cost(co) comparison shopping
There are several items we usually get at Costco, simply because the price beats anything else I can find. So, why do we use Costco instead of Sam’s or BJ’s? Well, we never have lived where there was a BJ’s close by and we’d rather support Costco over Sam’s. Costco is committed to its employees, paying them well, offering them outstanding benefits and as a result they have better staff and a considerably lower turnover rate, and it shows. Read this article: How Costco became the Anti-Wal-Mart. And, their prices are comparable, if not cheaper than Sam’s.
So, what do we regularly buy at Costco? For the most part, things I can’t find cheaper elsewhere. Here’s what we regularly buy:
- Kirkland bottled water (35-16.9 oz. bottles) - $4.59 - After a price comparison, we ditched the bottled water delivery service. Kirkland bottled water was the cheapest bottled spring water around.
- Kirkland’s adult dog lamb & rice dog food (40 lb. bag) - $18.99 - Kirkland dog food costs a fraction of the $35.00 we paid for a 40 lb. bag of Sensible Choice lamb & rice dog food and the quality is quite comparable.
- Parmesan cheese - $4.99/lb.
- Dubliner cheese - $4.99/lb.
- Feta cheese - $2.69/lb.
- active dry yeast (32 oz.) - $2.99 - Keeps a long time in the freezer.
- Crystal Light (makes 32 quarts) - $6.99
- Splenda packets (1000 count box) - $19.99
- lemon juice (2-24 oz. bottles) - $5.39 - Makes great lemonade!
- frozen blueberries (3 lb. bag) - $6.29 - with some plain yogurt, this tastes much better than pre-packaged flavored yogurts.
- pork tenderloin (2 tenderloins in a package) - $3.29/lb.
- boneless, skinless chicken breasts (12 breasts in a package) - $2.49/lb. - I’ve seen boneless, skinless chicken breasts cheaper (as low as $1.69/lb.), but only on special occasions. I really like the way Costco vacuum individually packs 2 breasts together for easy freezing and thawing (and great for camping).
- bananas (4 lbs.) - $1.30
- Kirkland brand whole bean coffee, roasted by Starbucks (2 lbs.) - $9.79 - In the grocery stores, most good coffee will run you $8.00/lb. This is an amazing deal.
- Mitchum deodorant (4-3.4 oz. containers) - $9.89
- Edge Fusion Gel (4-9.5 oz. containers) - $8.79
- Clear Care Contact Solution (2-12 fl. oz. containers) - $9.89
Some of these prices have gone up or down, so don’t hold me to them. With most warehouse club memberships, you have to weigh whether or not it’s worth the yearly membership fee when joining. For us, the savings in dog food pays for the membership. For others, the savings in eyeglasses is worth the membership fee. We’ve also managed to snag some amazing rental car discounts with our Costco membership card. As a whole, the meat prices at warehouse clubs beats almost any supermarket, unless it is a loss leader of the week.