We have priced food at grocery stores and Costco and our staples to buy at Costco:
1. Kerrygold butter
2. Cheerios
3. Olive Oil
4. Kirkland 100% pure maple syrup
5. Clothes that have a STAR by price
6. Organic grass fed ground beef
7. Kirkland toilet paper, paper towels, and trash bags
8. Frozen Blueberries and cut up berries and other fruit for smoothies

We don't buy: bread, produce, sunscreen, and anything that expires quickly. We realized we just don't use enough of it unless we have spefic purpose

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!

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.

Allergy meds
Olive oil
Toilet paper and paper towels (although these need more storage space)
Canned tuna
Cheese

We get fruit, pesto, hot smoked salmon, canned tuna, protein bars, and chia seeds. Also, the frozen spanakopita triangles are delicious but probably not very good for you.

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?

Paper towels and napkins
Bottled water (yes, I know we shouldn’t)
Prilosec - much cheaper and often goes on sale
Trash bags
Parchment paper
Dental floss

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.

Most of the time Costco travel has the best prices for rental cars

Groceries you normally buy at a grocery store.
No need to over think it.

Electronics, tires, gas, and vacations as needed.

Kirkland pesto. It freezes well right in the jar.

Croissants. Wrap them individually to freeze if needed.

Frozen tortellini or ravioli

Frozen fruit and veggies-whatever you typically eat

Snack food esp for school lunches—veggie straws, pretzels etc

Yogurt

If you drink wine, they have a good selection

Pajamas when they have them!

Look at the items that your family particularly uses a lot of.

What we buy at Costco
Oikos yogurt
Strawberries
Tide detergent
Butter
Meat of all sorts, but we break it up into smaller portions and freeze
Milk

berries
coffee
paper products
socks and underwear
snacks for school, protein bars/drinks for adults and teens
meat
cheese
eggs
butter
vegetables/salad greens
heat and serve meals
the stuffed peppers in the deli are really good
dog food
OTC medicine and vitamins
cerave and cetaphil products
sunscreen
pimple patches
windshield wipers
pens
sunglasses

Their frozen lasagna with sausage is great

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 an 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.)