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To date, I've only made one shopping trip to Costco. But based on that one shopping trip, I'm convinced that my future with Costco will be a bright one.
My first shopping trip consisted of everything from clothing, refrigerated and frozen food items, pantry staples and snacks, to cleaning supplies and paper products. While a detailed price comparison showed that Costco provided savings on a majority of the items (but not all!) that I purchased, five items, in particular, provided me with the biggest discounts when compared to my regular grocery store.
My top five deals
The five Costco items that I found provided me the biggest discounts, in descending order, were:
- 13-gallon trash bags
- Laundry detergent pods
- Dishwasher tabs
- Pecan halves
- Dryer sheets
Each of these products was Costco's Kirkland Signature brand.
Doing the math
To determine my savings, I calculated the per-unit price of each item I purchased at Costco and compared that to the per-unit cost of the comparable store-brand item from my regular grocery store (Meijer).
To do this, you simply take the item's price and divide by the number of units in the package. For example, for a 48-ounce jar of raw honey costing $12.99, you'd divide $12.99 by 48 to end up with $0.27 per unit (ounce).
Since Costco sells most items in bulk, you'll have to do one more step to determine your total savings per item. Once you figure out your per-unit cost from your regular grocery store, you'll have to multiply that by the number of units Costco provides. So, keeping our honey example, if I calculate I can get honey for $0.37 per ounce from my regular grocery store, I would multiply $0.37 times 48 to find out how much the same amount of honey would cost me there. In this case, my total is $17.76. So I save $4.77 by purchasing 48 ounces of honey from Costco.
While the raw honey at Costco is no doubt a good deal, it didn't even crack my top five list. See how the above calculations work out for my top five deals:
| Product | # of units | Per-unit cost: Costco/Meijer | Costco price | Meijer equivalent price | Total item savings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13-gallon trash bags | 200 bags | $0.084/ $0.18 | $16.79 | $36.00 | $19.21 |
| Laundry detergent pods* | 152 pods | $0.125/ $0.25 | $18.99 | $38 | $19.01 |
| Dishwasher tabs | 115 tabs | $0.10/ $0.226 | $11.49 | $25.99 | $14.50 |
| Pecan halves | 32 oz | $0.34/ $0.72 | $10.79 | $23.04 | $12.25 |
| Dryer sheets | 500 sheets | $0.02/ $0.39 | $9.99 | $19.50 | $9.51 |
If you total the final column in my table above, you'll see that these five items alone saved me $78.53 from just one purchase. My Costco basic Gold Star membership cost me a one-time fee of $60 for an entire year. So, I've more than covered my yearly membership cost with just five items from my (much longer) receipt.
Be cautious with bulk buys
You'll notice that these five items have something in common: they won't expire or go bad anytime soon. If you go to Costco and load up on bulk food items that expire before your household can consume them, then no matter how good a deal you got, you stand to lose money by having to throw away the excess product.
Similarly, don't buy a bunch of bulk items if you don't have anywhere to store them. Attics, garages, basements, and large pantries or closets are great for huge packages of paper towels, toilet paper, etc, that take up a lot of space. But you need to be more careful if you lack those types of storage spaces in your home or if you're buying items that require freezing or refrigeration.
Preparation is key
You'll get the best value from your Costco buys if you head out prepared. Have a list of items you need, don't succumb to impulse purchases, and have a plan for where you'll store your items once you get them home.
There is undeniably a lot of value to be had by shopping at Costco, especially if you strategize your purchases. And reaping the savings that Costco products offer provides the opportunity to leave more cash in your checking account each month, and less need for trips to your regular grocery store.
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