The following is a guest post from my friend Kelly at Kansas City Mamas. I love that she gives a different perspective for shopping at warehouse stores. I gave up my Sam’s Club membership almost 2 years ago. There are things I miss about it, but for the most part I can get our groceries cheaper at regular grocery stores after coupons and sales.
I love Costco.
So if you were looking for a post bashing Costco and warehouse clubs in general, this isn’t it.
I used to be a Costco addict. Every month I would create a list, walk through every aisle, try different samples, buy something that looked cool, and spend $350.00.
Enter January 2009 when I learned about couponing and strategic shopping.
And the shock when I realized I was overpaying on many different items at Costco. And then I began wondering, “Should I keep my Costco membership? Is Costco worth it?”
And my answer was, “Depends.”
(I know. So committal, right?)
Truth is justifying your Costco membership is about as personal as justifying your every-six-week hair appointment. You don’t need it, you could get along with out it, but you really don’t want to see what that would feel like.
There are many things I love about Costco than can not be accounted for on paper. I love their big carts. Their big parking spots. And their friendly staff.
However, after mastering my price book and tracking the sales cycle of most items, I’ve found that 80% of groceries, health & beauty, and cleaning supplies sold at Costco can be purchased for less at a regular store on sale with a coupon.
And I’ve known many fellow couponers, who after a year of couponing, have let their warehouse memberships expire because they could no longer justify the $50 per year membership cost. The reason they couldn’t justify the cost – the items bought for their family were usually cheaper at a regular grocery store on sale after using a coupon.
So what about me? I continue to be a proud Costco Carrying Card Member.
There are enough things our family purchases at Costco to make the membership worth the expense. (In fact I even have a Kansas City Mamas Top 15 Costco Deals and a Items That Aren’t A Deal At Costco list.)
I wish I could say there is a definite “Is Costco Worth It?“ answer, but for each family the answer will be different. My advice, get your price book up to date and track your grocery spending. In about 60-days you will see if the $50 Costco Membership is worth it.
What about you? Do you have a warehouse membership? What things do you like to buy? Could you live without it?
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I am a pretty serious couponer as well, but I keep my Sam’s Club membership for those items that you normally don’t get coupons for. My cat litter, produce, and seafood pricing at Sam’s is almost unbeatable.
I agree that most grocery and toiletry items can be purchased cheaper at your local food and drug stores. But Costco has a great tire center and when you buy your tires there, they rotate them free for the life of those tires. Hard to beat their tire prices. Also, some of their produce is fantastic as well as the crabmeat…can’t get a better deal there. Also, things like software, electronics and kitchen gadgets can be a great deal there. If you don’t like it, Costco will take anything back. And don’t forget you can buy online and most of the time shipping is free. We purchased a gorgeous leather sectional online when they marked it $500 off and got the white glove delivery service included in the price!
Yes, at least for us. I buy my bread flour, yeast, butter, cheese there are a great savings compared to a regular grocery store.
I am a member of Sam’s Club; I buy my prescriptions there for a lot cheaper than I can get them at Walgreens. I mainly like them for the low wait time.
Sam’s is also a great place to get designer clothes, as well as awesome specialty items. It’s also a great deal for gas. I agree you can get cheaper groceries elsewhere but they do have great deals in other areas!