Making Costco Work for You

It's easy to spend a whole lot of money at Costco.  Costco is set up, so you will spend money.  It is a business and business's exist to fill a need.  Your need.  Don't ever forget that.

I watched a documentary on Costco and they talked about where money is really made.  They confirmed that very little profit is actually made on food.  Of course if you're buying everything on your grocery list there, sheer quantity will drive your budget through the roof..  Plus there's fabulous produce, if you can eat it all and the extras, those things that make you squeal and impulse buy, the true source of profit for Costco.  So here we go, this mother's tips on how to make shopping at Costco work for you.

1. Get to know your store, know the brands, know what you normally use, know what works in your family, be familiar with what's there.  This helps you from being overwhelmed and having those, oh my gosh, I spent a couple hundred more then I meant to, moments.

2. Once you have a running list of what you use, brands you're familiar with, make sure you check out the coupons on every mailing.  Then make a list of what you normally use that's on sale.  Some of the rebates are instant, some require a coupon, but you have to write it all down so you can keep track.

Most of the coupons and rebates happen on a fairly regular basis, there are items you can always purchase on sale, if you check every flyer for sales.  A lot of household products you may get on sale at least half the time or more.  The savings really add up.

3. When you have your list, stick to it.  Yes samples are fun, my husband loves them but samples are the way to fuel impulse buying.  If you're running a strict budget, you cannot fall prey to impulse buys.  So if you must sample, remember your grocery lists is your key to staying in budget.

4. No matter what the savings, it's not a savings if you have to throw most of something away.  So tread lightly when buying perishables.  I buy perishables I can freeze, sandwich meat, chicken breasts, wholly guacamole single snack sizes. I buy some produce but only stuff I know my family will eat before it goes bad.  Also think of sizes, the apples are wonderful but it's not cost effective for me to buy a dozen huge apples when little apples from another store are most cost effective for my family.

You will make mistakes and stuff will get thrown out but learn.  I only buy the huge spring mix of salad in the summer when my family will eat salad as a meal.  Otherwise, it's just me and it's way to much. 

5. If you have a neighbor, family or friend that you can split produce with, do so!  It's a great way to alleviate the problem of stuff going bad.

6. If distance between the store and home isn't an issue, step away from impulse buy and take a few hours,  or a few days if you can and see if there's money in your budget to buy it.  I like to walk through the Christmas stuff half a dozen different times before deciding what to buy.

If distance is an issue, have a dollar figure in your head before hand so you already know what you can spend on extras, do a walk through the fun stuff, then do your regular shopping and then go back and look again.  This helps take the impulse out of your buy and gives you a time to think if it's really something that's needed and/or if it's worth the cost with whatever budget constraints you may have..

My trip today, armed with my list of instant rebates of our normal needs plus my coupons and my overall list led to enough savings, the cashier gasped after scanning my coupons.  With some preparation, anyone can have a good Costco trip.