New Costco member here - what should I buy?

[Anonymous]

-Organic produces, milk and chia seeds
-steak, fish and chicken
-water, rice, and protein shakes

[Anonymous]

Optical shop is frequently recommended.

They have good deals on new cars through their buying services.

Travel comes up frequently (cruises, rental cars).

PTA bulk buying for elementary school events and refreshment sales.

I do not belong. Too crowded. Portions/quantities too giant for our family.

[Anonymous]

Costco wasn't really worth it to me until my boys became teens. Now it's my regular grocery store because I need huge amounts of food each week. I tried buying stuff at Safeway the other day and realized I'd go bankrupt if I had to buy at the quantities I do at Costco.

[Anonymous]

A big bottle of Avocado oil at Costco is the same price as a small bottle elsewhere

[Anonymous]

I’ve never understood why small families or single people by a Costco membership…
We have been members for years. I compared prices between my local grocery store and Costco.
Detergent and paper products – my local store usually run specials / coupons and is cheaper than Costco
Cheese sticks – cheaper at Costco
Propel – cheaper at Costco
Soda – it depends if my grocery store is running a sale or not. A lot of times my grocery store will have a buy two get two free and it’s cheaper, but if they don’t have a special, Costco is cheaper.
Coffee K cups – cheaper at Costco
88% ground beef – cheaper at Costco
Salmon – cheaper at Costco
I do not like Costco chicken breasts. And too often I’ve had bad experiences with their produce.

[Anonymous]

The maple syrup is a great price if you’re a family that likes pure maple syrup and does pancakes or similar fairly often. It stays good for a very long time.

If you kid eats burritos often, the frozen bean and cheese burritos are a fraction of the price at the grocery store. We like the organic ones. I think it’s 8 or maybe 12 on a box but my teen son will eat them for breakfast or as an after school before practice snack or as second dinner.

[Anonymous]

Vanilla
Quinoa
Nuts
Sparkling water
Maple syrup
Rao's spaghetti sauce when it goes on sale
Healthy Choice fudge bars
Men's clothing

[Anonymous]

My needs have changed over time. I swear by Costco baby wipes and often found good deals on children’s clothing, especially seasonal outer wear, like snow boots and snow pants, and Speedo swimsuits. Back then, I couldn’t imagine a family needing those huge bottles of Tylenol. Well, now I’m older and have developed arthritis. I’ve started buying Tylenol Arthritis there. I still buy pajamas, the occasional jacket, boots and Sketchers at Costco.

My staples are:

Toilet paper
Napkins
Paper plates
Dishwasher tablets
Bottled water


Grocery items I’ve bought because they have a long shelf life:

Ketchup
Keto meat sticks
Nuts


Frozen items:

I only buy for parties, so just appetizers


I don’t buy much fresh food because of the large quantities, but I have liked their bagged salads and farm raised salmon filets with herbed butter and dill sprigs.


I’ve also made many household purchases there over the years, like towels (they have the best beach towels), bedsheets, blankets (I bought a “family blanket” there last year that can accommodate everyone sitting on the sofa together), a Vitamix, serving bowls, a cooler.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It really depends on what your family likes/needs. I always look at the seasonal stuff as you can get great buys on some things you might need (like folding chairs for soccer games, snorkel equipment, grass seed, etc.).

Other than that, again it really depends on what you like, but here are some good buys:
Kirkland pesto (I freeze in smaller quantities)
Marinated frozen wild salmon
Spinach and cheese frozen ravioli
Kerrygold Butter
Fresh berries (freeze some for smoothies if too much to eat quickly)
Maybe the salad packagaes - waaay cheaper than going to Chop't for lunch
Maybe the organic chicken breast nuggets if you kids eat that kind of thing -- they are pretty good.
Chlorox wipes, kleenex, TP, paper towels (it's nice to only buy this stuff 1x a year and forget about it)
Organic fruit bars in snack section -- my kid loves these in lunch
Kirkland brand dried mango
Nuts
Coffee
Black beans
Rao's tomato sauce
Cento canned marzono tomatos
Depending on what kind of pasta shapes you like, their italian imported pasta is quite nice
If you want a splurge, the chocolate covered almonds are delicious
If you're the type of family that eats packaged bread, it's a good price here. Also the PB.
If you're a jam family, the Kirkland strawberry jam is awesome and they also usually have that Bon Manne mixed berry jam, which is fabulous.
If you're an ice cream family, the kirkland premium vanilla is excellent. I like it with nuts and banana and a drizzle of chocolate syrup.
They have some very nice cheeses, but I can't really get through them as a small family so I only buy those if we are having people coming over. I do get their parmesan though as its very high quality and parm stays good for so long.

Tires and good prices there, and the car rental prices are usually the best I can find. Vacation can be hit or miss but we've sometimes got a ton of costco cashback by rebooking a hotel or cruise through costco.

Obviously, gas.

Prescription glasses and a lot of medicine -- my allergy medicine is a fraction of the price there (I get the kirkland generic). Their knockoff Voltaren is also very cheap. We get multivitamins there, and also wrinkle cream is hit or miss but can be significantly cheaper.

you a costco youtuber or something? bravo!

[Anonymous]

Staples:
Butter
Sugar
Bacon
Milk
Ground beef and steak
Tomato Sauce
Sour cream
Berries
Bananas
Trash bags
Rice
Peanut butter

Occasional:
Bagels
Bread
Some Cheeses
Children’s clothing
Vitamins
Toiletries
Household goods

Items I usually skip at Costco because Aldi is a better value for us:
Orange juice
Apples/mangos/melons
Most fresh vegetables
Condiments
Most cheeses
Pesto
Yogurt

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are new members (moving from apt to home) and I've been twice and it feels very much like a 1) bulk junk/snack food or 2) family size bottles of things. We're a family of three and we still live in a pretty small house so perhaps aren't the target market for many items. I'm sure there are frozen items or particular things that people love. What are some recommended food items to get at Costco? (Separately, we got a hammock chair and a kids jacket I was thrilled to find.)

If you’ve been twice and couldn’t find anything that you liked or had storage space for, then why are you a member?

Because we felt it was rite a passage with being homeowners yet didn't really find much that felt relevant for a smaller family. I appreciate all the ideas above, tho!

Most people are salivating after their first trip to Costco. They want to buy so much and have to control themselves. If you went twice and didn’t see anything worthwhile, cancel your membership and save some money. I go at least twice a month and buy mostly produce, dairy products, and meat for my family of 4 and for weekend bbqs and dinner parties. I have a lot of storage and a chest freezer, so I frequently buy, marinate and freeze meat, curries, sauces etc. I buy bags of avocados, flats of berries, 10 lb bags of of frozen fruit, whole salmon filets, etc.

Clearly, costco is not the best for families with small houses or lower food consumption. If the savings don’t jump out at you, you will find yourself with an unused and wasted membership.

If you want to buy one or two things, just ask to go with a friend with a membership. I have a single friend and she comes with me sometimes to buy one or two specific items. It works out for her because she doesn’t have to pay the membership fee. It works for me because I like the company and I get the 2% reward from her purchase.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve never understood why small families or single people by a Costco membership…
We have been members for years. I compared prices between my local grocery store and Costco.
Detergent and paper products – my local store usually run specials / coupons and is cheaper than Costco
Cheese sticks – cheaper at Costco
Propel – cheaper at Costco
Soda – it depends if my grocery store is running a sale or not. A lot of times my grocery store will have a buy two get two free and it’s cheaper, but if they don’t have a special, Costco is cheaper.
Coffee K cups – cheaper at Costco
88% ground beef – cheaper at Costco
Salmon – cheaper at Costco
I do not like Costco chicken breasts. And too often I’ve had bad experiences with their produce.

I’m sure you’re right about grocery store sales being cheaper for paper products, but I’d personally rather have the huge Costco packs in the garage and not have to think about it again for a couple months, or search ads.

I’ve priced milk, half and half, Kerrygold and eggs, all of which we go through frequently, and it’s all significantly cheaper at Costco.

[Anonymous]

Everything

[Anonymous]

What you SHOULDN'T do is wander through the store picking up things that "look like a good bargain" even though you're not sure you'll use them. That's a good way to waste several hundred dollars and have boxes of stuff taking up precious storage room in your house. My #1 rule at Costco is no impulse shopping.

Only buy things that you know your family will use. For example, I'm always tempted by the heat and eat family-size meals ... but my family just doesn't cook those kinds of meals. So they go to waste.

Instead of looking at what other people buy, think about what things you use a lot of. I buy their pure maple syrup because I use it in cooking and my kids love having waffles on the weekend. Cinnamon sticks are also a good bargain and I have several favorite recipes that call for them. I stock up on winter gloves every year. AA and AAA batteries. Strawberries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are new members (moving from apt to home) and I've been twice and it feels very much like a 1) bulk junk/snack food or 2) family size bottles of things. We're a family of three and we still live in a pretty small house so perhaps aren't the target market for many items. I'm sure there are frozen items or particular things that people love. What are some recommended food items to get at Costco? (Separately, we got a hammock chair and a kids jacket I was thrilled to find.)

If you’ve been twice and couldn’t find anything that you liked or had storage space for, then why are you a member?

DP: Don’t you have to be a member to go inside the store ? I’ve considered becoming a member just to get glasses. I know other people who joined for significant savings on 1 or 2 big ticket items like mattresses.

Non-members can use Costco's pharmacy services to fill prescriptions, and they can also access optical services for eye exams. However, a membership is required to purchase glasses or contact lenses from the optical department.

I am a member but never show my card at the entrance as I'm almost always just going to the pharmacy. Just tell the people at the door you are going to one of those two places in the store.