Other National Chain Store ~ Question: Costco ~ What do you buy...

[tn20]

I live over an hour from a Costco and don't have a membership, but my mom does and I go there with her about once a year. Last time I was there, I bought Mango Salsa and Hummus (both in refridgerated section). OH MY GOSH- they are both SOOO good! When I ran out of things to dip in them, I just ate it off a spoon... yum!

I'm going to have to see if my mom wants to go to Costco sometime soon...

[thriftycj]

there's a costco a block and a half from me. I let my membership lapse in March, but will probablyl re-up once summer is over and the farmer's market is no longer going.

Things I always would get there:

Allergy meds
Milk (Aldi and save-a-lot are now competitive, as is grocery store on Roberts milk with $.50/1 q that doubles)
Spinach (best deal around)
Sugar snap peas
tomatoes (not the best price, but in the winter, the only place to get a tomato that tastes like a tomato)
bottled water
soda (winter only)
laughing cow cheese (around $2/wheel)
Lean cuisines (in January when they have the blue boxes)
balsamic vinegar
nuts
fruit leathers


I'm trying to eat much less processed food now, and my goal for the year is to eat more locally grown food, so I get most of my produce at the farmer's market, and grains at whole foods, where bulk whole grains are very affordable (brown rice, whole wheat couscous, quinoa, etc.), as is whole wheat pasta.

i'll reup at some point... probably when my mom comes to visit and wants to go buy a bunch of stuff!

[Brandibean]

I buy cat food, laundry detergent, trash bags and aluminum foil because those things are cheapest there. I find that I can get TP and paper towels cheaper at WalMart with Qs.

I also buy frozen fish, Mahi Mahi and Salmon because the price per pound is excellent and they are vacuum sealed individually, so there's no freezer burn.

I also buy their muffins because they're yummy.

[wealthybarney]

Gas, organic milk, 5 dozen eggs, trash bags, frozen blueberries & strawberries off season, dried blueberries & cherries for lunches, some vitamins, frigo 2# Mozzarella, new books, socks, pans, etc. We dislike the taste of their hamburger. The only meat we ever buy there is the whole Filet Mignon at Christmas.

[girlsgalore]

Stretch Island fruit leathers - they end up being $.25 each.
The only time I have ever found these at the same price was at Trader Joe's a long time ago, before they stopped carrying them.

Kirkland Dish Detergent
Olive Oil

It's funny to think about the last time I paid full price for razor refills. I bought them at Costco. DH and I were both using the Fusion and I paid $35 for a 18 count refill pack. That was 2 years ago. The cost of razor blades is what motivated me to start couponing to begin with. I haven't had to pay for a razor since then.

We have bought the whole filet mignon as well a couple of times. That is a special treat, like when that tax refund comes in. It is definitely most affordable at Costco.

[jesuisprecieux]

Birthday cakes!!! They are the BEST and by far the cheapest! I don't care much for the designs and my kiddos are more into the disney characters(which they don't offer) so I pick the cake with the border/color that I like and ask them to leave the cake blank with only a happy birthday message and decorate the top myself. Works out wonderfully!

[catinhat]

Those are only offered online; they do not carry them in the store! :-)

Costco is definitely my favorite store.

[QUOTE=However, I was on the Costco website one day, and found out you could buy a coffin there. That was enough to keep me away from there forever![/QUOTE]

[villaluna]

I love Costco! I buy so many things there that end up being less (unless I can get it for free) than anywhere else. From car tires, to electronics, to small appliances, to wine, produce (when it's good, it's very good), extra virgin olive oil, pine nuts, allergy meds ($11.00 for a 300 day supply of the claritin generic--that is worth the membership to me!), paper products, pet food, cheese, hummus (holler!), etc. The list goes on; we have the upgraded membership which gives us a 2% rebate once a year; it has *always* (for 20 years) covered the cost of our membership. Also, I almost forgot! The meat, poultry and cheese are the lowest price for the highest quality. The meats, especially, are wonderful.

[thriftyrocks]

Kirkland brand rocks! Dog food is $23 bucks for 40 # of high quality stuff....and the cheese is terrific. It's also great for a terrific selection of gourmet foodie items which run much cheaper than our "boutique" food store here in Phx.

Ours carries Einstein Bros. Bagels $4.99 for a dozen! At their own store it's more than twice that!

I always buy kitchen appliances here too....and eye glasses and electronics....the list is massive....

Since couponing I don't buy cereal there anymore or razor blades ! But for booze and other stuff it is really a great store.

The pizza is pretty good too....just order it and pick it up. Huge and 10 bucks! Who can resist the hot dog or polish dog and coke for 1.50? We go on the weekends and do all the samples and finish up with dogs/drink for less than $5 for three of us! You can't beat it!

[foggierbard9]

We buy milk, fruit, marinated artichokes, and kirkland white tuna. We also bought our matress from the costco.com, knowing that they guarantee your satisfaction and will return anything if you are not happy gave me peace of mind when I was looking for a new matress. We paid half of what we would have paid if we bought it from the company that made the matress and when we had a problem with the air chamber in the matress they got us the repair part in 2 days.