I am considering a Costco membership and I know a lot of forum users are members, so I'm hoping you can provide some advice.
Background: I'm living on a small graduate student stipend in Chicago, IL. I was a YMOYL devotee before finding MMM and I have since buckled down even harder on my expenses. I'm not in a position to save a mustachian percentage of my income at the moment, but I have set a goal for myself of saving $100-$200 per month to invest. I have eliminated all sorts of unnecessary spending and now I find that in any given month, my make-or-break category is food. Lately I have been doing better - averaging about $270 (groceries, restaurants, homebrewing ingredients, household goods) over the past 5 months. I prepare my own food and once or twice a month I eat out at one of the many inexpensive restaurants nearby. My diet consists of a lot of fresh vegetables and fruits, rice, beans, quinoa, eggs, cheese, nuts, meat at 3-4 meals per week, occasional seafood (mostly frozen salmon filets), and fairly rarely things like bread and pasta.
Current Grocery Alternatives to Costco: I am currently living with one housemate in the center of the Chicago grocery universe.
Whole Foods- 2 minute walk. Outstanding quality. Stupid prices. The bulk foods (especially spices) are often a bargain and I take advantage of that fact. Produce, cheese, and a few other things are occasionally purchased here out of convenience.
Jewel Osco (large local grocery chain)- 10 minute walk/5 minute bike ride. Generally I find their prices to be a little bit lower than Whole Foods, but with disappointing quality, especially for produce. They are open 24 hours, so sometimes I go there to stock up on staples at 11PM to avoid crowds.
Trader Joe's- 15 minute walk/7-8 minute bike ride. They have some tasty "ready to cook" frozen stuff. Produce is terrible. Can't buy most staples. Always crowded, frequently bare shelves. Basically only go there to hit up their ample stock of wines under $5/bottle.
Small independent Greek/Mexican grocer - 20 minutes by bike, but frequently have other business right nearby. My bread and butter lately. Great prices and quality on produce. Access to cheaper cuts of meat that the big grocers don't carry. Some staples at good prices (beans, rice, olive oil, anything that fits into a Greek/Mexican cuisine diet). Not so great on packaged goods, spices, more obscure grains. Almost no organic offerings besides dairy.
So Costco members, assuming I can convince my housemate to split a $55 membership to Costco, do you think I will recoup my $27.50 investment? By how much? Do you think it is worth it? Costco is a 10 minute bike ride away.