Who doesn't love Costco? I'm not sure what percentage of you all have access to a Costco store, but there is a Costco in Santa Cruz, 15 minutes north of my house and it is loved by many. My husband has the business lifetime membership card (or something like that) and we have access to some good deals online. We also get a rebate at the end of the year depending on how much we spend. We have a construction business, so we try to get fixtures and other home building items there.
We started going to Costco years ago, as our family grew...and grew, until we had six children. So Costco was a great source for milk, bread, cereal, meat in bulk that we would split up and freeze. It definitely was a logical place for the staples as far as food goes.
Then, there's the fun part of Costco. The first thing that comes to my mind are the "free samples." You can nibble while you shop. Covid put an end to that. When my kids were little, Bennie would stop at Costco and pick up what we needed and come home. Now, that I only have two older teenage boys at home, we basically make it an "afternoon date" when we go to Costco together. I don't get all dressed up or anything, but we hit every isle of that big warehouse and load up the cart with not only groceries, but little gifts for ourselves, kids and our home. Bennie's wardrobe is pretty much all from Costco. Haha, it's a standing joke of ours. I seem to always find something for myself as well. iPhones, jewelry, vitamins, lotions, optometry (I get my glasses there too, 20% off), plants, cookware, furniture...Costco has it all.
But, you can't walk out that door without one of their hotdog and soda specials for $1.50. That's how we conclude our date to Costco. Since the pandemic, the indoor tables for sitting are no longer there, so we find a concrete spot against one of the pillars outside of the store and dine.
Life is good.
in answer to your rhetorical question posed in the first sentence, I don't love Costco. Costco and Sam's club never worked for us. We realized quickly that we did not save money or time shopping there, In 23 years of marriage we have not has a standalone freezer but for 2 years of that time (and for those 2 years it sat empty most of the time.) which would explain why we didn't do meal planning from it. The problem with bulk buying is the cost are comparitively cheaper than the name brands but are not cheaper than the non bulk store brands. Diapers (which many Costco and Sam Ckub members justify their membership with) are not cheaper than the store brand Walmart diapers which were not available at Sam's club. Finally we definitely bought much more things than were on our list as opposed to when we went to Aldi or Walmart. The best thing about costco is their sheet cakes and after we ended our subscription we have had friends buy those cakes for us for special occasions. The 2nd best thing is the coke and hotdog. I just found out from a coworker that you could go into our Costco without a membership if all your doing is getting a hotdog or something from the concession stand. My C post was about C.S. Lewis who like all people featured in my a to z posts this years was alive in 1921.
ReplyDeleteI hear you Home School Dad. We had to learn how to learn to practice restraint and buy only what we know we will use. I do the majority of grocery shopping at Safeway, but we do find Costco amusing. I guess we’re getting old. 😉
ReplyDeleteI've never been to a CostCo, so I have no opinion. But I have frequented Sam's Club many many many times and loved it for all the same reasons you listed. In Indianapolis, I had one less than a mile from my apartment. I was a regular guest.
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We love Costco too! We try to go there only when we need more than at least five items in bulk :) else our shopping is at Trader Joes and our local Indian grocery store..
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I love Costco, too! We live very close and can stop on our way home from work, etc. Our Costco is always packed but the employees do a good job of moving folks through the lines, etc. One of my favorite things is to stop and grab a rotisserie chicken and a bag of the kale salad mix. That makes a great dinner with leftovers!
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