If you’re a Facebook fan of Thrifty NW Mom, then you may remember I asked the question a few weeks ago on the Fan page about whether you feel a Costco membership is worth it if you’re a couponer. We definitely got a wide variety of responses, so I thought you guys would be interested in the Costco price list database that Heather from Queen Bee Coupons created. She lists out a large variety of the most commonly bought items from Costco & the total price & price per unit. This would be a great resource to print off & keep in your coupon binder/file to bring with you when you’re trying to decide which is the better deal for you – buying at the grocery store or Costco! Thanks Heather for taking the time to put together such a comprehensive resource!
{Her prices are based on the Lacey, WA Costco’s prices – so these may be regional prices – you’ll want to confirm with your store, especially if you live outside of the Northwest.}
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Just in case you did not know…you do not have to have a Costco membership to shop at Costco. Just go buy a gift card / costco cash and go buy what you need. If I remember correctly, you can just buy a $10.00 cash card, but spend well over that.
If you do not have a membership you cannot purchase a cash card, you would have to have someone else with a membership purchase it for you, and you can only pay cash and debit if you go over, no checks or amex
A Costco membership is definitely worth it for our family. In fact, we have the Executive Membership, which is $100/year, but the earned rebate we receive at the end of each year from that membership more than makes up for its extra $50 cost over the basic membership. I often joke that, if it weren’t for Costco, I wouldn’t be able to afford kids.
It’s a great savings for us for the following reasons:
* We can find a lot of the products & foods that we need there. They have a great selection of organic and healthier items.
* We like the quality of the lower-priced Kirkland brand items. I have major allergies, and a 100-count bottle of the Kirkland-brand version of Benadryl is less than $4.
* You can save a lot of money on toys, books, CDs, etc., which makes it a great place to get items for your own kids or other people (i.e. birthdays, holidays, etc.)
* We don’t have the time or inclination to clip coupons or go from store to store for sales.
* Their gasoline prices are consistently one of the lowest that we find.
It IS easy to go overboard at Costco. What helps us is to go with a list (since we already know which items they have) and avoid temptation purchases; know our prices, as there are a few items in which Costco is not necessarily the least expensive; use the coupon book they send to members (but avoid anything that we normally wouldn’t have purchased without a coupon); and remind ourselves that, just because something is a great deal there, it might still be out of our budget.
Besides, how can you beat the fact that Costco offers its employees decent wages/benefits (as opposed to some other retailers known for low prices but not for happy employees) and has an outstanding $1.50 all-beef hot dog & drink combo?
Jenny, you are right Costco has amazing benefits. A friend of mine gets 5 weeks paid vacation per year (he is a cashier).
I shop at Costco’s at least once a week and I regularly spend over $300.00 per visit. I own a small cafe in SE Idaho with it has been said the best burgers and fries in the try county area. I defiantly need the best prices I can get and have been thus far very satisfied with Costco; however there some items that I cannot get at Costco’s. I sometimes shop at Sam’s Club, Winco’s and heaven forbid WalMart. Oh and by the way, every time I go to Costco always get the dog and drink. I love them so much so that I have actually featured them in one of our weekend specials. Kudos to the dog and bun.
If you’re ever in SE Idaho just north of Soda Springs (18 miles), come and see us we love your dog. The Cafe.
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