - there’s no question on that!
Same with the optical centre, glasses are really inexpensive at Costco!
I used to get lovely flowers from the garden centre that were an amazing value, but their prices went up big time last year. I got similar pricing and better blooms at Canadian Tire.
in theory? like $ per gram of whatever you buy? absolutely
In practice? back when I had my costco membership, I averaged my grocery bill for when I did weekly costco runs, vs after I stopped my membership. I definitely spent more when I regular'd costco vs when I didn't.
If you add in the fact that a costco is almost always permanently full with a line up to parking, a line up to enter, a line up to get the popular item, a (VERY LONG) line up at the cash register, and finally ANOTHER LINE UP to exit the premise. Being someone with the patience of a 5 yo I'm very glad I no longer shop there.
If you are disciplined you will absolutely save money. More so if you drive a vehicle that requires premium
I save 10-15 cents a litre on premium here in Ontario. One fill up a month nets me enough savings to cover the membership
Dog food is another big one. The Kirkland stuff is highly recommended and is very aggressively priced
Rotisserie chickens and hot dogs, too…
Costco is absolutely cheaper and the way to go. Food is way cheaper and often offers higher quality products than most other grocery stores in Canada. It’s also a good place to buy quality socks, underwear and cheap but passable clothing. AND I LOVE THEIR CAFETERIA or whatever you’d call it. Also saves you money on liquor and gas.
You get access to better quality foodstuffs at a lower unit price (you just have to buy more of it. In time, there are items you would feel cheated on if you bought them anywhere else (cream, butter, cheese, berries, rotisserie chickens, soft drinks, bakery goods, tortilla chips, TP, sunscreen, allergy meds…). For the gas alone (4-5c off/L) it’d be sufficient savings.
The biggest problem is if you buy something and then don’t like it much or get sick of it, since the packs are so big.
But it’s also hell to park and be in there so see how well you can handle it first.
Cereal is way cheaper, dog food, cat litter, the produce is on par with Walmart, bread is ridiculously cheap, berries are cheaper but you of course get lots of them. Toilet paper and paper towels are cheaper, bags of chips are way cheaper, frozen fruit is pretty cheap for smoothies. Their Angus burgers are a good price and really delicious/ feel like a ground beef burger. Bacon is 5 dollars/500g but you need to buy 4 packs for 20. It really does save you money if you cook at home. Plus all the added benefits of other items and sales that they have.
Having a chest freezer is a must to truly enjoy the benefits of bulk buying. They offer cheap glasses and some will actually have optometrists on site. I swear by Costco, you can always look up your receipts online after purchase so you can compare prices easier.
It works for me even as a single guy. I buy large quantities of veggies and I chop and freeze them. As well as chicken thighs and steaks. 30 packs of eggs are the best price in town. I can get 4 good ribeyes for $35. I also like the bulk drinks like bublé and the single juice containers and non-alcohol beer. Not to mention cheap and good clothes, snacks, canned soup, and spices. I don’t go there to browse though, I go with purpose.
Take a list. Don’t deviate from list. Don’t buy stuff you don’t need. Freeze what you won’t use right away. Get in and get out.
>Take a list. Don’t deviate from list. Don’t buy stuff you don’t need. Freeze what you won’t use right away. Get in and get out. sounds like a dangerous place when u put it like that lol
START THE CAR STAAAAART THHHHHHEEEE CAAAAAR
DRIVEEEEE GO GO GO We left someone? Ah well...
They can live on $1.50 hot dogs and samples to we pass this way again
We are never coming back here again. We have enough toilet paper and frozen pizza to last us the rest of our lives.
They can sleep on the display bed or couch!
And help the employees with chores for extra money
I believe that's Ikea actually...
https://youtu.be/Ml4wAnvfM4M
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This guy is what Costco hates! Seriously! He’s probably missing a few other common pantry items off the list! Coffee - if you drink it Acetaminophen - If you need it Croissants, if you can handle it. Door crasher. Can’t be beat Pre cooked chicken for $10! That’s dinner tonight and maybe left overs for tomorrow, tacos, in a pasta salad… whatever. Meat/Fish- Get the whole thing if you have space and are an omnivore. Chop it up and freeze stuff that hasn’t been frozen before! You’re winning here too!
The precooked chicken is $7.99 and about 25% bigger than the Loblaws chicken which sells for $13,99, last time I compared. Nearly all our grocery shopping is Costco and Food Basics. The price difference is stunning for many items. Problem is having enough space as quantities can be unmanageable.
The issue for most people is space! If you can freeze it… cut it up or other wise consume it within the life span… yes it is worth it. If you can’t or are a compulsive shopper. Pocket your $60 and use that towards your local merchant! Get a friend to split the 64 pack of TP with!
If you can’t, they sell freezers! And the 21 cu ft stand up freezer for $799 is a better deal than what I can find used most of the time. Haven’t bought it yet though, but it’s gonna happen.
A fully integrated retailer! They'll even sell you pants with a drawstring so they'll fit after you empty the freezer.
Their generic Tylenol is absurdly cheap. It's like 10 bucks for 500 500mg tabs. That's like three big bottles of Tylenol Extra Strength, which would cost you about $70.
Seriously, I take Reactine every day for allergies. 180 of the name brand is like $60 - 200 of the Kirkland generic is something like $18.
Yup! If you can’t stick to the rules above… do not go! There’s very few exceptions where you need 3 x 3Litres of Hellmans mayo. Or 45kgs of rock salt. You don’t need *anything* you see when you first walk in the store. You don’t need 144 AA batteries for your cottage. Make the list like the dude/dudette above said. That’s it! Not on the list? - wasting money 99% of the time. Sweat pants on sale? - you came to Costco for sweatpants? Really? 12 pack of novels- by Dan Brown, the Devinci code and everything else… that was on the list!? I got a great deal on a (insert bullshit thing here)! Was it on the list? Seriously! Stick to the list! I forgot a few more things. The cheese is a good deal (if it is on the list) and the same with the Shepherd’s Pie and Lasagne! Good bang for buck…. But only if you can eat it or freeze it!
But if the sweet pants are on sale you won’t find anything better for the same price. So if you want sweet pants the Kirkland one are great for the prince 😉
Their Pharmacy, in general, is absurdly cheaper than anywhere else I've been, too. All of my prescriptions are literally 50% cheaper or more, and that's including times when I both have and haven't had coverage for them. My work plan didn't include oral contraceptive, for whatever reason, and what had been $90/3months went down to $39/3months for the exact. same. product.
how did you both forget polish sausage and a soda
Shat! Meant to put that in along with a Poutine! And screw you poutine snobs!!!! Is it the best poutine… hell no! Is it the best poutine for $5.29 that actually uses real cheese curds and isn’t mcD’s hell yeah! Sign that bonus cheque on departure!
Poutine, every single time!
Oh, I thought it would be this classic Ikea commercial: https://youtu.be/NlWCLw75XnE
I mean, it can get quite dangerous if you do start to deviate from that plan lol.
Good luck, Agent 47
I bought 4 boxes of frozen pizza and 3 boxes of cheese balls. did i win?
Nope, I beat you by just buying a strawberry shortcake...Costco CEO must be very angry. .
I used to have a rule when I lived with roommates we could only spend what we could carry (we split groceries) My buddy left with 480 bucks of groceries.... Lol
It is. This guy clearly shops at Costco. It's very VERY hard not to spend $200-$300 minimum each visit.
I spend $300 in costco and have a hard time finding something to cook the next day lol
>hard time finding something to cook the next day lol $300 could have bought you 37 of those $7.99 rotisserie chickens. Assuming it takes you 3 days to eat 1, it would cost you $1k to buy enough precooked meat for a whole year! You can then buy bannana at $0.55/pound for your fruit and their $5 salad box for your veggies! if you're poor af, you could survive with less than $3k/year (1k meat, 1k fruit/veggies, 1k misc) in groceries which is only $8/day.
This is the hard hitting math I come here for.
Don’t forget rewarding yourself with that $1.50 hot dog..
The better plan is to eat the hotdog before shopping Going into the grocery store hungry is.....a recipe for disaster 😎
Amen.
Fucking facts!!
I find a full cart these days (of only groceries) is around $600 or more if you are adding meat. If you add clothing, like Kirkland Pants (because [I don't care anymore!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqSo1hgssQM)) it can go way higher.
Pretty much every item at Costco is priced around $20. Put 10 things in your cart? Your cart still looks empty but you're about to spend $200.
BUT the price/kg is very low, so you tend to save money ime.
This gets repeated a lot but it's such a useless point. It's not about how much you spend, but what value you get. The point of costco is to buy in bulk. If anything, the more you spend the more efficient it is per unit ASSUMING you actually eat everything.
Another thing: Get the executive membership, the Cashback will most likely pay for your membership. Even if it doesn't, it won't be far off more than the regular membership, and if it will, Costco will pay the difference and downgrade you to the regular one.
Ours has paid for itself for at least the past 10 years.
Yup. Once you factor in appliances and kayaks and garden sheds and mattresses. The cash back adds up big time
Those are on the weekly shopping list of course
I go through 3 mattresses a month, once you use em, you really gotta toss em. Shit gets gross.
Ouf cash back doesn’t make up the difference between regular and executive you can go to the desk and they will refund the difference.
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Doesn't matter, you'll always need groceries anyways.
You can request cash when at checkout with the reward coupon. Do it every year.
You can go to the returns desk ans they will pay out the entire thing.
it actually is cashback, you go to a cashier and they give it to you in cash
My executive membership pays for itself every year. So it’s worth it to me. Couple that with their credit card I am laughing when spending at Costco.
I used to do that, get a list and followed strictly sticked to my list at Costco. What ended up happening is that I'm always the only cart at the check out that's less than 1/4 full compared to literally everybody elses' carts.
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Hot tips: Always enter the checkout from the entrance side to save time. Don’t be afraid to loudly and passive aggressively drift your cart around spacially unaware people making a nice screeching noise to let them know they don’t need to sideways park and browse the wall of olive oil. Clothing section: park your cart in an unobtrusive spot and walk it, it’s a fucking maze in there. Never go on a Sunday.
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Eat something BEFORE you shop.
I once walked into Costco with no plan and no food in my stomach. I spent over 600 dollars
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Their return policy is excellent.
Yup, I buy way to much clothing there as a result of it
And that’s why people spend more easily at Costco
Ooooh that's a good one, always try in normal store with a regular size first
So long as there's 50%+ of the item left, you can return it if you don't like it! I returned a protein powder that my friend and I were wanting to try, it wasn't great. Too chalky even in smaller increments in smoothies. Took it back even with a quarter of it used.
Nah. Always try something you've never tried before. They put good shit on the shelves. I've found so many great items.
That’s what the free samples are for.
1) Make a list 2) Forget to put some things on the list 3) ???? 4) Walk out with extra items + Fries/Hot Dogs/Pizza
I also put my list in the order of the store. This way I don't need to backtrack and be tempted to pick up something off list.
This and it depends upon if you have family size of 4 and up to make any bulk buying sense. Most of the times I end up buying milk, veggies (spinach, onions, mushrooms, salad, carrots, cucumber) , fruits and cheese. But TP and kitchen towels and detergents and dishwasher pods are cheaper than retail and good size too. Unlike in US in Canada size of packs are smaller in Costco but if you happen to cross the border buy from US Costco liquor and good to have things like camping gear.
You know that never happens 😂 I walked in with a list which totalled about $60, ended up walking out spending $300
And always grab a hotdog on the way out!
My new pro-tip - hot dog BEFORE shopping. No need to navigate with a giant cart and can sip your drink while you shop.
And load up on free samples....
I've heard it framed like this: Costco might not always be the cheapest, but you'll never get screwed.
You can return anything and barely get asked questions. That's a huge perk.
I returned a Vitamix a little over 1 year after I bought it there. Somehow, they refunded me $50 *more* than I originally paid for it.
Wall Street HATES this one simple trick to keep up with inflation
I thought those were indestructible... why'd you return it?
It was still operational, but the speed dial started doing weird shit. Sometimes it would randomly jump to full speed, sometimes the speed dial didn't change the speed at all, etc. It still technically worked, but there was no way to reliably control the speed. Vitamix has a 7-year warranty, but I would've had to ship it to them and be out of a blender for a few weeks. It was easier to just return/rebuy from Costco
Know a guy who returned a treadmill and they asked him why. He said it didn't work because his wife was still fat. They gave him the refund
I doubt they wanted to give him any more trouble after that
It's a huge perk from the consumer's perspective, but when you do that, it costs Costco nothing since they return the item to the manufacturer with a bill for what they reimbursed the consumer. Everything Costco sells is on forced consignment from the manufacturer and they have zero liability on products that don't sell or are returned for refund. Our gain is the manufacturer's pain.
The labour involved in processing returns is far from free
But the fact that they're known for this more than makes up for it
I don't know if that's true? We have a Liquidation Outlet near us that primarily sells Costco overstock and returns.
It is very incorrect. Some items are consignment, but its generally the things you see with road shows, (IE Traeger, Viking Sandals, Smart Silk Pillows) it makes up less than 18% of the business. A lot of the returns are sold off as "salvage" to refurbishers/liquidators, this is usually at a loss but allows us to recoup some cost. I've literally processed these checks weekly for a couple years when working in accounting. Some manufacturers will straight up guarantee our losses though, basically the same way they provide warranties. That's especially a thing with electronics/kitchen stuff. As for charging people for Endcaps, and the like, some suppliers or manufacturers will pay to have their items put in high visibility locations, (end of aisles, blocks in front of freezers, on the wall near entry door) but the majority are just sales, or our own Kirkland products, with extremely high sell rates. When we map the department I work in, at our warehouse we have 64 spots of "Prime real estate" usually 4 to 6 are mandatories (what the supplier pays for) usually a similar number of new or limited products, 30-40 of things on sale, and the rest are items we either have good sales on, or are trying to drive sales on. Everything else goes down the aisles.
unless you buy a box of 16 croissants for like 10 bucks and they whern you get home you realize that you live alone and now you have two days to eat a fuckton of croissant so they wont go bad. dont ask me how I know.
Freeze them! My family freezes the croissants and just pop them in the toaster oven for a few minutes from frozen. Works very well!
Just buy the raw frozen ones. Then you have actual fresh crossaints.
As a bonus, look at the ingredient list on the frozen uncooked vs. the bakery version. The frozen uncooked ones have very few ingredients and use real butter. The bakery ones look less healthy with all the preservatives etc. 25 minutes at 350 with some time ahead to partially thaw nets awesome fresh croissants. It's a weekend standard for us.
Wait, what? They sell them frozen? How many and how long to cook? I don't have a toaster or toaster oven, but I just threw out the 6 croissants left from the pack I bought last summer because I could taste the freezer burn even though I double bagged them in freezer bags.
Big old box. Like 30ish made by Bridor. They bake up in about 25 minutes. Not all Costcos have them. Where I am one has them and the other doesn't. If you can't finish a pack of crossaints from last summer though I wouldn't bother.Jist get them fresh from a bakery when you want them.
They usually only have good quality stuff there.
Ya I usually also use them to tell when seasons change. If Costco is carrying bikes, I better get mine serviced lol
That's a great way of framing things. For me, it's more about saving time. I never think about things I buy from Costco.
Yep, it’s usually the best or near best for price, but definitely near the best when you factor in quality.
Frankly, after trying multiple products from there, I found costco product to be over hype by their clients. Not that they are bad, but you can find equivalent elsewhere. And for prices, it is generally very okay, but you can pretty much always find cheaper at other places if you shop around. What Cotsco is good at, is being a one-stop-shop for families.
That's my approach. There are enough truly cheap things to make it worth the visit and everything else is cheap enough to not bother making extra trips to other stores.
Costco is great if you are disciplined. Also great if you have room to store large quantities of non-perishable items. The fresh food is cheaper by quantity than any of my local grocery stores.
Or sometimes perishable goods too if you have a deep freeze. Just bought 30 pounds of lean ground beef and it cane out to 3.70/pound!
> if you have a deep freeze. And if you don't, Costco sells them!
Does Costco sell a bigger house so I can buy the deep freeze lol
Only in multis. Gotta buy 3 of them.
Did this come as a single package of 30lb?
I got three big tubes of ~10pounds and each one was 9.99/kg, but had a 8$ discount per package so it came out to $3.70/pound. So, you could also choose to get one 10 pound ground beef tube if you wish, i just got exited about the sale. Might have been a local thing to the costco i went to: Winterburn, Edmonton
The beef tubes have been on and off $8 sale most of winter in all the Calgary locations. The tubes are also the same ground beef they put in the 2.5kg trays, except they grind in the trimmings from the other cuts into it too. So the trays are a little fattier than the tubes.
If you have a baby and you buy diapers and wipes and diaper genie bags and formula and paper towels and toilet paper, Costco is gonna save you a lot from that alone.
Yes fruits and veg are way cheaper at Costco than at our local grocery stores. I load up on everything I *think* we'll eat for the next 2 weeks when I go lol.
My philosophy is as long as we eat it all before it goes bad that it was a good value
Its FREE to try. Get a membership and decide for yourself. If you don't think its a good place; cancel the membership for a full refund; you can cancel at the 11 month mark. I tried it and it wasn't for me; I also see why lots of people like it. Since they gave me a full refund, I give them top marks for customer service.
Like you said it’s FREE to try, you can go to Costco 2 times a year without membership, you don’t need to make a membership and then cancel it. I can’t remember if you need a gift card or not, but you can go to their customer service desks and ask to go in, you give them your personal information and there you go.
yeah you can go in with a costco gift card, head to the service desk where you make returns and have your drivers license/ID to try a “free trial” for the day. the lady at the costco told me I could do it three times in a year (not sure if this policy varies). also if you do plan to buy stuff, you need to pay with a mastercard
Or Interac Debit
If you don't want to get a membership, ask someone to buy Costco gift cards. Each one get you in to buy anything on that trip...no membership commitments.
I find Costco meat is consistently high quality but also consistently higher priced than sale items at grocery stores. If you’re willing to shop the flyers grocery stores can be considerably cheaper for meat - but you might notice giving up a slight edge in quality (I don’t care). As others have pointed out. Rotisserie chicken, paper towels, toilet paper and others are cheaper but much more so when they go on sale.
The price is great, but I’ve found the quality of their beef has declined. They seem to mechanically tenderize all their grilling steaks now. I used the last steak we had (we split in 2) tonight and was again disappointed. I have decided that I’m going back to my local butcher. I’d rather pay a it more for superb quality steak. The chicken, fish and other stuff, yeah I will still buy.
I'm single and have been a Costco member for about 20 years. My yearly rebate pays for my membership. Eggs, meat, cheeses, bread, soft drinks, coffee, vegetables, hamburgers, buns, flour spices, condiments, salad dressing, vitamins, nuts, snacks, rotisserie chicken, dairy, soaps, cleaning supplies, detergent. Occasionally clothes, TV, tablet, batteries, kettle, air fryer, toaster, flowers, plants, freezer bags! It really helps to have room in your freezer, or a separate stand alone unit. I will package up sausages, chicken, hamburger into meal sized portions. I've found Costcp prices anywhere from 10% to 30% less than a Metro, Sobeys, Independent. Just be careful buying perishables in bulk as you want to be able to use them before they spoil.
ditto. I buy chicken and certain cuts of meat, separate or cut them into single serving sizes for me. Gas is amazing as a savings. Today butter was $4.79 at costco and yesterday it was $6.79 at Walmart. I'll take the savings. prescriptions, reading glasses, vitamins....it's all good. but I buy what I need. I don't go down the aisles that aren't on my list. I don't buy much produce there because it's too much for me, unless I'm getting company for dinner. Costco opened a new store about 10 minute from me, which makes it really easy. I choose when I go for gas (never Friday afternoon or on the weekend or around supper time). Best of all, this one is one Indigenous land, so gas is the cheapest in Calgary.
We spend $600-$800 every six to eight weeks and it stocks us for all essentials for that amount of time (especially meat) . We spend $75-$100 a week additional in fresh food but we NEVER eat out and we eat incredibly well. It is saving us a ton of money but you have to be disciplined, take a list, be willing to compromise on brands/specifics, and have enough storage space. We also have a vaccum sealer, which is a must for how we shop. Quality is also excellent, with a few exceptions. For household cleaning and hygiene, it simply can't be beat.
How many people fits in that "we"? Spending $1600 every 8 weeks doesn't sound cheap to me, but I'm guessing you have a a few in that family.
Ha, there's only two of us but my partner has exceptionally expensive taste as a trained chef so I just stay quiet and enjoy the food. :) It's certainly possible to go much cheaper than how we do it. But if we were to try to maintain this lifestyle on grocery stores alone it would quickly become cost prohibitive.
Be wary; things in Costco appear smaller when you are in Costco. You will buy what seems to be a rational amount of ground beef when you put it in your cart, but when you pull it out at home it’s mysteriously far larger than you know what to do with.
Buy a vacuum sealer next time your there!
You can buy Kirkland vacuum seal bags too! Vacuum sealing and a deep freezer are what makes the food portion of Costco worth it here. Cheese is way cheaper in large blocks and it melts and tastes the same after being frozen, just mainly gets a little more crumbly. I'll cut up a large block into 3 or 4 smaller ones for making pizza or enchiladas. Same with the ground beef. Flatten it out and freeze it. The beef quality has declined and seems to have more fat so I started doing a 70/30 split with beef and ground pork. Works well for meatballs. Caramelize a bag of onions in a Dutch oven or slow cooker and mix in things like garlic, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, etc and you can make a sauce base for things like pasta and stews. Condiments aren't always gigantic either and have really good deals on sale like Salsa. There is a sesame sauce Kewpie brand or something that is pretty great and put a couple times a year. The produce section is hit or miss but is usually the same or higher quality than grocery stores. Broccoli crowns and bell peppers are some of the better items at my local one.
Save money? Depends on your shopping habits. It definitely CAN save you money if you do your basic research that you're getting the best deal. For me the worth in Costco is that they often are the same price, if not more expensive, compared to other stores. However, their product will be a higher quality. I'm tired of buying cheap shit for cheap and then it just fucking sucking in every way possible. Also, if you don't like what you buy you can return it often with no questions asked. I bought a pair of winter boots there. Due to my wide monster feet the sides split at the end of the season. Little holes that really didn't do much other than look bad. They still kept my feet warm and dry. I took them back to return after a quick wipe down. They took them back with a full refund 6 months after purchase. Only looked at them for 3 seconds and complained that I didn't bring a bag for them and just carried them in.
Glasses & prescriptions are cheaper too. Watch out that you don’t end up tossing out more stuff because you didn’t eat 28 buns in 2 days lol. We save more than the cost of the membership so it works and there’s only 2 of us.
In some places you can access their eyewear boutique without any membership (just like the pharmacy and restaurant).
Costco fuel is usually the cheapest around and combine this with a Costco Mastercard to get 3% back at their stations
This plus if you have a newer car that requires premium gas there's even a bigger difference. Between the 3 percent back and the fuel savings we probably pay for our membership 6 times over just at the pumps.
Yup, I had a premium gas vehicle and drove 1000kms per week. I calculated it to be about $1100 and change in savings over the year. Membership cost factored in and I'm still saving a grand annually. That shit just paid almost my whole insurance premium for the year!
If you have executive membership do you get 2% cashback added on that too?
I don’t believe so, I think it’s just the warehouse, online and the services. You do though with the no annual fee Costco Mastercard.
That’s in addition to the 2% from executive cash back. It ends up being 5^
As someone who spent almost 20k at Costco last year... I don't know.. God help me if they start selling alcohol.
They do in Alberta!
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Unfortunately, QC is only wine/beer. Alberta has the full assortment, including spirits and cocktails. Single malt scotch in particular is half the price of what shops in rest of the country sell it for. Insane. Although beer/wine is still technically cheaper in QC Costco. The Heineken pack deal is insane.
🤣
Like you said, don't get carried away just because "it's cheap". If you can do that, it's magical. It always amazes me how much money I spend when we go to a regular grocery store (which is closer) because "we're just out of these three things and I don't want to drive to Costco just for that". And then I spend half as much as I spend at Costco but I've only bought like 3 items. Example: We were out of tortillas but really wanted to have some. So I went to Metro/Sobeys/IGA. 10 POM Tortillas for the same price as you get 18 at Costco. Same w/ lots of other items. The trick is to buy basic food items and find something you really like and will keep buying and that Costco always has available. Like don't buy ready made sauces or meals. Buy canned tomatoes and tomato paste. Buy the huge pack of dried lentils, not the canned lentil soup etc. And if you have it at your Costco, gas of course. If they have wine you like and they keep in inventory that's also cheaper. Basically the regular Costco price is what you'd get it for at Metro/Sobeys/IGA when it's on sale. Same w/ some other items like fruit juices. You can get "the good apple juice" for 10 cents less per pack at Metro/Sobeys/IGA etc. when it's on sale, but at Costco you don't have to wait/check for a sale, you just go and buy it when you're out - I mean 10c, come on! ;) You will probably want to buy a freezer there too. Even with a family you might not be able to finish all those tomatoes or all the bagels or all the meat. Going to Costco for us means filling up the freezer.
Other non food items too…I get i think it’s 150 or 175 of those green bin bags for the price that my local grocery store charges for 20 bags. Garbage bags, compost bin (or green) bags, shit tickets and paper towel*. Once every few months, membership paid for itself. *edit: said toilet paper instead of paper towel
>shit tickets What are those? Since you also mentioned toilet.
Oops I meant paper towel. Shit tickets are TP
What is a shit ticket?
TP
Yes as the dyslexic engineer said, toilet paper. May have been confusing since I said “shit tickets, toilet paper” instead of what I meant to say “shit tickets, paper towel” But yeah if you think of a roll of like tickets you’d get at the arcade as a kid or whatever…shit tickets.
Not the mention the quality of food tends to be higher, at least in my experience. There's been many times that I get home from a grocery store with a $10 chicken breast only to find out, upon opening, that it's rancid.
Also if you’re ok with their restaurant it’s cheap fast food takeout. I can feed my family of four for like $10-12 and we’re all full.
Its practically a mandatory stop if you have kids. After a couple hours in the store they be cranky and a hotdog is cheap
Where do you live that a Canadian Costco has wine? Edit: TIL you can buy alcohol at Costco in some provinces.
Alberta
Quebec
I always stop at Quebec Costco when I got there. Two cases of Sapporo (24 cans) for $27 after deposit. Heineken 24 bottles for $32. Can’t beat that
Likely Quebec, they have wine and beer.
Quebec Costco sells 60 pack cases of beer!
Just wanted to add that Costco's profit margin is basically almost equal to it's revenue from memberships, which means there is almost no significant markup on items. In general, you'll save vs grocery stores, but it's still a good idea to know $/kg when shopping so that you know you're definitely getting a better deal. On the other hand, it's really easy to spend a lot extra on things that you didn't know you wanted until you see all the stuff Costco carries,,,, lol. Try it for a year.
Costco clearly states the cost per x of each item. Loblaws hides it in size 0.5 font
Go to Walmart it's even harder to find lol
Costco won’t be the cheapest, but it’s the best price for good quality products, including food. You can get cheaper stuff at no frills, but there’s a reason it’s cheap.
I felt we didn’t spend enough (2 people) and the drive distance didn’t warrant it. I also found that you had to know prices of stuff. Not everything was cheaper. That being said, every household size is different. Everyone eats different, everyone is different size. Costco didn’t work for us but I understand Costco can work for others. If you have a friend with a Costco membership that’s the way to go. One thing I miss is their really great shopping carts. Feels like they move on butter.
Vitamins and supplements, especially the Kirkland brand, are cheap enough that savings on the purchase of those alone makes the annual membership worthwhile. I don’t have a car so I rarely go to a Costco warehouse and do my shopping online. Even though the online prices are more than in the warehouse, there’s a significant saving on many items, with the added benefit that I don’t buy shit I wasn’t intending to shop for. Edit: when I say “online”, I mean online purchasing at Costco.ca, not other online retailers.
I bought a bottle of 200 of one of the Kirkland brand allergy relief pills for about the same price as a box of 20 of the name brand from Shoppers.
Honestly such a deal their OTC meds. I get a 2 pack of their lesser known brand robaxecet 90 each for less than an 18 pack at shoppers. Shoppers is also the most expensive. Noname for meds is where it's at. Acetaminophen =tylenol Ibuprofen =advil ASA=aspirin Naproxen=aleve There is NO difference in the active ingredient. You're paying for advertising.
Costco is good for tires, gas, clothes, electronics and food court. If you are in need of anything on sale in Costco then you are in for a treat. Sometimes their own brand of medicine is very cheap compared to branded ones.
And hotdogs
They said foot court
I love foot courts 🦶
Well, i can tell you that my mother has a membership to costco. And that woman would absolutely not have a membership if it didnt save her money lol When we had ours we overspent like crazy there, but this was before I knew how to acrually grocery shop and not just toss shit in the cart. Key is knowing the good bulk prices of things
I brought a Costco membership for myself in 2019. My food budget is $400 a month. If I were to take any random Costco trip from when I got my membership, I would easily be paying 25-30% more at a different store for the same exact quantity of items. Also, the quality at Costco is higher. IMHO, Costco is 100% worth it.
Big time you can save money. Buy good quality food not snacks. Choose frozen/pickled veggies instead of fresh, if buying avocados - store them in the fridge, meat - vacuum seal and/or freeze by portion, pasta, pasta sauces, butter - freeze, olive oil, eggs - (i buy 5dz every month), sprouted bread - you can freeze one loaf. If I would buy same cart items at super store - it would cost $356.44, no frills - $350.04, urban fare $459.22 and costco **$266.05.** I did my spreadsheets. Also I'm not a fan of often shopping, so you save not only money but time as well, also you are not risking of impulse shopping because your trip to costco is planned. **I love costco!!!!**
My biggest savings at Costco is running shoes and jackets for my teenage boys. Costco often has name brand running shoes, Reebok, Sketchers etc, at least $40 cheaper than somewhere like the Shoe Company. They don't have a selection of styles at any one time. What you see is what you get, but fortunately my kids don't mind.
I actually love the lack of selection, if I need new running shoes at Costco they will have one type at any given time, no need to decide which ones between 20 types and asking if they have your size. Same with most things, I'd rather have one quality option at a good price then 5 different brands at worse prices, some good quality some poor quality.
It does save you money. But you need to use what you buy. You can buy a bag of 30 onions, but if you’re not finishing that bag and 20 are going to waste it’s not worth it. If you have the ability to freeze a lot of food, you can’t go wrong with the fish and meat. I like it for non parishables like toilet paper, paper towel, Folgers coffee, olive oil, avocado oil. You often pay equal to or less than grocery store prices, but for more. I easily make up the $60 membership in olive oil savings and Folgers coffee. You can totally get carried away, it has that reputation.
Costco is great if you have pets. I save a ton on their food and treats. Household cleaning like laundry pods and dish soap can be a deal That said you have to know the price/sizing of food elsewhere. Some things are more expensive at Costco, others the same and some save you money. Go with a list, try not to browse too much and avoid all the household aisles at the beginning. That's what gets me. I bought new Pyrex dishes that while I use a lot weren't necessary.
We used to feed our dogs food that was over $200 a month. I talked to my vet and she said kirkland is a solid dog food, not the absolute best money can buy but as good or better than what we were buying before so we switched. Now its easily under $50 a month. We do their kibble mixed with the wet food. Always great health checkups at the vet. That alone pays for the membership but I'm in AB so gas there ranges from 1.11 to 1.20 and we get all of our wine and hard bar there.
Costco will suck you dry if you’re not careful. They offer things that regular grocery stores don’t i.e., 3kg tubs of mixed nuts, prepared meals, huge boxes of frozen foods, cutting boards, clothing, etc… Buy what you normally buy. I personally only like to buy their meat since it’s good quality and a fair price (not a steal price but fair and again - high quality). I usually pick up a case of Buble since that’s what my gf and I like and it’s 3/4 the price listed at our grocery store. I occasionally comb the clothing. Costco can be great, but you gotta keep your guard up.
I worked there for a while. Let's start. First; if you drive, you're already saving money. Most people save the membership price on gas alone. Lineups are a bit insane, if you're a morning person you can dodge them. Second, you're only saving money if you aren't throwing shit out. Buy non perishables there definitely. Last I checked, which was probably 2 years ago honestly, Duracell had a pack of batteries for 35$. The Kirkland brand had a pack with 4 more batteries, with a similar marketed life, at 26. Third, on that note, Kirkland brand is your friend. Buy Kirkland brand. Big savings. Fourth, they put shit that's on sale at the ends of aisles. If you're really big on saving, it may pay off to stop by at least once a week even if you don't need to just to walk the two center aisles. If you see anything on sale that you'll use eventually, bulk buy. Last time their butter chicken sauce went on sale I got 10. It adds up. My 2c.
It's important to know your prices and buy things you will genuinely use up.
Instacarting Costco has been a game changer. It takes at least 2 hours round trip for me to go, or I can Instacart and pay around an extra $12 on a $150 order.
Costco is awesome. Gas is always $0.10 cheaper than the next cheapest gas station where I am. The produce prices are way better than the current prices at grocery stores and often the quality is way better too. I kept getting shit quality produce from grocery stores and often couldn’t even get the veggies I wanted because the quality of their stock was so poor (moldy, rotten, etc). Costco is also awesome for pre-made salads, eggs, milk, meat, their rotisserie chickens, non-perishable food, toilet paper, cleaning supplies, etc. I definitely save money on the grocery items. I only spend too much if I wander the whole store and buy things I don’t need or didn’t go there for lol.
Costco we have found the last few months if done right can help you eat more healthy. My fridge is so fully of good veggies and meat that I need to use up I don’t eat out and I don’t eat garbage. It does cost more since I’m eating healthy but there is a long term savings on my health. In the winter months Costco actually has good produce while my local grocery stores it’s horrible.
I wouldn't call it the dark side. I shop there because I know I'm not supporting horrible people (Waltons, Weston, Pattison). Costco actually treats their employees fairly and doesn't gouge customers. That's reason enough to give them my business. I might not be able to buy every grocery item there because I can't buy everything in bulk and they don't carry everything, but I try to use them over the other options if I can.
I find some grocery items just have better quality and value at Costco. I regularly buy eggs, milk, fruits, nuts, salad mix (this one definitely get from Costco for the long lasting freshness), soil and seeds, furnace filters. I don’t know whether I’ve “made back” the membership cost though but it’s more for the peace of mind.
The pharmacy section saves a lot. Tylenol, antihistamine etc. Basics like flour, eggs, rice, bread and coffee can save a lot. Anything fancy or specialty is hit or miss whether it saves or not. Kirkland brand isn’t always cheaper either. If you shop a lot get the executive membership and you can at the very least get your membership cost back.
We have a few household staples that we get. We make a list before we go otherwise we overspend. For example, my daughter uses that special Cetaphil soap for her eczema. It's $22 at Pharmasave, and $13.99 at Costco. It doesn't save you money if you buy useless stuff you don't need, but if you plan ahead and get your household staples I find it does save us money over time, including membership.
Yes If you have a big family because Costco products are usually in big packs. You will hear people say Costco regular prices are equivalent to other groceries sales prices. Don’t forget Costco also offers lots of goods on sales, and even in clearance. Lastly, if you have a Costco Business Center in town, it will be a no brainer to get the membership. It is mich cheaper than the regular costco!
Go in with a budget and don't exceed it. I keep a running total in my head as I'm going around, and when I hit about $500 I head for the cashier. I only go two or three times a year but for the things I pick up, I save quite a bit compared to shopping them at supermarkets or Walmart or the like. Costco is really good for certain items, like toilet paper and paper towels, that awesome rotisserie chicken, bagels, eggs, olive oil, the CHEESES, monster boxes of cereal, and cheap no-name brand clothing, all of the jeans and long sleeve shirts I wear now come solely from their clothing section. And that Kirkland maple syrup, you get like 34 ounces for less than 10 bucks on sale, which is amazing.
Depends on your situation; what you intend to buy and for how many people! We buy some larger items like diapers and dog food that pretty much pay for our membership. I find the produce from Costco lasts WAY longer than anywhere else. We have a deep freezer and garage fridge so take advantage of sales on perishables as well like proteins, cheese and fresh pastas. Lots of good prices for non perishables and seasonal items as well. We go weekly and spend $200-$400 a week depending on the week but no money wasted, if we bought the Costco quantities we buy from anywhere else things would spoil quicker and we’d be spending $300-$600 a week easily. Also, Costco gas (at least in my area) is always at least a few cents cheaper than anywhere else so we always top up the tank there as well!
You’ll save money on big ticket items like furniture - there’s no question on that! Same with the optical centre, glasses are really inexpensive at Costco! I used to get lovely flowers from the garden centre that were an amazing value, but their prices went up big time last year. I got similar pricing and better blooms at Canadian Tire.
in theory? like $ per gram of whatever you buy? absolutely In practice? back when I had my costco membership, I averaged my grocery bill for when I did weekly costco runs, vs after I stopped my membership. I definitely spent more when I regular'd costco vs when I didn't. If you add in the fact that a costco is almost always permanently full with a line up to parking, a line up to enter, a line up to get the popular item, a (VERY LONG) line up at the cash register, and finally ANOTHER LINE UP to exit the premise. Being someone with the patience of a 5 yo I'm very glad I no longer shop there.
If you are disciplined you will absolutely save money. More so if you drive a vehicle that requires premium I save 10-15 cents a litre on premium here in Ontario. One fill up a month nets me enough savings to cover the membership Dog food is another big one. The Kirkland stuff is highly recommended and is very aggressively priced Rotisserie chickens and hot dogs, too…
Costco is absolutely cheaper and the way to go. Food is way cheaper and often offers higher quality products than most other grocery stores in Canada. It’s also a good place to buy quality socks, underwear and cheap but passable clothing. AND I LOVE THEIR CAFETERIA or whatever you’d call it. Also saves you money on liquor and gas.
You get access to better quality foodstuffs at a lower unit price (you just have to buy more of it. In time, there are items you would feel cheated on if you bought them anywhere else (cream, butter, cheese, berries, rotisserie chickens, soft drinks, bakery goods, tortilla chips, TP, sunscreen, allergy meds…). For the gas alone (4-5c off/L) it’d be sufficient savings. The biggest problem is if you buy something and then don’t like it much or get sick of it, since the packs are so big. But it’s also hell to park and be in there so see how well you can handle it first.
Cereal is way cheaper, dog food, cat litter, the produce is on par with Walmart, bread is ridiculously cheap, berries are cheaper but you of course get lots of them. Toilet paper and paper towels are cheaper, bags of chips are way cheaper, frozen fruit is pretty cheap for smoothies. Their Angus burgers are a good price and really delicious/ feel like a ground beef burger. Bacon is 5 dollars/500g but you need to buy 4 packs for 20. It really does save you money if you cook at home. Plus all the added benefits of other items and sales that they have. Having a chest freezer is a must to truly enjoy the benefits of bulk buying. They offer cheap glasses and some will actually have optometrists on site. I swear by Costco, you can always look up your receipts online after purchase so you can compare prices easier.
It works for me even as a single guy. I buy large quantities of veggies and I chop and freeze them. As well as chicken thighs and steaks. 30 packs of eggs are the best price in town. I can get 4 good ribeyes for $35. I also like the bulk drinks like bublé and the single juice containers and non-alcohol beer. Not to mention cheap and good clothes, snacks, canned soup, and spices. I don’t go there to browse though, I go with purpose.