Costco Question

[TallahaseeNative]

I just read this MMM post: http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/09/30/is-a-costco-membership-worth-the-cost/

I can imagine a lot of  family/living situations where costco will payoff in the end, but I'm wondering if it ever makes sense not to frequent Costco. For instance, I have a small apartment with very limited space with my partner.  We don't buy or need any non-food items being sold at Costco. We primarily spend grocery money on produce, and we struggle to consume all of our purchased produce before it goes bad. Getting to Costco for us would also require a medium lengthed bike ride with backpacks, thus limiting the amount of stuff we could carry on a trip back from Costco.

I don't feel strongly one way or the other but I am curious whether the $55 annual fee would offset the savings with my situation. Thoughts?

[ooeei]

I just read this MMM post: http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/09/30/is-a-costco-membership-worth-the-cost/

I can imagine a lot of  family/living situations where costco will payoff in the end, but I'm wondering if it ever makes sense not to frequent Costco. For instance, I have a small apartment with very limited space with my partner.  We don't buy or need any non-food items being sold at Costco. We primarily spend grocery money on produce, and we struggle to consume all of our purchased produce before it goes bad. Getting to Costco for us would also require a medium lengthed bike ride with backpacks, thus limiting the amount of stuff we could carry on a trip back from Costco.

I don't feel strongly one way or the other but I am curious whether the $55 annual fee would offset the savings with my situation. Thoughts?

Doesn't sound like it'd be worth it.  What purchases would you save money on?

[Mr.Tako]

Costco isn't always the cheapest game in town.  For some things, yes they're the cheapest around, and can't be beat.

At least in my area their produce is quite expensive (though high quality).

The problem with Costco isn't that they have good deals on food.  The problem is that those good deals are there to lure you to the treasure hunt.

Jim Senegal (one of the founders of Costco) once explained his theory of the Costco shopping experience as a treasure hunt.  You go to costco for the good deals on roast chicken (4.99) and eggs, but end up buying the 'treasures' (temporary inventory items) that you find.

The amounts and timeline for inventory is made short (on purpose), to train customers to 'purchase when they see it'.

Most mustachian's don't need to buy that other random 'stuff'...which typically isn't as good a deal as the standard costco items.

Other stores frequently have loss leaders too.  That might be a better fit for you.

[catccc]

I'm going to guess it doesn't make sense for you, being only just 2 people, but for my family of 4 it is great.  We have the usual stuff we know is a good deal and get there.  We go there and get what we need.  There are rarely any "treasure hunt" purchases for us.  We make a beeline for the things we need, stop for samples, and get out.  All the "stuff" sections get passed by rather quickly.

[serpentstooth]

I walk two miles to Costco pushing a baby stroller, load it up with my groceries, and push it back every week. For us it's very much worth doing, but nearer grocery stores are expensive and crappy. We are family of two eaters, plus a baby, and find it pretty easy to go through the giant packages of broccoli and spinach before they spoil, but YMMV.

[FINate]

I'm going to guess it doesn't make sense for you, being only just 2 people, but for my family of 4 it is great.  We have the usual stuff we know is a good deal and get there.  We go there and get what we need.  There are rarely any "treasure hunt" purchases for us.  We make a beeline for the things we need, stop for samples, and get out.  All the "stuff" sections get passed by rather quickly.

That's what we do. We make a list of staple foods we need and we stick to the list. In my experience Costco generally has, by far, the best prices per unit on the essentials (cooking oil, flour, sugar, butter, milk, cheese, ...). As someone else mentioned above, their produce isn't always the best price, so some of this we get a the local supermarket or farmer's market - basically we just watch prices.

For our family of 4, even with just getting the essential food items we get back enough on our executive membership rewards to (mostly) cover the membership fees.

[TravelJunkyQC]

We are also just 2 people, and the way we work is that we buy meat and fish from Costco for just the two of us (that I then cut up and freeze in 1-meal, 4 portion servings - for dinner and lunch), and produce and perishables I buy with friends, so that we can split the goodies. Cheaper, without waste!

[onlykelsey]

If you have a big purchase coming up (eyeglasses, mattresses, expensive pet prescriptions without insurance, electronics, event flowers), it's worth looking in to the Costco price.  I found that my savings on my dog's Rx alone means my membership pays for itself in two months.

[Gerard]

I split my time between two provinces, and the costco advantage varies widely (I'm also living solo and carless, like you).

In Newfoundland, where groceries are expensive and chains are my only option, Costco is a screaming great deal, even for small  things (in part because costco prices tend to be fairly consistent across the country, even though it costs more to ship things to NL). I usually go by bus and buy parmesan, tomato paste, olive oil, steel cut oats, bacon, other cheeses, almonds, jeans, socks, occasional meat, and whole-wheat flour. I figure I save about $150 a year.

In Toronto, where there are tons of ethnic grocers and a great monopoly-busting produce distribution network, costco makes much less sense. Supermarket loss leaders and Asian stores are much better deals and involve less travelling.

All that to say, it depends on your local situation!

[serpentstooth]

I split my time between two provinces, and the costco advantage varies widely (I'm also living solo and carless, like you).

In Newfoundland, where groceries are expensive and chains are my only option, Costco is a screaming great deal, even for small  things (in part because costco prices tend to be fairly consistent across the country, even though it costs more to ship things to NL). I usually go by bus and buy parmesan, tomato paste, olive oil, steel cut oats, bacon, other cheeses, almonds, jeans, socks, occasional meat, and whole-wheat flour. I figure I save about $150 a year.

In Toronto, where there are tons of ethnic grocers and a great monopoly-busting produce distribution network, costco makes much less sense. Supermarket loss leaders and Asian stores are much better deals and involve less travelling.

All that to say, it depends on your local situation!

I get the impression that Costco prices are more standardized nationwide than a lot of grocers. This would explain why you have people in some places saying, "Meh. It's not much better than the sales I get elsewhere" and other people saying, "Our membership pays for itself on cheese savings alone and almost everything else is a great deal too."

[Acg]

One membership can come with multiple cards look into the rules for who can have cards from a single persons membership.

Each membership comes with two cards and they need to have the same address.  No way around it.

I'm sure this savings is because I live in NYC and the other prices are so high but I only eat organic chicken.  It's about $12/lb everywhere else in the city but at Costco it's $6/lb.  Each package has about 4lbs so I make up the cost of a membership after 3 packs of chicken.  If you eat a lot of organic food, Costco is great.  Surprisingly, they have a lot of stuff.

[Telecaster]

I find it easy to justify a Costco membership.   But the bicycle part might make it hard.   

[kite]

Doesn't pay for us.
We proved it with a pricebook.  I think cost-wise, that's the only way to know for sure.
My sister maintains her membership and once a year or so I'll tag along with my pricebook in hand.  The samples are delightful.  If I were in the market for some of the non-grocery items they sell (like a Dyson or Vitamix) it would be tempting.  But we're doing better with our local grocery stores, dairy and farmer's market. 

[MsPeacock]

I find the grocery prices for most items to be cheaper at Aldis. However, Costco has good deals on things like dog food, cat litter, giant packages of toilet paper, dairy products. All of this would be dfficult to impossible to transport on a bike. I find most of their produce packages also too large to consume before it goes bad. For two people with no need for the household type items it likely isn't worth it.

[vhalros]

I regularly bicycle to Costco. If you bring a trailer, you can easily transport large volumes of stuff. Fresh produce is probably not the best thing to get there for you, but they have good deals on non-perishables (ex. oat meal) and household goods.

So, not having a car is not a problem. Whether it is worth it or not for depends on what else is available in your area. If there are no other cheap grocery stores nearby, it is probably worth getting the membership and finding space where you can in the apartment. If there is an Aldi or Market Basket or something like that, their prices are mostly close enough that it might not matter a whole lot.

[Jschange]

As a single, it is worth going every 2-3 months. I go after a sleepover with membership having friends, or with my parents.

I get great deals on gifts for others, will often split perishables up with the other people I go with, buy some treat foods, and check if they have anything that's on my list (drugs, clothes, etc) for a good price.

I don't think I'd get the membership, because at best I'd come out even, and they aren't usually in bus friendly areas. I love it as a social outing.

Make sure that if you do it my way, you either offer to share your bounty with the membership holder, or offer to buy them fries and ice cream at the exit. Frugal and social. Not cheap and miserly. You are using a $55 membership and probably also riding in their shiny car.