I, as Master Grocery Buyer in our home (hubby only buys them when I am on my deathbed etc as he has a tendency to come home with unnecessary items plus doesn't look at prices) have decided to let the C*stco membership go. For the past few years I avoided it as really don't like shopping there. Always busy, always the lineups. This year I went twice. Once to buy pork-chops and once to buy some flowers. Hubby went a couple times to buy vitamins. A big waste of our money! I don't want to buy 18 green peppers because that is the size of bag they come in. They used to be such a great deal but slowly over time their prices have been creeping up and up.
Through careful shopping and using the occasional coupon I have found much better deals to be had in our regular grocery stores, primarily by scouring the flyers each week and stocking up on loss leaders. I also don't have to buy an eight year supply of something I only want a one year supply of.
This decision is not as easy for every family but for the $61.60 it costs us to keep the basic membership ($55 plus 12% tax in British Columbia) per year I can stock up on lots of groceries elsewhere. So goodbye C*stco, its been nice knowing you but I have moved on to greener pastures.
Do you still maintain your wholesale club membership? If so do you use it enough to warrant it?
I don't have any store memberships. I never thought I bought enough to warrant the expense, and like you it didn't make sense to buy such large quantities for a family of two. It is also good to spend money at local stores. - Margy
ReplyDeleteOur local grocery stores seem to take pretty good care of their staff - something to consider when choosing where to shop. It seems if you have kids at home I likely would have made better use of it.
DeleteWe never bought a Costco membership. Instead we found a cash and carry restaurant supply that sells to the public. (It's a chain. There are several here in Western Washington, United Cash and Carry). They're a lot like Business Costco, but none of the ridiculous and tempting stuff, and no membership fee. From what I understand, the prices are similar, too. And not everything is in super large sizes. For instance, you can buy a single head of cabbage, or a 10 lb bag of potatoes, or a 5 lb bag of carrots.
ReplyDeleteWe will end up in Western Washington sometime in the next six months - thanks for the tip. I googled and found they have Splenda way cheaper than even Walmart USA!
DeleteWe said Adios to "Sam" last year. We had a premium membership ($100 a year). The only thing we miss is the $5.00 rotisserie chicken. It was the best!
ReplyDeleteHubby likes their sandwiches too - he always stopped and had one on the way out.
DeleteI only have had a membership when it was a free perk from an employer and even then I didn't shop there too often. I just couldn't stand the crowds and lines.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both. Christmas is nuts there - absolute craziness!
DeleteU go girl! Funny I was discussing this at work today (of course they find me really excentric...)
ReplyDeleteWe got the membership 17 years ago when we bought the house.
We were spending too much money for stuff we didn't need and it definitely created needs.
So we got rid of it 16 years ago and never looked back.
I don't need 2 gallons of salsa or 100 rolls of tp!
I do stockpile just differently than Costco would allow. Wow, 16 years!
DeleteWe love our "C" membership but it truly has paid for itself each year. For years, I thought it was the silliest thing to have to buy a card so I could have the privilege of shopping in a large store. About 6 years ago, our son asked for a membership for his Christmas gift, so we ventured into "C" and bought it for him, after a walk around. We left the store, got out to our car, then realized we could really benefit from a card ourselves. Went back in, bought an Executive membership and have reaped the rewards. Our main use is for our business, including our preschool. The paper goods, office supplies, furniture and cleaning supplies have saved us immensely. The food for us works: we love the unique offerings, the cooked chicken is a favorite with a salad on those nights that cooking is not an option! we now buy most of our books, all of our music and dvds, gifts, items for our home and the garden. Our prescriptions are so cheap and even our dog's phenobarb is filled there - costing us about 1/10th of the cost of getting it filled at the vet or the big pharmacy. I even bought my glasses there last year. Two pairs, one was free, with all the options. Incredible price, fast and love my frames!
ReplyDeleteBUT we are very careful shoppers and will NOT impulse buy. We set a budget, stick to our list, if we see something that would be perfect for a gift or we were looking for it and there it is, cheaper and in our budget, then we're good. We have gone numerous times and walked out without buying anything. Very disciplined, the two of us are.
I'm sure once we move out to Salt Spring, it's one thing we'll let go of. Taking the ferry to go to "C" just wouldn't make sense financially. I think I'd really miss it. But it would be a different lifestyle there for us and that would be part of it, to let go.
Our office supply requirements are so specific unfortunately we cannot get them at our Costco. I have never filled a prescription there though. Wow, that is a huge savings!
DeleteYep, we have an executive membership, & typically get about $350 back/year (so, net of $250 rebate after the membership fee).
ReplyDeleteHere's a typical weekly shopping list for us:
-Organic eggs
-Bananas (x2)
-English cucumber
-Tomatoes
-Lettuce
-Apples
-Pears
-Kiwi (every other week or so)
-Pineapple
-Melon
-Other seasonal produce
-And, any dairy that we're out of (cottage cheese, milk, etc) or pantry supplies
Now, we could certainly find some of these items for less, but overall, given that our list remains the same each week, Costco is cheaper by far. We eat a large volume of produce, which makes it worth it. I have tried to get the husband to eat more seasonal produce (i.e. no kiwi & pineapple in winter), but there's no changing his mind. The list of "required" produce to keep in the house at any given time is not changing.
Given our schedule, I prefer to go to one store, & on the whole (averaged over time), it's cheaper for us.
But, if it were just the two of us, I certainly wouldn't get value out of a membership.
You certainly make use of your membership! US Costco is quite a bit better than Canadian Costco though, if we had the office supplies for business that USA does I would still maintain it. You have a family, it seems families definitely make better use than just the two of us.
DeleteBeing a household of one person, I don't purchase a membership to Costco, but share one with my daughter. She has a growing family so buying in bulk is a money saver for her. I don't actually pay her cash for my part of the membership, I pay in home baked goodies, cookies, muffins, etc. I used Costco once last year to buy my eyeglasses which were a very good price there. :)
ReplyDeleteSharing is a great idea. If I could get the cost down I probably still would go there occasionally. They do have great flowers!
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