Costco worth it for one adult and young kid?

[Anonymous]

Single mom with elementary aged kid here, debating if a Costco membership would be worth it. I used to have one when married and enjoyed it but our household needs are much different now. I miss it but just don’t know if it is worth it and if I’ll wind up overbuying and wasting food.

I could see using it mostly for cleaning supplies, sparkling water, and stocking up on kid snack foods for lunches. We used to plow through fruit and steak and get ready to cook salmon when married and had a membership but my kid and I can’t eat those quantities just the two of us before it would go bad (and she is picky about some foods still).

Worth it or no? Our closest store is about 20 min., not in DC area. Probably would go every 6-8 weeks, likely on a Sunday morning.

[Anonymous]

I would guess no, not worth it for just those three categories. Those all seem like things you could get at Target for about the same price.

[Anonymous]

Not really. Those huge boxes of snacks can go stale before one kid has time to finish them. If you have a family member with a membership they can add you on the account to get your own card if that’s an option.

[Anonymous]

You can just order online through their website Instacart without a membership. I get toilet paper, Everything But the Bagel seasoning, vitamins, some snacks, organic chicken breast to freeze, pasta, Rao’s, all without a membership.

[Anonymous]

Costco has gotten significantly more expensive the past 5 years or so. On a price basis, we do much better shopping at stores like Lidl and watching supermarket sales. Definitely not worth it

For the few things I like to get at Costco that we can’t get elsewhere, we do a quarterly Instacart order. You can order from Costco without a membership through instacart.

[Anonymous]

No Costco is never worth it. Seriously just check prices online at Aldie or Walmart or Wegmans. You will save much more.

[Anonymous]

It's just not worth the time. Costcos have become zoos full of lower class families and honestly feel Walmart-tier on most days. A single mom should just use food delivery or order ahead and parking lot pickup from Target, Whole Foods, or Wegmans.

[Anonymous]

We are just 2 adults and love our Costco membership! But we do have a basement to store some stuff (tp, paper towel) and a walk in pantry. I buy meat and split it up and vacuum seal it and freeze. Sparkling water in the pantry until we run out and restock the fridge. Even the gas savings is worth the $60 fee imo.

[Anonymous]

I say try it and they'll refund your membership if after a couple of months you're not feeling it.

[Anonymous]

Where I feel like we really get our money’s worth is the optical dept. all four of us wear glasses, so even with ins new frames occasionally and new lenses almost every year can get pricey. I just bought one of the pricier frames on the wall and I think my OOP was <$20. Times four, worth it. Times two, it might go a long way toward making it “worth it.”
Which Costco are you near? That might make a difference. The Gburg costco is always a complete zoo so we go far less than we might otherwise.

[Anonymous]

I'd say no because of your picky eater and how fast fruits go bad.
Maybe you have a friend who would let you go along couple of times a year.
20 minutes is very far, and from what I have heard, the place is always busy. You don't want to waste your time to get few things cheaper.
There are many other ways to save money.

[Anonymous]

Allegedly prescription drugs are cheaper for insured people at Costco over national pharmacy chains and grocery store pharmacies. Is that true?

[Anonymous]

Do you have friends who are members? Can you tag along a few times and then make the decision?

[Anonymous]

Unless they’ve changed their policy, you can shop on a gift card without a membership. So do you have a friend who could buy you a gift card? Sounds like that might be a better fit for only occasional shopping.

[Anonymous]

Not for us and we’re a family of four. We end up wasting the fresh stuff and don’t buy enough shelf stable stuff to make it worth it.