Costco membership worth for a single guy?

[KillerCharlie]

I buy all my produce in smaller quantities at grocery stores. I don't buy much premade or processed food, but I guess I could buy meat at Costco and other home/kitchen supplies.

Do you think I'd make up the $50 membership fee by shopping there?

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

Yup. I am single as well and it is worth it. Even if I ONLY buy milk it pays for the membership. The only regular items I buy are meat and milk.

 

[middlehead]

No Costco near me, but I've not-bothered getting a Sam'ss Club membership for the same reason. It's not feasible for me to buy groceries in bulk and I don't think that I buy enough of other things to balance out the membership fee.

 

[Special K]

I'm also a single guy and I calculated that I wouldn't be able to recoup the $50 membership fee. I suppose it depends on what you buy though. A lot of the stuff I like to eat either wasn't available at Costco, or Costco only carried the "name" brand, which was more expensive than the store brand I could get elsewhere. The rest of the stuff I just don't use often enough to take advantage of their bulk quantities and pricing.

For instance, I buy a lot of boneless, skinless chicken breasts and ground beef. I can buy these items cheaper at WalMart than I can at Costco. I also buy oats at WalMart, and Costco only carries Quaker Oats, which are more expensive than the store brand sold at WalMart.

 

[ArJuN]

Deleted

 

[Pliablemoose]

My Costco has the cheapest gas in town.

The first appliance you should buy is one of those food saver vacuum sealer devices Costco sells, I bought one a few months ago & am very impressed with it, shoud pay for itself in a few months.

Costco has great prices on their branded detergent etc, I just bought ~$90 worth of stuff today, all stuff I use nearly every day.

 

[Chaotic42]

I paid $40 for my Sam's membership and it's been worth it. Ziplock bags, laundry detergent, chicken, oatmeal, garbage bags. Good times. My cousin buys bulk steak and salmon. There's no telling how much he's saved.

 

[SneakyStuff]

Costco is amazing. Where else can you buy floor rugs, LCD televisions, tires for your car, freshly baked food, an entire set of furniture AND your milk and cereal?

 

[Pliablemoose]

I like the service, the employees are generally happy folk, well compensated by industry standards and it shows.

 

[Rockinacoustic]

Originally posted by: ArJuN
I'm a college student and I make use of it. 10 bucks for 240 pong cups.

I got that thinking I'd be set for the year. It only lasted until Thanksgiving.

 

[rezinn]

It's worth it. Some things I've saved money on are just about any drinks, bread, meats, fruit (thought I buy most fruit/vegetables elsewhere), some specific premade foods I like (flautas!), cheese, cereal, and their bakery goods if you can give away about 3/4 of them to your family or friends. If you like frozen food they've got a lot of that for pretty cheap too.

 

[krotchy]

Gas = 50 dollar savings fast as heck.
Return Policy = Gold
Food Quality > Supermarket.

I love my costco, sure most meals there I have to eat 2-3 times from one purchase, but the quality of meal I can make from Costco compared to a supermarket is night and day for the price.

 

[imported_Lothar]

Originally posted by: Pliablemoose
My Costco has the cheapest gas in town.

Yes, but you have to wait 20mins in line to get gas from there.

 

[imported_Lothar]

The 3 closest Costco stores in my area are 19-20 miles each going in 3 different directions.
Not worth the drive.

 

[idiotekniQues]

costco is worth it, you should use them for necessary items like paper towels, toilet paper, etc...

6 gallon jugs of poland spring comes out to less than a buck each. right there you save a few bucks vs grocery store prices.

you can also split the cost with a friend, as you get two cards. and then you can split items too.

 

[ArJuN]

Deleted

 

[randomlinh]

Originally posted by: krotchy
Food Quality > Supermarket.

ok, I have to disagree with you there. The quality of meat at costco is very iffy at best. At least around here. You'd be lucky to get something decent.. and I don't have the time to fight the massive crowds for it every day checking.

With that said, I wouldn't say it's worth it for a single person unless you have one w/ a gas station.. and if it doesn't have a 10 minute wait line all the time. You can get close enough with deals at target and such. But to me, it's not worth the headache dealing w/ the crowd.

 

[ponyo]

Originally posted by: randomlinh

Originally posted by: krotchy
Food Quality > Supermarket.

ok, I have to disagree with you there. The quality of meat at costco is very iffy at best. At least around here. You'd be lucky to get something decent.. and I don't have the time to fight the massive crowds for it every day checking.

Where do you see better quality of meat at the price offered by the warehouse clubs like Costco, Sams, and BJs? Supermarkets like Kroger, Publix, etc don't even come close. Whole Foods has just as good or better quality than Costco but the meats are more expensive.

 

[LS21]

i dont think the savings necessarily pay the membership back, but i do like buying stuff knowing that i can return them anytime. this is especially good for bigger things i buy there like big household things (fans, vacuum sealer, blenders, etc etc). same goes at REI where seemingly half of my salary goes.

 

[2soX]

I`ve bought Pergo flooring that did 1000 sq ft of space for 2k....not bad.

Flooring is not a common item in these places, but it saved me years of membership fees.

 

[jadinolf]

I'm single and have belonged to Price Club/Costco for 25 years.

Because it is 30 miles away and gas is selling for $4 plus, it probably isn't worth the $50 but I charge it to entertainment and move on.

I only go once a month.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Single and go to Costco's every other week. Worth it imho.

 

[Elstupido]

Single here also, I buy things like Folgers coffee, paper towels, trash bags, dog food, and non perishable goods. Their frozen fast food is killer. Their fresh meats and produce don't work for me because they are perishable, unless you want to freeze a lot. Would probably go bad any way in my case, for such bulk items.

Not to mention the gas, optical, tires, clothing, and car and home insurance. I have an executive mebership which takes a 1% discount on hard goods, not gas though. I bought two sets of tires recently and with all my other purchases, my exec membership will be paid for and then some. With exec membership, I also have free towing for my car.

I love that place, and have been shopping there for more than 10 years

 

[Elstupido]

Oops that is 2% off for exec membership.

 

[rezinn]

There is some good quality meat at costco but you have to pay for it. There is also junk that is cheap. It's still generally a decent value though because you have to buy it in bulk.