Author Topic: Great bargains that I didn't need...  (Read 4713 times)

bigchrisb

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Great bargains that I didn't need...
« on: November 29, 2012, 10:30:33 PM »
I have to confess I've had one of those overspending moments I'm not proud of.  Nothing like a bit of public tar and feathering to remind me not to do it again.

Last night went to Costco with a friend (second time I've been there, don't see sufficient benefit in the membership fees myself).  Intent was to stock up on those basics that get used eventually (toilet paper, laundry powder, that kind of thing).  I ended up coming home with a $300 trolley, with about $75 in the intended staples, $25 worth of impulse buys of fruit and vegetables that otherwise offset things I was going to buy over the next few days anyway, and about $200 of bargains that I didn't need. 

Within this list was:
- A whole Jamon Serrano (spanish cured ham)
- A kilogram of smoked slamon
- About a kilogram of yelowfin tuna (ok, so ~200g made delicious sashimi last night)
- A large pack of lindt chocolates (just what someone on a diet/fitness kick needs)
- A 1.3kg tub of peanut butter
- A 2kg bottle of Jalapenos
- A kilogram of strawberries and a kilogram of cherries, of which I'm unlikley to eat all of before they are past their best)
- A kilogram of Parmigiano Reggiano
- A kilogram of english stilton
- A half kilogram french Brie

By now, I think you get the idea.  I'm feeling rather like Jack of beanstalk fame.  While these are all things I eat, and hopefully will before most of it goes off, I'm still feeling rather silly for buying so much that I don't actually need, just because the unit rate appears such good value.  An object lesson for the future perhaps.

Or an excuse for a cheese and tapas party perhaps!




strider3700

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Re: Great bargains that I didn't need...
« Reply #1 on: November 29, 2012, 10:48:30 PM »
Wow,  cured ham, smoked salmon, tuna, strawberries and cherries in the dead of winter, some nice cheeses.    Throw in a nice bottle of wine and you'd have the gift basket my wife and I were given on our honeymoon.

Jamesqf

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Re: Great bargains that I didn't need...
« Reply #2 on: November 29, 2012, 10:53:37 PM »
Strawberries & cherries freeze fairly well.

bigchrisb

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Re: Great bargains that I didn't need...
« Reply #3 on: November 29, 2012, 11:05:47 PM »
Ahh, should add that I'm in Australia, so its coming in to the dead of summer (was in the high 30's - around 100F) here today.  Hence the summer fruits.

happy

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Re: Great bargains that I didn't need...
« Reply #4 on: November 30, 2012, 12:57:05 AM »
Hi Chris...I'm interested in what you think of Australian Costco, because my nearest one is a big of a drive.
Do you save much on the staples?

kt

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Re: Great bargains that I didn't need...
« Reply #5 on: November 30, 2012, 02:38:53 AM »
make jam with the fruit. fairly easy, doesn't require specialist equipment (bar the jars, reuse old sauce or jam jars) and will be delicious!
hard cheese freezes but becomes more crumbly but wrapped well should keep for a long time in the fridge anyway.
if you have the freezer space you could prepare some dishes with the extra ingredients and freeze them for busy evenings.

if they're things you usually eat and were cheaper, it's not so anti-mustachian as long as they don't get wasted and you don't eat more because they are there (like getting chocolate biscuits 2 for 1 but eating them twice as quick - not actually cheaper then!)

bigchrisb

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Re: Great bargains that I didn't need...
« Reply #6 on: November 30, 2012, 02:41:15 PM »
Happy - my thoughts on Costco here are mixed.  For context, I'm a single guy, and my food shopping is mostly meat, fruit, vegetables and cheese.  I don't buy much processed or pre packaged food. my usual grocery shopping would be 80% aldi (there is one 150m from my work), with a bit of supplementation from the farmers market, coles/woolies for items Aldi don't have, and when I forget something, the IGA near my house.  The costco is a 25 min drive.

For the staples I buy, costco seemed a little cheaper (10% ish) than aldi, and with labelled brands. However, that's still $600 worth of staples to break even on the membership fee.  The quality of fresh stuff seems very good.  However, the quantities are always massive - this imposes a significant overhead in storage, and as a single guy, a significant risk that it will spoil before I get through it. 

A large part of their offering focused on pre processed and pre packaged foods.  These have limited appeal to me, but appear to be priced very agressivley.  If you use a lot of this type of stuff, there will probably be a much higher appeal.

I've been a couple of times now with friends. I'm not going to bother getting a membership, and don't think its for me.  Mainly because:
- The prices are a lihttle cheaper, but not that much
- Its a 15km drive away
- Each time I go, I come back with large volumes of stuff I didnt need.  Due to the abundance, I overconsume these, and have had some things spoil.
- I'm just shopping for one
- I don't buy any of the pre processed stuff which appears to be their core offering

However, just because it isnt for me, doesnt mean its not for you.  Maybe try to tag along with a friend and have a look?
- get too excited by it.  However, that would probably be a different story if I lived closer

happy

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Re: Great bargains that I didn't need...
« Reply #7 on: November 30, 2012, 04:34:50 PM »
Thanks BigChris....What you're saying goes along with what I'm thinking....there's 3 of us (1 adult 2teens)....but also I  buy mostly  unprocessed foods. With teenagers, its also hard to avoid overconsumption if theres a lot of a "nice" food around: if I bought a side of smoked salmon it'd disappear in no time. I get a lot of the things that don't spoil e.g. toilet paper etc from Aldi.

I suspect petrol plus the membership would make it marginal even for us.