Grocery shopping at Costco for 2

[Anonymous]

Is it worth it to buy anything at Costco for a family of 2? Single mom and elementary age child. I’m trying to save on my grocery bill because I’m spending a ridiculous amount, but I don’t think we eat enough food all at once for Costco.

[Anonymous]

Costco wouldnt save you much. Try Aldi or Hmart instead. the foal is to not waste food. I think costco is excellent quality for the price but most its too many things. You can get a membership andif you dont find its worth it you can grt a refund in a year. I did just get several dizen medium eggs for $1.99 a dozen. But i got 4 dozen because we have 2 kids and eat a ton of eggs.

[Anonymous]

My kids are out of the house now so it’s just me and DH. I still shop at Costco. Meat can be frozen into portions. I like their bags of frozen vegetables and frozen fruits. Paper products don’t go bad. I rarely eat out and meal plan to make sure I use up what I buy. I buy produce that I know I can use in a week (salad greens, avocados, Brussels sprouts, banana, etc.). Canned beans, coconut milk, spaghetti sauce, pasta, and other non-perishables. A rotisserie chicken that I make 3 meals out of, frozen salmon.

[Anonymous]

Only if you have an extra freezer and storage space.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids are out of the house now so it’s just me and DH. I still shop at Costco. Meat can be frozen into portions. I like their bags of frozen vegetables and frozen fruits. Paper products don’t go bad. I rarely eat out and meal plan to make sure I use up what I buy. I buy produce that I know I can use in a week (salad greens, avocados, Brussels sprouts, banana, etc.). Canned beans, coconut milk, spaghetti sauce, pasta, and other non-perishables. A rotisserie chicken that I make 3 meals out of, frozen salmon.

This. We have gone from 4 kids at home to now only 1 and still go to Costco. Freeze, freeze, freeze. Like PP I portion out the meat then freeze, any sauces like pesto or spaghetti I put into small single serving containers in the freezer, cheese is easily frozen too. Plus staples like paper and cleaning products are so much cheaper at Costco.

[Anonymous]

No

[Anonymous]

Costco has great stuff but it won't necessarily save you money.

[Anonymous]

It is a good price on things that freeze or keep, as others have said: meat, butter, eggs (don't freeze but they keep), coffee, oil, bread, lunchbox snacks. Also household goods like TP, shampoo, etc. Winter coats for kids. It may not be cheaper than couponing but I don't have time to coupon.

For produce, only if you eat A LOT of it. DH and I used to go there weekly, but we ate a giant salad for dinner every night so we did go through that much produce in a week. If you don't eat like that, it's too much to finish before it spoils.

[Anonymous]

I would say no. When I moved to the suburbs I joined Costco bc I thought that is what one did . I have 3 kids and never found Costco worth it. So much needs to be stored. Plus it’s not an entire replacement for a regular grocery store since if you bought everything You need on a weekly basis, bc it’s in such bulk it would all fit in your car. So it really took up so much time.

What helps me with grocery bills is to meal plan, stock up when you see good specials. You can buy meat on sale (usually marked down when sell by date is near) and freeze. Also, no precut veggies - those get expensive fast.

[Anonymous]

Tires, electriconixs, alcohol, gas, travel deals, and partyy hosting stuff , yes.

Costco is also the largest grocery of organic food (at an affordable price too).

But there are lots of products that are sold in manageable amts b/c they're packaged in portions so its easy to freeze.

And non perishables are in "bulk", but a lot of it is just two (sealed) portions packaged together (cereal, condiments, etc).

[Anonymous]

Computers, electronics, jewelry, clothing

You can do the pharmacy and eye care without membership

[Anonymous]

I guess it depends on what you eat.

I could see this working for:
- produce that you eat really often, for us that would be berries and cucumbers and stuff like that
- lunchbox snacks
- drinks
- very frequently use pantry staples like pasta, black beans, Raos (for us)
- frozen foods for dinners
- larger items like furniture or pjs or books or garden items
- always TP and paper towels!

Not really a milk/eggs/meat/2 2lb boxes of cereal thing for this purpose, but could be useful!

[Anonymous]

Yes.

Costco is crazy cheap for some things that totally make it worth it. Boxes of pasta are now $2.99-3.99 for a decent brand. I got 6 1lb pastas for $9.99. Half and half at Costco is like $1.99 while at a regular grocery store it is often double the price. We drink a lot of coffee and buy 6 cartons of half and half at a time (it keeps for a long time). Cans of tuna, chicken, paper towels, cleaning products, tin foil, plastic wrap, trash bags...all so much cheaper. You can also find good deals for health products. There are many things way cheaper than a regular store unless you're going to Trader Joe's or a penny pinching low quality store like Aldi.

We shop for two people at Costo and love it. Yesterday I bought a big jar of pesto for $9.99, which is usually super expensive at a regular store for a much smaller jar. The quality is great. I also love going to Costco because they constantly change out their products and you're always finding hidden gems. I mean who'd ever guess they'd have yakisoba, street tacos, and indian desserts right next to their awesome $5 chickens?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Costco wouldnt save you much. Try Aldi or Hmart instead. the foal is to not waste food. I think costco is excellent quality for the price but most its too many things. You can get a membership andif you dont find its worth it you can grt a refund in a year. I did just get several dizen medium eggs for $1.99 a dozen. But i got 4 dozen because we have 2 kids and eat a ton of eggs.

Aldi is low quality and often very dirty. Hard, hard pass. We go to Hmart often. Meh. Prices are often higher for things like meats, foils, and oils. The produce at many Hmarts is also subpart. Lettuce and many veggies are often wilted, apples bruised and wrinkly, and you often feel that it is just dirty.

[Anonymous]

I don't think it's worth it for 2 people for regular grocery shopping. For class snacks, parties, holidays, it could be.