How much do you need to spend at Costco?
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gomanyes562 asked:
How much do you need to spend at Costco each year to justify the cost of membership? Or to put it differently, how much cheaper is the average item than a grocery store?
Vernon
How much do you need to spend at Costco each year to justify the cost of membership? Or to put it differently, how much cheaper is the average item than a grocery store?
Vernon
April 19th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
You would have to compare it yourself. You would need to purchase, say a gallon of olive oil, and compare the cost to buying the same at the supermarket, and also how long it lasts, as you would have petrol costs involved when having to purchase several smaller of the same thing
April 19th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
Overall packaged units are twice as many or twice as big for the same $. With a family, 1 trip to Costco per year can justify the membership. When we had teenagers living at home I’d say we spent $300-400/mo max.
Edit: Forgot to mention the vendors pay 4% for shelf space their stuff occupies in Costco. Therefore it’s less likely you’ll get ripped off with shoddy merchandise, since they’ll end up paying more in “rent” for stuff that doesn’t move off the shelves, returns, etc.. I like shopping there because I don’t have the time or inclinination to shop all over town for quality.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:34 am
I share a membership with my sister, and between the two of us we manage to spend enough to pay for our executive membership the next year ( you buy it for $100, but get 2% back at the end of the year). So I guess we spend about 5,000 a year there. I know that seems like a lot, but it’s for two families, diapers included, and we buy all of our gas there, too. You have to shop carefully, though, some thing are more expensive there than the grocery store. I guess you need to think about what you need to buy there and how much of it you need to see if it’s worth it. I think it’s great if you buy a lot of milk, bread, eggs, cheese, butter, etc. I spend only .50 c more for two loaves of bread than I would spend on one of the same brand at Wal-Mart (we go through 2-4 loaves a week). I buy 2-4 gallons of milk a week, and when you can get milk about $1 cheaper at Costco, that’s a lot of money saved at the end of the year. My favorite thing to buy there is carrots. You get a 10 lb bag for $3.99, that’s a lot cheaper than the grocery store! Also a 3 lb bag of lettuce is only $1.99. I personally save a lot of money, but I think most people over spend there. Just be careful and shop savvy!
April 23rd, 2009 at 4:40 pm
We do combined shopping for all family members. I have two grandsons living here, and my Son, his partner,their baby, her Mother, and Grandmother live nearby. That is nine people to buy for.
We also closely watch the prices, and when the price of whatever we want (usually cereals, meat, frozen food, milk and paper goods) is lower there, we get it. On most shopping days, we will visit Costco, and then go on over to Safeway for the rest. Hubby has a hand computer and he enters the prices of things, and we compare.
Our relatives in San Diego do the same thing. They compare and shop for three families (total of nine people).
To answer your question, any combination of savings that adds up to the cost of the membership. The membership is around $50, and we save more than that every month!
April 26th, 2009 at 6:58 pm
For the cost of a membership it is well worth it.
One perscription, I don’t have any coverage, at Costco was $32.00. Walmart and Sams club it was over $400.00.
A few grocery trips will pay for the membership.
April 27th, 2009 at 8:53 pm
We go once every three months and spend about $300.
April 29th, 2009 at 1:26 am
well of course you have to make it worth your while
coscos meat is top notch and like any thing you have to know your prices because somethings aren’t worth it and others you are gettin a real deal on good shopping and yes you need to spend at least three or four hundred a year we spend about eight
korkie