New Costco member here - what should I buy?
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Anonymous
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If you are a savvy shopper and you have a small family and you don't eat a lot of packaged food, then I really don't think Costco is worth it.
A savvy shopper means you look for and buy things on their cycle of savings. So you buy paper towels at target this week because they are on sale, and next week you buy handsoap, or you get dishwasher soap at the grocery store because it's a featured sale item, etc etc. Savvy shopping is only good if you have the time to look through the sales and then the time to shop accordingly. |
Anonymous
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Generally we find that Costco is cheaper for the quality, not always the cheapest price overall. We generally go every couple of months and get the following as needed:
Milk Steaks Olive oil Kirkland maple syrup Kirkland honey Parmesan Cabot cheddar King Arthur Flour Castelvetrano olives Kombucha Kirkland Lager (made by Deschutes) Kirkland purple label prosecco ($8 - great for parties) Kirkland gin Diapers Greek yogurt (Skotidakis) |
Anonymous
| They have a mixed nuts bag, salted. It's like magic, we buy it, and somehow it magically disappears. |
Anonymous
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Florastor (probiotic)
Dove bar soap shampoo/cond laundry detergent Mrs. Meyers hand soap Mrs. Meyers counter spray seeds of change bags of quinoa/rice black beans, chickpeas ramen maple syrup coffee eggs milk barre chicken nuggets frozen pizza low-sodium bacon pre-cooked turkey breast block of cheddar block of manchego hummus tzazkiki pesto smoked salmon berries chicken sausage fresh salmon organic ground beef organic ground turkey cheese tortellini bagels croissants english muffins tortillas shredded mexican cheese We have a family of four with two teen boys and go about once a month. I sometimes pick up clothes there too. Once in a while big things like a couch or grill or christmas tree. I tend to avoid their produce. I don't find it very good quality and we get a year-round CSA, so we don't need much extra. We easily make back our executive membership and can now shop during executive hours which is really awesome. |
Anonymous
| So you, your husband, and one kid? I wouldn't be a Costco member unless you have the storage space and desire to buy in bulk. |
Anonymous
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I have a handful of really specific favorites:
1) Kirkland's best lightly breaded chicken nuggets (frozen). It's real chicken (not mushed together byproduct). My kids like them and I also will heat them up and throw them on a salad for a quick lunch. 2) Kirkland Signature Coastal Cheddar Cheese. It is THE BEST cheddar cheese. Tastes expensive, but it is not. Great for entertaining or to have on hand. Long shelf life in the fridge. 3) Stuffed peppers in the prepared food section. I have a family of four (including two young kids, not teens) and it is not an obscene amount of food. Usually we'll have them for dinner with one or two leftover for lunch the following day. 4) Kirkland Dried Mango - My kids like these and the price is a fraction of what you pay elsewhere for dried mango. I also really like using their app for two day delivery. I use it to order the bulky things that would take up your entire cart in the store - toilet paper, paper towels, laundry detergent, etc. |
Anonymous
| You can cancel your membership for a refund if it’s not working for you. |
Anonymous
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Whatever Iranian diplomats would want that they won't be able to easily buy soon.
Apparently the Trump administration wants to make Costco great again. https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/05/middleeast/us-ban-iranians-shopping-costco-during-un-latam-intl "The movements of Iranian diplomats are severely limited in New York, but one proposal being floated would bar them from shopping at big, members-only wholesale stores like Costco and Sam’s Club without first receiving the express permission of the State Department." |
Anonymous
| Obviously not food related, but one of the best value propositions at Costco IME is glasses. Especially if you have kids who wear them. We are a family of 5, all in glasses, and the membership is worth it just for that alone. |
Anonymous
This might be true for a small family with time to shop for sales. But most of our Costco shopping isn't for packaged food. A typical Costco cart for us consists of cheese, meat, fish, butter, olive oil, maple syrup, coffee, olives, freshly baked bread, and produce. |
Anonymous
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Family of four, we go every two weeks. Cook a ton and eat a ton.
Organic chicken thighs Organic ground beef, pork, lamb Fresh buffalo mozzarella Provolone, chunk Parmigiano reggiano, shredded, box Dave’s multigrain bread Batteries Electric toothbrush and heads Toothpaste - sensodyne Mrs Meyers hand soap Milled soap French or Australian Contact lens solutions Drinks - sparkling water, Gatorade Kids snacks Spices Olive oil Honey, moms marmalade, kerrygold butter Rice - sushi rice, basmati Seaweed snacks Noosa yogurt They have started to carry popular Korean makeup products (!) Various Asian snacks, European chocolates especially at holiday season Fruits - raspberries, grapes, apples, golden kiwi, blueberries, strawberries, grapefruits, oranges Gas Gift cards (Uber) Swiffer Boxing tape Scissors Monitor, laptop (great return policy) ….I could go on |
Anonymous
| Their heavy whipping cream and big cafeteria size cans of crushed tomatoes or sauce are great deals. One big can for making a pot of sauce rather than opening 4-5 from the grocery store. |
Anonymous
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We were a family of 3 and now 2. Always over bought ('how could you not) and no longer go. They have some good stuff but who wants to store toilet paper for years.
Let's not talk about the large volume of frozen foods and meats that never left the freezer. Food just doesn't taste right after 6 months. Also, our yearning for some foods just changed. |
Anonymous
I am genuinely baffled by the people in this thread who talk about storing toilet paper for months or years. How infrequently do you use the washroom? We are a family of three, one of us is outside the home during the daytime (and thus using washrooms and TP elsewhere) five days a week, one of us works outside the home three days a week, and one of us is home most days all day. We go through a Costco pack of toilet paper every 6 weeks. 3 bathrooms in the home. |