| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Canadian farmgirl |
Posted - Jun 11 2008 : 1:33:44 PM
I am contemplating getting a Costco membership, but the nearest one is a 45 minute drive from here. With the price of gas now, I'm wondering if it would be worth it.
Do you find you get a lot of value from your membership? What are the best deals?
Thanks,
Lori
Farmgirl Sister #183 |
| 11 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| marmieto12 |
Posted - Jun 14 2008 : 08:37:28 AM
I have both Sam's and Costco membership. Sam's is an overlap and we will use Costco only soon. When we move, we will have a memebership to whatever is the closest.
I prefer Costco as they have more organics, better non foods and electronics then Sam's. And a plus they issue several times a year coupons on many of the things I would normally purchase.
I shop one time a month and purchase all non foods, except laundry soap. I purchase that from Charlie's and I do not use softner and very little bleach or oxiclean.
I have a large family, but see it cost worthy if you have a smaller family too. All of my adult children shop there too, even the ones without children.
Laura;Dreaming of big girl farm...
Farmgirl # 148
http://lilsfamilyfarm.blogspot.com
Chapter http://justsimplythegirls.blogspot.com |
| bohemiangel |
Posted - Jun 12 2008 : 10:17:49 AM
My family has a sams. You just have to make sure you know the prices of things you will buy cause sometimes they arent a bargain!
**~~Farmgirl Sister #60~~**
"... to thine ownself be true."
http://ligonierfarmgirl.blogspot.com/
http://liggygirl.blogspot.com/
http://liggybitsandpieces.blogspot.com/
http://ligonierliving.blogspot.com/
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| Alee |
Posted - Jun 12 2008 : 09:17:15 AM
We are a family of 3, but Nora is only one so she doesn't consume a huge quantity of food...However, we love our Costco Membership. We go about 2-3 times a year and stock up. We buy lots of frozen veggies, all of the canned good that we need (peaches and such you can get in reusable glass jars!!) I like to buy TP there once a year and it lasts until the next year. We also buy all of our light bulbs there, meat (really great quality), and I like their produce as well. Last year I got two heads of butterleaf lettuce that were still growing in this nifty container. That was a fun and yummy purchase! :D
Our Costco must get all the good bananas! I love the bananas from there and usually get 2 big bunches. I have only had a few go dark on me, and I just freeze those for banana bread anyway :D
The big savings for us is in the big bags of flour, rice, sugar, salt, spices, yeast etc. A 20 ounce bottle of real vanilla for $16! You can't beat that!
You can also get some pretty decent buys on clothing, vitamins, and other things there. We use cloth diapers, but if you must by disposable diapers- theirs are gentle to the bum and cheaper than the main stores.
We usually buy between 1-2 cart loads ($300-$500) and then puzzle on how to fit it all in the car! *LOL* I am so glad that there will be a Costco closer when we move so we can get gas there. They are usually about 5-10 cents cheaper per gallon and that is starting to add up.
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
Please come visit Nora and me on our new blog:
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com |
| MarySueK |
Posted - Jun 12 2008 : 08:49:24 AM
If you have a deep freeze and a lot of people to feed, I think it might be worth it. I have 2 teen-age boys who eat about 5 meals a day, so I keep some frozen things that they can microwave for their between meal snacks (what would be a full meal for normal people. Must be nice to have that metabolism!)like chicken and rice bowls, Hot Pockets, etc. In the summer I get the big bags of mixed frozen fruit to make smoothies (add whatever else we have around plus yogurt.) The chicken that comes divided into smaller portions - a couple of breasts, several thighs or drumsticks - is kind of nice as I freeze them and then just thaw out however much we're going to use. I also like their Tillamook cheddar in the big loaves -a lot cheaper than the regular stores. BUT if I didn't have an extra freezer I don't know whether it would be so great. I get the big sizes of laundry and dish soap, canned chili and soup (for the snack boys!) too. We have bought a couple of sets of tires there - a couple of times a year they will have a good deal on them. I guess see if you can get a day pass, bring a notebook and see what you normally buy and see if it is worthwhile. It is easy to get stuff you didn't intend to. One good thing at Costco is the cafeteria - you can eat lunch very inexpensively.
Sue in Richland WA
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| rockinhorse |
Posted - Jun 11 2008 : 10:46:46 PM
I love my costco membership. I live about 45-1hr away and it sure is worth it. I litterally can buy a month at a time then freeze my meals indevidually and it makes meal planning easier, and the money that I save over all is worth the trip in gas.. I do spend more than I sould if I dont go in with a specific list so that is important when shopping at a bulk sale plece. have fun ladies and hay aunt jenny ist good to see ya again.. sunny and hot in california..
Robin Corbin
Happiness must be grown in one's own garden! |
| sleepless reader |
Posted - Jun 11 2008 : 8:01:21 PM
We have one and it's greatfor certain things. The gas usually is cheaper too. We are debating about keeping it as the price has gone up. They are carrying more organic stuff, and even some MaryJane's stuff (I think just on-line). I do a big shopping once a month, so the big sizes work for us. I fill in the fresh fruits and veggies weekly.
Sharon
Farmgirl Sister #74
Life is messy. Wear your apron! |
| Aunt Jenny |
Posted - Jun 11 2008 : 7:26:23 PM
I do have a Costco membership this year as sort of an experiment to see if it is worth it for us..it is and hour and 1/2 away in Provo. I have used it three times now since January for big shopping trips and will be going this next Monday again...it has been nice to be able to go. I do buy alot in bulk and feed 6 big eaters so we do use alot too. I do find that some things arn't a huge better deal..like pet food for instance..but gosh some other things make up for it..like cheese. I do most all of my shopping local except those few trips to Provo like that..and I do find things that that I can't get here in the boonies...but we will see at the end of the year if it has been worth it. I don't buy meat there since we buy all our meat locally.
Jenny in Utah
Proud Farmgirl sister #24
Inside me there is a skinny woman crying to get out...but I can usually shut her up with cookies
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ visit my little online shop at www.auntjenny.etsy.com |
| elphie0503 |
Posted - Jun 11 2008 : 4:42:16 PM
I don't have a Costco membership, but I have a Sam's Club membership...WalMart's version...I love it...we buy bulk in TP, spices, non-perishables, and we even save roughly .3-.5 cents on gas--so we fill er up while we're there...I like Sam's even better than WalMart...I know that they are the same company, but Sam's always seems to have better selection and customer service. See if Costco has a day pass--that is how we got our Sam's membership. Check their website--you should be able to just print it out, and if you like it and believe that you will shop there often then go for it!
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort~~Albright
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| La Patite Ferme |
Posted - Jun 11 2008 : 3:04:11 PM
Our Costco is on the way to and from DD's school so that is helpful.
I primarily buy gas and with the 3% rebate I get I think it's worth it. Since we are just a house of 2 so many things are just too much. Anything fresh goes bad before we can finish it. Although, I can get 6 heads of lettuce for less that an 3 pack at the grocery. I found some of the same produce problems as other's noted. So now I just buy non-parishables and laundry detergent. I try to make a big trip a few times a year, but gas is every week or so. |
| Ronna |
Posted - Jun 11 2008 : 2:29:26 PM
Savings on paper goods is usually better than on sale with coupons here. Big purchases, as Diane said, also. I won't buy Costco bananas, they never ripen without rotting..think they're kept too cold. Had a less than wonderful experience yesterday with the pharmacy. Took them 1 1/2 hours to fill an rx and then had to wait for them to run the ins, though they took that info when I came in. Ended up nearly $16 and I get the exact same generic antibiotic for less than $3 at Sams. For that difference, I reclaimed my rx and will to to Walmart or Sams with it.
Much of the produce is from out of the country at most stores here, so I do check labels and boxes before buying. Farmers Markets are just starting in Reno. I got 18 oz containers of blackberries from CA for $2.99 each yesterday, that's a very good price. Out of 3, only had 6 berries past the prime that went into the compost. Usually have much more, even with checking the bottoms and the dates.
You can go into the store with a one day free pass from the desk and if you decide to buy anything without joining, I believe they add 10% to the cost. I On small appliances, there's usually some bonus added which makes the price very good. Most staples I buy in bulk are considerably worth the expense of the membership. |
| DaisyFarm |
Posted - Jun 11 2008 : 1:54:44 PM
I would say it depends on how many people you feed and if you have any major purchases you're contemplating. I would get a membership if I needed any electronics or major appliances, purely because of Costco's return policy. But for food shopping, I just spend too much there which is exactly what they count on. Most everything is in large sizes or caselots, and their produce is almost exclusively from China or Mexico...nothing local at all. I will say though, that the meat and fish they sell at our store here is of superb quality.
Di
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