Author Topic: Costco: Mustachian or not?  (Read 38274 times)

Le Poisson

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #50 on: November 04, 2015, 05:08:11 AM »
All bulk purchasing options have the same question: Do the savings from the purchase price hit your bottom line?

In this case, it means whether you actually reap those savings by using everything, or do you just get 24 eggs for $0.01/egg, but end up throwing away 1/3 of them since you can't finish it all regularly? Obviously, when you consider what and how much you throw away overall, that may get you to the overall impact to your budget.

People throw away perfectly useful food? Really?

(BTW our 5 gallons of molasses will take some time to use up, but we're getting there.)

captainawesome

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #51 on: November 04, 2015, 10:53:45 AM »
I've been a long time costco member. When I was a single guy sharing a house with two other guys, buying everything in bulk didn't make sense if I just wanted stuff for myself.  I did convince my roomates to chip in towards my annual membership and we would pool for stuff like paper towels, toilet paper, and other "common use" items. 

Now that it is me, my wife, and two dogs, Costco still seems to save me money in certain areas.  I still know what not to buy perishable wise from costco, because I simply won't be able to eat it in time.  For me, I cook 90-95% of the food I eat, with very few occasions of going out to eat or picking it up from somewhere (I like to know what is in my food, and I like to cook, and I eat a lot by virtue of my active job and outdoor hobbies). Things I buy on the regular that I haven't been able to beat elsewhere:
Eggs
Egg Whites
Jasmine rice
Oats
Chicken
Frozen veggies
Oils (avocado oil is my new favorite)
Nut butter
nuts
dog food
trashbags
laundry detergent
Avocados
Spinach
Wine

Their return policy is pretty unbeatable by any stretch of the imagination. I've been able to return things there no questions asked many times since I have been there.  I also look at their deals for Travel (vacation packages, car rentals etc) to see if I can beat that or not based on where I want to go.  Car rental discounts have been pretty noticeable for me, but not sure how many people know about it and/or need to rent a car on a regular basis. I am also fortunate to have the tire store attached to this Costco and those seem to be much cheaper than other standard locations.  Lastly, I have noticed that certain Kirkland brand clothes (dress socks, underwear, undershirts etc) are much cheaper there and fairly good if not excellent quality. Lastly, the gas is always cheaper than any other gas station in the area, and it is on our way home from work. Do we go out of our way to get gas there if we need it? no, but planning ahead helps a bit.

Just like everything else, it can be mustachian if you avoid the pitfalls of shiny, unneccessary stuff. And so long as you go in with a list, you are less likely to impulse buy.  Have I been guilty of buying some of the random items at times (like dips or frozen prepared meals) yes, but usually everything we buy gets used/eaten with little exception. And with the executive membership, I haven't paid for a membership in a few years, and usually they pay me. If we move to a location where an Aldi's exists or other viable means and Costco is out of the way, we might rethink our stance. But for now we have the means to buy in bulk and buy what we need in bulk, as opposed to what we might want. 

Guses

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #52 on: November 04, 2015, 10:55:04 AM »
Beyond buying all our staples there, the quality of the goods at Costco is astounding (except for produce).

All the meat we buy there is, hands down, the best we have bought anywhere. Their frozen fish is absolutely delicious and costs less than the cheap fish we bought (once!) at our local discount store. That one tasted like dirty socks. Not even kidding, we almost threw the rest of the bag.

I am going to place this into the mustachian category for us. It looks expensive on the receipt, but the quantity and quality is worthwhile.

Fellow Canadians; Costco is the cheapest place to refill your propane tanks (8.99$ a year ago, 11$ this year).

Le Poisson

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #53 on: November 04, 2015, 11:17:46 AM »
All the meat we buy there is, hands down, the best we have bought anywhere. Their frozen fish is absolutely delicious and costs less than the cheap fish we bought (once!) at our local discount store. That one tasted like dirty socks. Not even kidding, we almost threw the rest of the bag.

I hear this a lot from the Costco faithful. Either your local supply of meat is way worse than mine, or your Costco is supplied from some other feedlot. Costco does a nice job of packaging the meat, but on the plate I see nothing to get excited about.

I hate that Costco cuts their steaks about 1-1/2" thick. For a boneless cut I can cut it down, but some cuts you need a bandsaw to resize, and that's just not happening. The meat isn't especially lean, and often has little to no marbling. Often they flash-pink the meat in the counter. I learned this trick when I worked at a grocery store in HS - you can do it at home - take an older cut, put it in the freezer until it just starts to get really cold, then wrap it in cellophane and put it in the fridge. In 5 minutes it will be bright red and look fresh.

I buy meat at or under $4.00 per pound - no exceptions. I never see this price point at Costco. Most of our meat comes from National Grocers wholesale (large cuts that need to be cut down at home) or at Blue Sky (Intertnational) supermarket where I can have it cut to my liking at the meat counter.

The funny thing is I drive past Costco to go between these stores.

Easye418

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #54 on: November 05, 2015, 07:43:40 AM »
The cheap price of Costco gas pays for the membership. They are usually about $.50 cents cheaper than everyone else.

Membership: $55

Gas: 12gal/week
Savings: $.50 x 12 = $6

$6 x 4 = $24 x 10 months (I teach, don't drive as much in the winter/summer) = $240.

Even if I account for times where the gas difference may not be as much year round (maybe only $.30 instead of $.50), I still come out ahead.

Bingo.  Not to mention, the savings on high quality dog food alone is a FORTUNE.

I typically get a rebate check for about what I paid for the entire membership... at minimum, I get 75% of it back plus all the product savings.....and samples.

Guses

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #55 on: November 05, 2015, 07:59:12 AM »
All the meat we buy there is, hands down, the best we have bought anywhere. Their frozen fish is absolutely delicious and costs less than the cheap fish we bought (once!) at our local discount store. That one tasted like dirty socks. Not even kidding, we almost threw the rest of the bag.

I hear this a lot from the Costco faithful. Either your local supply of meat is way worse than mine, or your Costco is supplied from some other feedlot. Costco does a nice job of packaging the meat, but on the plate I see nothing to get excited about.

I hate that Costco cuts their steaks about 1-1/2" thick. For a boneless cut I can cut it down, but some cuts you need a bandsaw to resize, and that's just not happening. The meat isn't especially lean, and often has little to no marbling. Often they flash-pink the meat in the counter. I learned this trick when I worked at a grocery store in HS - you can do it at home - take an older cut, put it in the freezer until it just starts to get really cold, then wrap it in cellophane and put it in the fridge. In 5 minutes it will be bright red and look fresh.

I buy meat at or under $4.00 per pound - no exceptions. I never see this price point at Costco. Most of our meat comes from National Grocers wholesale (large cuts that need to be cut down at home) or at Blue Sky (Intertnational) supermarket where I can have it cut to my liking at the meat counter.

The funny thing is I drive past Costco to go between these stores.
This. Getting nice meat means paying 10-20$ per pound around here. This is too rich for us :P


I can't speak about the quality of the pre-cut steaks. We only buy full sized pork loins and beef faux filets (loins?) which we cut to our specifications.

kite

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #56 on: November 05, 2015, 11:08:50 AM »
I had a 13 month practice run at FIRE when my employer went bankrupt in the 2008 financial implosion.  I didn't want to renew any membership that cost actual money for the privelege of spending even more in the coming months.  We needed to rapidly adopt the lowest possible food budget.  What we learned was that Costco wasn't such a good deal for us and for our lifestyle. 

We kept a price book, so we couldn't deny it.
There are cheaper options for our shopping that are closer and more convenient for us.  It means more frequent stops throughout the week, but cumulatively, this is less time and less money than a big Costco trip. 

Psychologically, it was better too.  Costco means seeing piles of things we could not afford, navigating crowds, longer time in the car along with packaging and food waste.  Switching to buying only for the next few days means eating seasonally and being flexible about protein.  This is how we save.  Eating seasonally, with flexibility.
Once a month, whole chickens go on sale at Shoprite.  That's when we buy chicken.  No boneless breasts at $X per pound versus $X-n per pound just because it's on the list for example. 
It's more like...the person ahead of me at the Farmer's Market only wanted the beets, I'm getting beet tops for free!!!  Whoop whoop!  Do I want to saute in garlic, make into pesto, add to soup or use in risotto, quiche or a sandwich?   Or, we're having our annual baked potato & chili party because it's Autumn.  Whatever meat is on sale at Aldi is going in the meat version.  If there's not a good deal on ground beef, ground turkey or some other cut of beef that can be diced and made to work, we'll have only vegetarian chili this year instead of two types.   Nobody complains.
Seasonally, flexibly..with less meat, as it happens. 
You might be able to do all this with Costco, YMMV.   
 


Kitsune

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #57 on: November 05, 2015, 01:48:43 PM »
There are cheaper options for our shopping that are closer and more convenient for us.

It's true that convenience plays a factor for us too - Costco is on my way home from the office (I drive in twice a week, and otherwise work from home), but going to the grocery store is a 5km detour IF I can make time on my way home from the office or a 20km detour if I can't. Even disregarding prices in-store, the Costco location is kind of a winner for me.

When we were in a bigger city, the restaurant supply store beat Costco's prices, but here, it's about as good as we can get.

chasesfish

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #58 on: November 05, 2015, 06:27:34 PM »
Membership or Stock?  I've been a member for 10 years and own almost 700 shares of their stock, so I'll vote yes!

They sell everything for 12% or less over cost.  Its a fair business arrangement for those who choose to be a part of it

Trudie

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #59 on: November 05, 2015, 06:32:33 PM »
All the meat we buy there is, hands down, the best we have bought anywhere. Their frozen fish is absolutely delicious and costs less than the cheap fish we bought (once!) at our local discount store. That one tasted like dirty socks. Not even kidding, we almost threw the rest of the bag.

I hear this a lot from the Costco faithful. Either your local supply of meat is way worse than mine, or your Costco is supplied from some other feedlot. Costco does a nice job of packaging the meat, but on the plate I see nothing to get excited about.

I hate that Costco cuts their steaks about 1-1/2" thick. For a boneless cut I can cut it down, but some cuts you need a bandsaw to resize, and that's just not happening. The meat isn't especially lean, and often has little to no marbling. Often they flash-pink the meat in the counter. I learned this trick when I worked at a grocery store in HS - you can do it at home - take an older cut, put it in the freezer until it just starts to get really cold, then wrap it in cellophane and put it in the fridge. In 5 minutes it will be bright red and look fresh.

I buy meat at or under $4.00 per pound - no exceptions. I never see this price point at Costco. Most of our meat comes from National Grocers wholesale (large cuts that need to be cut down at home) or at Blue Sky (Intertnational) supermarket where I can have it cut to my liking at the meat counter.

The funny thing is I drive past Costco to go between these stores.
This. Getting nice meat means paying 10-20$ per pound around here. This is too rich for us :P


I can't speak about the quality of the pre-cut steaks. We only buy full sized pork loins and beef faux filets (loins?) which we cut to our specifications.

Will Costco cut up their bigger pieces of meat to your specifications?  I never know what services the department offers, even though I always see butchers back there.

AlmostDone

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #60 on: November 05, 2015, 06:48:53 PM »
I have a Costco membership and am very happy with it.

I'm sure every store is different but the meat selection is excellent.  While admittedly a bit thick, the steaks are always delicious and somehow none of it goes to waste.

And another reason I make it a point to give them business is they take very good care of their employees.  May not be the most mustachian reason, but I think its good for the soul. So if the prices/value are close they get my business.

LouLou

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #61 on: November 05, 2015, 08:47:50 PM »
One of the benefits to me is generally going to the grocery store less.  I buy staples at Costco - giant bag of rice, giant bag of quinoa, giant container of olive oil, giant container of coconut oil (cooking, skin, hair product for me), etc.  Then I'm good for a very long time. I like having the base of so many types of meals in the house all the time, so I all I need otherwise is the fresh stuff - meat and produce.

dragoncar

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #62 on: November 05, 2015, 11:40:02 PM »
I definitely think it increased my consumption, but not necessarily in a bad way.  I've found some good stuff that I normally wouldn't buy at all because it's too expensive, but was cheap at Costco so I get to improve my life for good $/utility.

For example, there's usually a decent amount of stuff I "need" at any given time and am just waiting for a sale.  Without a sale my frugal self might go without something I actually need.  Specific example: when smoke alarms were on sale I stocked up.  Great price, possibly cheaper online from a sketchy website but I don't want to mess around with smoke alarms.  The ones we had were over 10 years old or whatever the suggested expiration date was.  I bet they probably still worked, but we did "need" new ones once the opportunity presented itself.  Slickdeals works similarly for me -- it increases my consumption in the short run but saves me money in the long run.

I'm a bit spoiled, as I'm added to my parent's account for free as a family member. 

Cheese is good, but it's too much for me.  TJ's has even better deals on cheese and smaller packages mean I get to try a lot more stuff.  I also like the TJ's brand booze.

Agree that frozen chicken breast is like an order of magnitude cheaper than anywhere else.  For that price I will thaw.

Veggies. When we buy from Costco, I'm always on a mission to eat them so they don't go bad.

I love this.  Yes, it makes me consume more than I normally would.  But in the case of veggies, that's good thing right?

One of the reasons we might drop Costco is because their cheap gas (3 miles from house) is the same price as Arco cheap gas (6 blocks from house).

Both of those gas stations refuse to accept credit cards (debit only) so the bulk of the savings almost certainly comes from their not having to pay credit card vendor fees.

You can purchase Costco cash cards online with a credit card, then use those cash cards for gas/shopping.  That's what I do so I can hit the sign-up bonuses on my credit cards.

Yup, I do this too!  Only takes one lost gift card to ruin the whole scheme though (I've been known to lose various items from my wallet, but luckily nothing of value).  Looking forward to using my Visa.

Does anyone know if a Canadian Costco membership is honoured in the US? If so I am totally doing this for our next road trip. Thanks for the tip!

Yup the Canadian and US memberships are interchangeable. My parents are snowbirds and regularly go to US and Canadian Costcos. We always have them bring back booze for us from their US Costco.

We were able to use our Costco membership for great effect when visiting Hawaii. The prices in the Hawaii Costco seemed very similar to those on the mainland, while the prices at the other grocery stores on the island seemed much higher.

Whenever I go to Maui, first stop from the car rental is Costco.

« Last Edit: November 05, 2015, 11:53:04 PM by dragoncar »

yuka

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #63 on: November 06, 2015, 11:04:18 AM »
All bulk purchasing options have the same question: Do the savings from the purchase price hit your bottom line?

In this case, it means whether you actually reap those savings by using everything, or do you just get 24 eggs for $0.01/egg, but end up throwing away 1/3 of them since you can't finish it all regularly? Obviously, when you consider what and how much you throw away overall, that may get you to the overall impact to your budget.

While I know your comment was just using eggs as an example, it reminded me that eggs at Costco definitely aren't that cheap. But using them is quite easy; my two roommates and I buy the 5 dozen eggs every couple of weeks. Trader Joe's has the cheapest eggs ($2.80 a dozen for large), but I've stopped buying them because the shells are thin enough that I always break one or two eggs.

maco

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #64 on: November 06, 2015, 11:51:02 AM »
I find Costco to have very good prices on some items. For example, I get my olive oil, oat meal, nuts, raisins, and many house hold goods like toilet paper, detergent, etc at Costco. Some of their clothing is a pretty good bargain too. But you can't assume everything you find is a deal just because it is at Costco. You need to go into that place with a plan or you will come out with $40 of dumplings or something.

I noticed recently that canned tomatoes were 10¢ less per can at Giant than at Costco.

Dicey

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #65 on: November 06, 2015, 12:13:37 PM »
I thought I'd posted here, but maybe it was on the other Costco thread...

I shop for a family of four adults. Once every ten days, my shopping routine looks like this. First stop, 99 Cents Only store. Second stop, Grocery Outlet. Last stop, Costco. I keep a list on my (no contract, no "i") phone, and all three are in a loop. My biggest "problem" with shopping at Costco is that I stick to my list so well that I miss things in the store. For example, their seasonally available padded/insulated shopping bags rock. They allow me to do my loop without worrying about food spoiling. Plus, everyone charges for bags in my locale, so they do pay for themselves eventually. I'd have missed them completely, but I saw them in someone's cart. Turns out they were in a part of the store that I never visit. The latest version is bigger than the older ones and I love that they're not slathered with store logos, but mine are in good shape and I have enough, so it was nice to look, but I didn't buy any. I'm mostly mentioning it in case anyone else needs some.

My brother has worked there for over 25 years, so I know how well they pay/treat their people. You will pry my Costco card out of my cold, dead hand.

dragoncar

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #66 on: November 06, 2015, 06:06:38 PM »
I thought I'd posted here, but maybe it was on the other Costco thread...

The beauty of this forum is that we can have the same discussion over and over and over...

Le Poisson

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #67 on: November 06, 2015, 06:12:14 PM »
I thought I'd posted here, but maybe it was on the other Costco thread...

The beauty of this forum is that we can have the same discussion over and over and over...

All forums are the same that way...

Dicey

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #68 on: November 07, 2015, 11:08:11 AM »
I find Costco to have very good prices on some items. For example, I get my olive oil, oat meal, nuts, raisins, and many house hold goods like toilet paper, detergent, etc at Costco. Some of their clothing is a pretty good bargain too. But you can't assume everything you find is a deal just because it is at Costco. You need to go into that place with a plan or you will come out with $40 of dumplings or something.

I noticed recently that canned tomatoes were 10¢ less per can at Giant than at Costco.
Is this one of those examples where tone/shading is difficult to decipher? You are joking, aren't you? One could easily find many examples of items that cost substantially more at Giant (or elsewhere) than Costco.  Oh, nevermind. Please shop at Giant exclusively. That makes one person less in line ahead of me at Costco. (Insert humor and smile here.)

maco

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #69 on: November 08, 2015, 10:32:24 PM »
I find Costco to have very good prices on some items. For example, I get my olive oil, oat meal, nuts, raisins, and many house hold goods like toilet paper, detergent, etc at Costco. Some of their clothing is a pretty good bargain too. But you can't assume everything you find is a deal just because it is at Costco. You need to go into that place with a plan or you will come out with $40 of dumplings or something.

I noticed recently that canned tomatoes were 10¢ less per can at Giant than at Costco.
Is this one of those examples where tone/shading is difficult to decipher? You are joking, aren't you? One could easily find many examples of items that cost substantially more at Giant (or elsewhere) than Costco.  Oh, nevermind. Please shop at Giant exclusively. That makes one person less in line ahead of me at Costco. (Insert humor and smile here.)
This was in response to "some items." The point is you need to check each individual item to decide which store to buy it from (especially when they're next door to each other, like Costco, Target, and Giant are in my area, so there's no difference in gas cost).

TomTX

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #70 on: November 09, 2015, 05:36:15 AM »

The cheap price of Costco gas pays for the membership. They are usually about $.50 cents cheaper than everyone else.

Membership: $55

Gas: 12gal/week
Savings: $.50 x 12 = $6

$6 x 4 = $24 x 10 months (I teach, don't drive as much in the winter/summer) = $240.

Even if I account for times where the gas difference may not be as much year round (maybe only $.30 instead of $.50), I still come out ahead.

One of the reasons we might drop Costco is because their cheap gas (3 miles from house) is the same price as Arco cheap gas (6 blocks from house).

Both of those gas stations refuse to accept credit cards (debit only) so the bulk of the savings almost certainly comes from their not having to pay credit card vendor fees.

Arco had a .35 per purchase debit transaction fee, but that is only .04 more per gallon for our main vehicle and still many many cents per gallon less expensive than, say, Mobil or Chevron.

Note to self: Start paying in cash at Arco when possible.


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Costco gasoline is typically "Top Tier" rated, which means a much higher level of detergents and no metallic additives, which is typically 2-3x the EPA minimum for detergents. Costco advertises they have 5x the EPA minimum level. The result over the long term is a cleaner, higher performing, longer lasting engine. Around here, the places which are almost the same price as Costco do NOT have Top Tier gasoline.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Tier_Detergent_Gasoline
« Last Edit: November 09, 2015, 05:40:07 AM by TomTX »

jengod

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #71 on: November 09, 2015, 07:29:13 AM »


The cheap price of Costco gas pays for the membership. They are usually about $.50 cents cheaper than everyone else.

Membership: $55

Gas: 12gal/week
Savings: $.50 x 12 = $6

$6 x 4 = $24 x 10 months (I teach, don't drive as much in the winter/summer) = $240.

Even if I account for times where the gas difference may not be as much year round (maybe only $.30 instead of $.50), I still come out ahead.

One of the reasons we might drop Costco is because their cheap gas (3 miles from house) is the same price as Arco cheap gas (6 blocks from house).

Both of those gas stations refuse to accept credit cards (debit only) so the bulk of the savings almost certainly comes from their not having to pay credit card vendor fees.

Arco had a .35 per purchase debit transaction fee, but that is only .04 more per gallon for our main vehicle and still many many cents per gallon less expensive than, say, Mobil or Chevron.

Note to self: Start paying in cash at Arco when possible.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Costco gasoline is typically "Top Tier" rated, which means a much higher level of detergents and no metallic additives, which is typically 2-3x the EPA minimum for detergents. Costco advertises they have 5x the EPA minimum level. The result over the long term is a cleaner, higher performing, longer lasting engine. Around here, the places which are almost the same price as Costco do NOT have Top Tier gasoline.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Tier_Detergent_Gasoline

Thanks for the link! I'd heard the term but always assumed it was marketing language specific to Chevron. Interesting info that it is cross-brand fuel quality standard.


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maco

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #72 on: November 09, 2015, 08:09:10 AM »

The cheap price of Costco gas pays for the membership. They are usually about $.50 cents cheaper than everyone else.

Membership: $55

Gas: 12gal/week
Savings: $.50 x 12 = $6

$6 x 4 = $24 x 10 months (I teach, don't drive as much in the winter/summer) = $240.

Even if I account for times where the gas difference may not be as much year round (maybe only $.30 instead of $.50), I still come out ahead.

One of the reasons we might drop Costco is because their cheap gas (3 miles from house) is the same price as Arco cheap gas (6 blocks from house).

Both of those gas stations refuse to accept credit cards (debit only) so the bulk of the savings almost certainly comes from their not having to pay credit card vendor fees.

Arco had a .35 per purchase debit transaction fee, but that is only .04 more per gallon for our main vehicle and still many many cents per gallon less expensive than, say, Mobil or Chevron.

Note to self: Start paying in cash at Arco when possible.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Costco gasoline is typically "Top Tier" rated, which means a much higher level of detergents and no metallic additives, which is typically 2-3x the EPA minimum for detergents. Costco advertises they have 5x the EPA minimum level. The result over the long term is a cleaner, higher performing, longer lasting engine. Around here, the places which are almost the same price as Costco do NOT have Top Tier gasoline.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Tier_Detergent_Gasoline
Huh, years ago I remember my uncle being told his engine trouble was because he always went to the BP near his house, and they have more detergent in their gas so it ends up gumming up the system more.

Le Poisson

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #73 on: November 09, 2015, 08:32:53 AM »
We are between 2 Costcos. One is 7 km west of us, the other is 10 km to the east. Both of them have the same gas price (96.9 cents/litre) the going price is 102.9 cents per litre close to home.

That's a per litre savings of 6 cents.

My mustachian Sonic has a 46 litre tank. Lets round to 50 litres for easy math.

50 litres X $0.06 = $3.00 per tank savings by driving to Costco.

Membership = $55

$55/3 = 18 tanks of gas to break even. Thats a tank of gas every 20 days, which is actually very close to my fuel usage. So I guess you're right, if I bought all my gas exclusively at Costco, and didn't consider the extra mileage and time involved in reaching a store I would break even (this is a surprise to me). But I don't because local gas is easier and Costco is out of the way.

If I billed the round trip at the going (work) rate of $0.49 per km, this math would turn upside down in a hurry.

onehair

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #74 on: November 09, 2015, 08:43:59 AM »
I like Costco for toothpaste, vitamins, sausages and certain over the counter magazines if they still sell them.  When I baked for relatives at Christmas I got my butter, eggs, chocolate chips and vanilla extract.  My only rule for them is if I am shopping alone without access to a car I only purchase what will fit in the reusable bags or bag I have on me.

elaine amj

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #75 on: November 09, 2015, 09:14:03 AM »
This year, I renewed my Costco membership because I wanted to purchase new glasses. After comparing prices at Walmart and various other stores, the Costco savings more than paid for my membership.

I am a recent convert to Costco. We don't buy a whole lot there, but I really, really love the guarantee. I have not returned anything yet, but feel so much better knowing I can. We only got our membership there last year for the first time. In that time, we have also bought a hydration pack, a tent, a dryer, and so on. All things I wanted a money-back guarantee on in case of problems.

It does get expensive when we stock up on certain groceries there - but as many said, it's a lot of front-loading since we are buying in bulk. We do try to be careful to pay attention to prices as like many said, there are a lot of things where Costco is more expensive than regular grocery stores. A lot of their stuff is better quality though so depending on the situation, I am sometimes willing to pay Costco's higher prices.

partgypsy

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #76 on: November 09, 2015, 09:27:52 AM »
We had it (primarily when kids were in diapers and their diapers, wipes, detergent are good but good prices) but failed on the rest for impulse buys (almond Danish yes! giant jar of salsa yes!) so every time we went we spent $200 on what was supposed to be a regular grocery store outing. so we "failed".

However there are some things I need to get, a 2nd pair of glasses for my daughter, and also I want to make cd backups of our videotapes, both which I can do at Costco, and our regular grocery store is on the expensive side so it would be nice to stock up on some things (especially for kids lunch) on some bulk buy trips. However my husband thinks Costco is evil due to our earlier "fail" and says no way. So, continue to do the "convenient" thing and shop at local store where we can buy everything, versus do multiple trips and save some money.
Not sure if the gas savings would be worth it, as we are spending around $50 a month on gas, so we would have to time our Costco trip when we needed to fill up.

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #77 on: November 09, 2015, 09:54:09 AM »
If I billed the round trip at the going (work) rate of $0.49 per km, this math would turn upside down in a hurry.

I think a HUGE part of the math on whether costco is worth it depends on where it's located. For me, I drive by it on my way home from the office, and I've been known to stop in just for a bag of milk because it's quicker than driving out of my way to go to the grocery store. If it's 10km away, though, the inconvenience and the cost of driving there shifts considerably.

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #78 on: November 09, 2015, 10:02:49 AM »
Locally, Milk = $2.79 /gallon, if I'm lucky.  Costco Milk = $1.75/gallon We go through 4-5 gallons of milk a week (two little kids who only drink milk and water) so that alone pays for the cost of membership.

Other items we buy regularly are butter, eggs, dog food, beer, wine, rice, spices, baking supplies (flour, sugar, yeast, etc), diapers, FORMULA(!!) (when we used to need it), some produce and lunch meat.  Non-typical items that Costco saves us a TON of money on are Rental Cars for the 1-2x a year we travel to visit family (always seems to work out to at least 25% less than any other discounts I can find online and yes, i always comparison shop), eye glasses for my husband and photo printing/Christmas cards.  We also ordered our wedding invitations from Costco way back in the day.  Winter boots for the kids and sometimes their clothes (especially outdoor gear) are a great deal.

Things I don't buy there that I can always find cheaper at Safeway if I wait for the right sales are:  Boneless Skinless Chicken breast ($1.77/lb), Whole chickens (0.99/lb), Beef (we've been getting 1/4 shares of this.  This year's was $4/lb for everything).  Bread and most cleaning supplies (generic is cheaper most of the time) and a lot of canned goods.  I make my own pizza.  We don't eat enough cheese to buy it in the sizes Costco sells it in.

I'd look into using them for other non-typical things we buy because you just never know when they'll surprise you and come out ahead.  For example, I'd check them if/when I need new tires. We plan on remodeling our kitchen and I'd get a quote from them on the materials for cabinets and counter tops and compare it to what Lowe's/Home Depot could do.  YMMV

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #79 on: November 09, 2015, 10:14:43 AM »
Locally, Milk = $2.79 /gallon, if I'm lucky.  Costco Milk = $1.75/gallon We go through 4-5 gallons of milk a week (two little kids who only drink milk and water) so that alone pays for the cost of membership.
From this I'm getting that there aren't legal minimums on milk (just like cigarettes) throughout the US, just where I grew up. Huh!
Quote
We don't eat enough cheese to buy it in the sizes Costco sells it in.
I buy 2lb blocks of cheddar at Costco. My workday lunch is 2oz cheddar, handful of craisins, handful of almonds, a few crackers.
« Last Edit: November 09, 2015, 10:16:30 AM by maco »

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #80 on: November 09, 2015, 10:58:42 AM »
Locally, Milk = $2.79 /gallon, if I'm lucky.  Costco Milk = $1.75/gallon We go through 4-5 gallons of milk a week (two little kids who only drink milk and water) so that alone pays for the cost of membership.

Other items we buy regularly are butter, eggs, dog food, beer, wine, rice, spices, baking supplies (flour, sugar, yeast, etc), diapers, FORMULA(!!) (when we used to need it), some produce and lunch meat.  Non-typical items that Costco saves us a TON of money on are Rental Cars for the 1-2x a year we travel to visit family (always seems to work out to at least 25% less than any other discounts I can find online and yes, i always comparison shop), eye glasses for my husband and photo printing/Christmas cards.  We also ordered our wedding invitations from Costco way back in the day.  Winter boots for the kids and sometimes their clothes (especially outdoor gear) are a great deal.

Things I don't buy there that I can always find cheaper at Safeway if I wait for the right sales are:  Boneless Skinless Chicken breast ($1.77/lb), Whole chickens (0.99/lb), Beef (we've been getting 1/4 shares of this.  This year's was $4/lb for everything).  Bread and most cleaning supplies (generic is cheaper most of the time) and a lot of canned goods.  I make my own pizza.  We don't eat enough cheese to buy it in the sizes Costco sells it in.

I'd look into using them for other non-typical things we buy because you just never know when they'll surprise you and come out ahead.  For example, I'd check them if/when I need new tires. We plan on remodeling our kitchen and I'd get a quote from them on the materials for cabinets and counter tops and compare it to what Lowe's/Home Depot could do.  YMMV

Man,  I suddenly don't feel so bad about my grocery monthly costs...  I do the same ad shopping (Safeway, others), and our lowest annual / 12 wk sale prices are at least DOUBLE everything here.  Milk at $4.59 per gallon, etc.... eggs at $2.29/doz... Apples at $1.69/lb  (even bulk bags are now 5lb for $6 of small apples, grown within 4 hr drive of here).

dragoncar

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #81 on: November 09, 2015, 11:29:39 AM »
The $1.50 polish dog and soda (plus all the chopped onions you can fit in your purse!) alone make it worth the trip.



The cheap price of Costco gas pays for the membership. They are usually about $.50 cents cheaper than everyone else.

Membership: $55

Gas: 12gal/week
Savings: $.50 x 12 = $6

$6 x 4 = $24 x 10 months (I teach, don't drive as much in the winter/summer) = $240.

Even if I account for times where the gas difference may not be as much year round (maybe only $.30 instead of $.50), I still come out ahead.

One of the reasons we might drop Costco is because their cheap gas (3 miles from house) is the same price as Arco cheap gas (6 blocks from house).

Both of those gas stations refuse to accept credit cards (debit only) so the bulk of the savings almost certainly comes from their not having to pay credit card vendor fees.

Arco had a .35 per purchase debit transaction fee, but that is only .04 more per gallon for our main vehicle and still many many cents per gallon less expensive than, say, Mobil or Chevron.

Note to self: Start paying in cash at Arco when possible.


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Costco gasoline is typically "Top Tier" rated, which means a much higher level of detergents and no metallic additives, which is typically 2-3x the EPA minimum for detergents. Costco advertises they have 5x the EPA minimum level. The result over the long term is a cleaner, higher performing, longer lasting engine. Around here, the places which are almost the same price as Costco do NOT have Top Tier gasoline.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Tier_Detergent_Gasoline

Thanks for the link! I'd heard the term but always assumed it was marketing language specific to Chevron. Interesting info that it is cross-brand fuel quality standard.


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Don't be fooled, it's still a marketing term.  It's just an industry marketing term vs. Chevron alone. 

What I wonder is whether this is good for, say, every other tank.  I often will go to Safeway for gas because (a) it's closer to my house, so more convenient if I'm not already shopping at Costco and (2) the cash price is even better than Costco when I have a "gas reward" (for those who don't have Safeway nearby, they will give you a $0.10 discount per gallon for every 100 dollars you spend.  That ends up being nominally 1% back on Safeway purchases if you have a 10 gallon fillup.  But sometimes my wife and I will go at the same time and use the full 25 gallon maximum.  So it could be up to 2.5% back, plus they have an app that runs specials like "2 bonus gas rewards when you buy $20 of groceries," which could therefore be equivalent to $5 off $20.)

Anyhooo..... if Costgo gas has 5x detergents, then shouldn't it remove any deposits I get after running a few tanks of "regular tier" Safeway gas (which still has at least 1x EPA detergents, and possibly more since we're in California).    How often do you need to tun a high detergent gas to keep everything gunk free?

jeromedawg

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #82 on: November 09, 2015, 11:32:53 AM »
One of the reasons we might drop Costco is because their cheap gas (3 miles from house) is the same price as Arco cheap gas (6 blocks from house).

Both of those gas stations refuse to accept credit cards (debit only) so the bulk of the savings almost certainly comes from their not having to pay credit card vendor fees.

Arco had a .35 per purchase debit transaction fee, but that is only .04 more per gallon for our main vehicle and still many many cents per gallon less expensive than, say, Mobil or Chevron.

Note to self: Start paying in cash at Arco when possible.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Latest word from Costco is that starting next spring, they will start accepting Visa (their deal with AmEx is not being renewed). So the reward points would put them ahead of your other choice for gas!

Not everyone saves money at Costco. I don't know if I save the membership fee plus my time. I enjoy going there and my grandmother enjoys buying the membership for me :-). Sometimes I buy the kids a dollar-fifty hotdog... that, for all of us to share, plus samples, just about makes lunch for the three of us!

FWIW, I think the food court is open to the general public (you don't need membership). If the food court is inside, you usually just go in the exit and tell them you're getting food and they're fine with it. A lot of Costco's have their food courts outside too. That said, I am a member so I'm always on the lookout for samples whenever I go...LOL

JLee

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #83 on: November 09, 2015, 12:06:52 PM »
One of the reasons we might drop Costco is because their cheap gas (3 miles from house) is the same price as Arco cheap gas (6 blocks from house).

Both of those gas stations refuse to accept credit cards (debit only) so the bulk of the savings almost certainly comes from their not having to pay credit card vendor fees.

Arco had a .35 per purchase debit transaction fee, but that is only .04 more per gallon for our main vehicle and still many many cents per gallon less expensive than, say, Mobil or Chevron.

Note to self: Start paying in cash at Arco when possible.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Latest word from Costco is that starting next spring, they will start accepting Visa (their deal with AmEx is not being renewed). So the reward points would put them ahead of your other choice for gas!

Not everyone saves money at Costco. I don't know if I save the membership fee plus my time. I enjoy going there and my grandmother enjoys buying the membership for me :-). Sometimes I buy the kids a dollar-fifty hotdog... that, for all of us to share, plus samples, just about makes lunch for the three of us!

FWIW, I think the food court is open to the general public (you don't need membership). If the food court is inside, you usually just go in the exit and tell them you're getting food and they're fine with it. A lot of Costco's have their food courts outside too. That said, I am a member so I'm always on the lookout for samples whenever I go...LOL
http://www.rather-be-shopping.com/blog/2015/06/29/things-you-can-do-at-costco-without-a-membership/

Jesstache

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #84 on: November 09, 2015, 12:26:41 PM »
Locally, Milk = $2.79 /gallon, if I'm lucky.  Costco Milk = $1.75/gallon We go through 4-5 gallons of milk a week (two little kids who only drink milk and water) so that alone pays for the cost of membership.

Other items we buy regularly are butter, eggs, dog food, beer, wine, rice, spices, baking supplies (flour, sugar, yeast, etc), diapers, FORMULA(!!) (when we used to need it), some produce and lunch meat.  Non-typical items that Costco saves us a TON of money on are Rental Cars for the 1-2x a year we travel to visit family (always seems to work out to at least 25% less than any other discounts I can find online and yes, i always comparison shop), eye glasses for my husband and photo printing/Christmas cards.  We also ordered our wedding invitations from Costco way back in the day.  Winter boots for the kids and sometimes their clothes (especially outdoor gear) are a great deal.

Things I don't buy there that I can always find cheaper at Safeway if I wait for the right sales are:  Boneless Skinless Chicken breast ($1.77/lb), Whole chickens (0.99/lb), Beef (we've been getting 1/4 shares of this.  This year's was $4/lb for everything).  Bread and most cleaning supplies (generic is cheaper most of the time) and a lot of canned goods.  I make my own pizza.  We don't eat enough cheese to buy it in the sizes Costco sells it in.

I'd look into using them for other non-typical things we buy because you just never know when they'll surprise you and come out ahead.  For example, I'd check them if/when I need new tires. We plan on remodeling our kitchen and I'd get a quote from them on the materials for cabinets and counter tops and compare it to what Lowe's/Home Depot could do.  YMMV

Man,  I suddenly don't feel so bad about my grocery monthly costs...  I do the same ad shopping (Safeway, others), and our lowest annual / 12 wk sale prices are at least DOUBLE everything here.  Milk at $4.59 per gallon, etc.... eggs at $2.29/doz... Apples at $1.69/lb  (even bulk bags are now 5lb for $6 of small apples, grown within 4 hr drive of here).

Eggs are $2.00/dozen at Costco here (for the 2 dozen pack) and at Safeway they're generally 2.30 or so but lately have been closer to $2.79.  I got apples for $0.99/lb just last week but it's the season, other times of the year it's probably $1.30/lb for the bags of crapples (hehe) and $1.99/lb for the loose apples you get to pick from the pile.

Yesterday, I saw milk for $2.99/gallon at Walmart (which is always about 10-20 cents more per gallon than Safeway) and passed on it, even though it was more convenient as I WAS THERE because I know I'd save $6 on the 4 gallons I need to buy just by stopping at costco today, which is directly on my way home from work.

The boneless skinless chicken price is one I saw in the ad from the Sunday paper just yesterday and is the current price at Safeway here and good through tomorrow.  I plan on going to buy about 30 lbs and freezing it tomorrow.  Generally, I won't buy it unless it's $1.99/lb but that is incredibly cheap and almost makes the whole chickens not worth it (once you factor in how much the non-edible bones weigh).  Yes I still get them whole and make broth but I only need to buy 1 every few months because that's about all I will use.

You are also in Canada (BC on your profile), and Canadian $ doesn't quite go as far as USD, right?  That's probably a lot of the difference right there, though the apple and egg prices don't seem much different than what I pay.

dragoncar

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #85 on: November 09, 2015, 01:32:00 PM »
One of the reasons we might drop Costco is because their cheap gas (3 miles from house) is the same price as Arco cheap gas (6 blocks from house).

Both of those gas stations refuse to accept credit cards (debit only) so the bulk of the savings almost certainly comes from their not having to pay credit card vendor fees.

Arco had a .35 per purchase debit transaction fee, but that is only .04 more per gallon for our main vehicle and still many many cents per gallon less expensive than, say, Mobil or Chevron.

Note to self: Start paying in cash at Arco when possible.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Latest word from Costco is that starting next spring, they will start accepting Visa (their deal with AmEx is not being renewed). So the reward points would put them ahead of your other choice for gas!

Not everyone saves money at Costco. I don't know if I save the membership fee plus my time. I enjoy going there and my grandmother enjoys buying the membership for me :-). Sometimes I buy the kids a dollar-fifty hotdog... that, for all of us to share, plus samples, just about makes lunch for the three of us!

FWIW, I think the food court is open to the general public (you don't need membership). If the food court is inside, you usually just go in the exit and tell them you're getting food and they're fine with it. A lot of Costco's have their food courts outside too. That said, I am a member so I'm always on the lookout for samples whenever I go...LOL
http://www.rather-be-shopping.com/blog/2015/06/29/things-you-can-do-at-costco-without-a-membership/

It bothers me when I want to meet my wife inside and they hassle her at the door for her membership card.  Most of the greeters are cool, since it's not like you can get past checkout without a membership card anyways, but once in a while they are super annoying about it.  I told her to tell them she is buying alcohol but she's a bit shy about stuff like that. (we only have the one card)

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #86 on: November 09, 2015, 01:39:21 PM »
I read through this thread and haven't seen anyone remark on the discounts you get with one stop shopping at your local grocery store. We have a Winco, Costco and Safeway (the last place being the farthest away).

Costco is a zoo, we let that membership lapse many years ago. it made us buy more than we needed.

We tried Winco and it has some under-par foods that actually are no cheaper than Safeway IF you take advantage of all Safeway has to offer. We use their pharmacy (I've had major health issues the last couple of years thus lots of scripts) and all sales count toward gas points. when we see buy $50 in gift cards, get 4x gas rewards, we take advantage of it of course. We hated Safeway at first, but have settled on it with all the services and discounts it has to offer we are gtg.

We rarely eat beef, their Chicken is great and is priced well. We do still get certain things from Winco which is less than 1min from our home.

I liked Costco for glasses, but now I never replace my frames and have given up on contact lenses so my costs are minimal (just lenses)

JLee

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #87 on: November 09, 2015, 01:42:36 PM »
One of the reasons we might drop Costco is because their cheap gas (3 miles from house) is the same price as Arco cheap gas (6 blocks from house).

Both of those gas stations refuse to accept credit cards (debit only) so the bulk of the savings almost certainly comes from their not having to pay credit card vendor fees.

Arco had a .35 per purchase debit transaction fee, but that is only .04 more per gallon for our main vehicle and still many many cents per gallon less expensive than, say, Mobil or Chevron.

Note to self: Start paying in cash at Arco when possible.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Latest word from Costco is that starting next spring, they will start accepting Visa (their deal with AmEx is not being renewed). So the reward points would put them ahead of your other choice for gas!

Not everyone saves money at Costco. I don't know if I save the membership fee plus my time. I enjoy going there and my grandmother enjoys buying the membership for me :-). Sometimes I buy the kids a dollar-fifty hotdog... that, for all of us to share, plus samples, just about makes lunch for the three of us!

FWIW, I think the food court is open to the general public (you don't need membership). If the food court is inside, you usually just go in the exit and tell them you're getting food and they're fine with it. A lot of Costco's have their food courts outside too. That said, I am a member so I'm always on the lookout for samples whenever I go...LOL
http://www.rather-be-shopping.com/blog/2015/06/29/things-you-can-do-at-costco-without-a-membership/

It bothers me when I want to meet my wife inside and they hassle her at the door for her membership card.  Most of the greeters are cool, since it's not like you can get past checkout without a membership card anyways, but once in a while they are super annoying about it.  I told her to tell them she is buying alcohol but she's a bit shy about stuff like that. (we only have the one card)

I get annoyed by the inconsistency of the greeters. I was at Costco in Calgary and I went in, had my card ready/etc and they didn't ask. Then I realized I wanted a cart...so I go back out, get one, go back inside and then the same person wanted to see it. Make up your mind already....!

You can get a second card for free, though. :)

dragoncar

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #88 on: November 09, 2015, 02:00:15 PM »
One of the reasons we might drop Costco is because their cheap gas (3 miles from house) is the same price as Arco cheap gas (6 blocks from house).

Both of those gas stations refuse to accept credit cards (debit only) so the bulk of the savings almost certainly comes from their not having to pay credit card vendor fees.

Arco had a .35 per purchase debit transaction fee, but that is only .04 more per gallon for our main vehicle and still many many cents per gallon less expensive than, say, Mobil or Chevron.

Note to self: Start paying in cash at Arco when possible.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Latest word from Costco is that starting next spring, they will start accepting Visa (their deal with AmEx is not being renewed). So the reward points would put them ahead of your other choice for gas!

Not everyone saves money at Costco. I don't know if I save the membership fee plus my time. I enjoy going there and my grandmother enjoys buying the membership for me :-). Sometimes I buy the kids a dollar-fifty hotdog... that, for all of us to share, plus samples, just about makes lunch for the three of us!

FWIW, I think the food court is open to the general public (you don't need membership). If the food court is inside, you usually just go in the exit and tell them you're getting food and they're fine with it. A lot of Costco's have their food courts outside too. That said, I am a member so I'm always on the lookout for samples whenever I go...LOL
http://www.rather-be-shopping.com/blog/2015/06/29/things-you-can-do-at-costco-without-a-membership/

It bothers me when I want to meet my wife inside and they hassle her at the door for her membership card.  Most of the greeters are cool, since it's not like you can get past checkout without a membership card anyways, but once in a while they are super annoying about it.  I told her to tell them she is buying alcohol but she's a bit shy about stuff like that. (we only have the one card)

I get annoyed by the inconsistency of the greeters. I was at Costco in Calgary and I went in, had my card ready/etc and they didn't ask. Then I realized I wanted a cart...so I go back out, get one, go back inside and then the same person wanted to see it. Make up your mind already....!

You can get a second card for free, though. :)

My card is already the free one, though :-)

serpentstooth

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #89 on: November 09, 2015, 02:38:33 PM »
We have a formula fed baby. Our Costco membership was worth it for that alone. I have a bit of a stockpile now and our membership is expired, so I'm waiting until I either need something badly enough or Babytooth runs out of formula before we renew. Our Costco is in the same shopping mall as Aldi so I usually hit both on each trip. I find Costco is better on milk (price), eggs (price) and chicken (quality, sometimes price), cheese (quality and price), butter (price). Produce is a tie. Aldi is better on most other stuff and if I stock up during the special buys, it carries stuff I use that Costco doesn't (lemon extract, peanut butter chips, etc.). I get red meat from the butcher in my hometown.

Dicey

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #90 on: November 09, 2015, 04:11:20 PM »
Hey ST, I just scored Lemon and Almond Rodelle Organic Extracts at Costco. Sold as a pair, each bottle is 8 oz. IIRC, it was about $10 or $12. I go through a ton of this stuff at the holidays, so I love the big bottles. I suspect this is a seasonal item, so look for it soon. Also, darn, I just love how cheap the Costco butter gets around the holidays! It's always without fanfare, you just have to watch for it. I usually buy a year's worth and freeze it.

Also, last night I used my KitchenAid dough hook to make pizza dough and it was a complete success. Woot! I've been inspired by all you cook, so I decided to try this. We love pizza as much as we like tacos, which is a LOT. Next up is your pumpkin soup recipe, as soon I get tired of looking at the pumpkins on my porch.

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #91 on: November 09, 2015, 05:32:02 PM »
Ooh, I'll have to look for those! Aldi was selling two ounce bottles for $2 or so, but I run through those extracts.  I have to lay in a supply of butter too, but a year's worth is fifty pounds, and my freezer has limits.

Have you made East 62nd St Lemon Cake? Look up the recipe. It's amazing. People demand I bring it to events.

Le Poisson

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #92 on: November 09, 2015, 08:05:05 PM »
I think we still have 4 pounds of butter in our fridge that Momma bought for me to do Thanksgiving baking with. I'm so used to just using Margarine that I don't even think of the butter even when we splurge.

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #93 on: November 09, 2015, 08:25:35 PM »
I think we still have 4 pounds of butter in our fridge that Momma bought for me to do Thanksgiving baking with. I'm so used to just using Margarine that I don't even think of the butter even when we splurge.

Ugh. Margarine. Flavorless chunk of trans fats.

Dicey

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #94 on: November 09, 2015, 08:47:57 PM »
Ooh, I'll have to look for those! Aldi was selling two ounce bottles for $2 or so, but I run through those extracts.  I have to lay in a supply of butter too, but a year's worth is fifty pounds, and my freezer has limits.

Have you made East 62nd St Lemon Cake? Look up the recipe. It's amazing. People demand I bring it to events.

I wasn't as clear as I could have been. There are two 8 oz. bottles per package. That would be $32 at Aldi. Oh yes, it's a screaming deal. Did I mention it's organic Rodelle?

Okay, I'll check it out. The Lemon Cake may happen before the pumpkin soup.

Le Poisson

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #95 on: November 09, 2015, 08:53:04 PM »
I think we still have 4 pounds of butter in our fridge that Momma bought for me to do Thanksgiving baking with. I'm so used to just using Margarine that I don't even think of the butter even when we splurge.

Ugh. Margarine. Flavorless chunk of trans fats.

You say Potato, I say whats a cheaper version of a potato?

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #96 on: November 09, 2015, 09:11:46 PM »
I think we still have 4 pounds of butter in our fridge that Momma bought for me to do Thanksgiving baking with. I'm so used to just using Margarine that I don't even think of the butter even when we splurge.

Ugh. Margarine. Flavorless chunk of trans fats.

You say Potato, I say whats a cheaper version of a potato?

Heart disease ain't cheap. Pay your farmer, or pay your doctor. ;)

Le Poisson

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #97 on: November 09, 2015, 09:21:11 PM »
Folks - we're foaming.

dragoncar

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #98 on: November 09, 2015, 09:26:49 PM »
Costco is going to have a sale on kerrygold butter before thanksgiving.  It's not super mustacian but I think it's healthier for being grass fed and will stock up

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Costco: Mustachian or not?
« Reply #99 on: November 10, 2015, 09:35:20 AM »
Folks - we're foaming.


I don't understand what this means? And I was just doing some good natured trolling, hence the winky face. No harm/offense meant. Sorry if my tone wasn't clear.