Depends. It is just my DH and I and we don't need much in bulk, but the savings we got on petmeds alone paid for it. The savings on DH's Chobani yogurts probably pays for it too.

The gas is what makes it worthwhile for the two of us. Otherwise, we probably would just shop at Aldi, Lidl, and Walmart.

Truth be told, we are secretly sharing it with all four young adult kids (who have their own households) and I often buy my mom’s Depends there 6-8 boxes at a time.

I find the chickens decent enough that I will buy them for a weekday dinner.

You can always get a membership, try it out and see if it still works for you. Costco will refund your membership fee if you’re not happy with it at anytime during the year.

Yes, depending on what non-food items you get. I get all my vitamins, supplements, Contact solution, a lot of my skincare and sunscreen, and buy my contact lenses (and have bought glasses) through them. If you’re ever going to buy electronics or anything for your home (my last mattress set was from Costco), flowers/plants for your garden in summer you will easily see value.

We have Costco membership but don’t go often, and every time we go it’s hundreds of dollars, so now only DH goes. We avoid weekend since it’s too crowded, will waste a lot of time shopping and also waiting in line. Their vegetable/fruits are not that fresh, especially in summer, and like people said it’s getting more expensive ( just the olive oil increased price from $39 to $49). Like people suggested if you really need something order from Instacart, but the price is like you pay 20% more than store price, plus tipping for delivery.

It’s worth it.
Just freeze some of the things.

Costco is never worth it.

I fly southwest a decent amount, so for me the membership pays for itself with the discounted southwest gift cards. ($450 for a $500 card; occasionally they sell them for $430)

The other time I use the membership for birthday parties and entertaining. A Costco vegetable tray is $11 and at wegmans the same product is $30. So it’s pretty easy to get your money’s worth.

I live in a townhouse and I don’t have a walk in pantry, so I don’t do my day to day shopping at Costco because it just results in too many huge boxes and containers. But for things like organic berries, organic nuts - Costco is a huge savings!

I find Costco is a great deal when you compare truly comparable items. They carry a lot of high end product lines now. So, you can get a cheaper similar version elsewhere, but not the same exact item. Eg, the Kevin’s pre-made meals are cheaper at Costco than anywhere else, but you could certainly find some other brand that’s cheaper in general.

I've found kid snack foods for lunches are actually way cheaper elsewhere on sale because mainstream chains are always doing Buy One Get One on those types of items.

Not if you're driving 20 minutes...maybe if it's 10 minutes away.

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

Depends on the insurance you have. Mine are no cheaper at Costco and I don't want to brave costco just to get a prescription.

No. Your local grocery store even had excellent sales on paper towels, detergent, fruit, etc. just read the ads.

We're a family of 4 and didn't find it was worth it.

If you were within a 10 minute drive, maybe it would be worth it. But not if 20 minute away and going once every 6 weeks to stock up. We (family of 4) have been members for several years but only go once every 6-8 weeks. I regularly buy laundry detergent, toilet paper, paper towels, organic peanut butter, chickpeas, tomato sauce, and Cetaphil cleanser and lotion. Not everything I buy is cheaper than sales at grocery store but I like the convenience of stocking up on toilet paper, paper towels, etc so I can skip those rows at regular grocery. I used to buy more items but then ended up with expired food items in pantry, if you have a yard, Costco is great in the spring for plants, potting soil, etc

OTC meds, supplements, paper plates & plastic flatware. As mentioned already, eyeglasses.