Costco Membership: Is it worth it? Does it save money?

I am sure most of you shop at Costco.

Are you using your Costco membership to the best of your ability?

You are lucky if you live close to Costco store. 

If there are things you always buy or use, you can get at a cheaper price.

If you have a dog, the savings on dog food more than pays for the annual membership.

The cost of Tires, Eye glasses and car rental is great through them.

Rental cars are often 50% off from Expedia.

Mortgage is cheaper through Costco.

Travel is cheaper through them.

The regular and premium gas is cheaper than the nearest gas station.

You don’t need a membership to buy liquor or pharmacy.

You can have a friend buy you a Costco gift card and use that to check inside the store to buy anything you like.

The return policy is crazy good. You can return Electronics up to 90 days but look it up to make sure once. They do not need a receipt as they can look from your membership purchases. 

There could some disadvantages too if you don’t plan well.

Lots of things are packaged too large. If your family is very small, you may end up wasting stuff you bought as you may not consume everything you bought.

Also, the more you have of something, the more you use. There by, spending more than you should.

You should plan on buying only what you need and will use completely.

If you do not want to take their membership, once in a while, you can go with a friend who has a card for a particular item.

You have to be careful not to impulse buy at Costco because you’re getting “a great deal” and end up paying a lot of money and buy things you may not use fully.

Costco executive membership costs around $120, double the regular membership, but gives 2% cash back.

They also have a credit card and the extended warranty offered by their Costco Visa is great.

You can potentially save a lot of money in the long term if you buy in bulk for nonperishable items and use them completely.

Costco now delivers fresh groceries in some areas in less than one hour.

Gas prices could be cheaper than everywhere else, plus they give you an additional 15 cents back per gallon rebate for in store use.

You can save more on gas if you have a visa card from some other company which pays 4-5% cash back for gas.

In the weekends, there are several marketing people from other products who give samples of food. It is a great entertainment for young kids.

You don’t need a membership to shop at Costco if you have a friend who will buy you Costco Cash/gift cards. You can go in and buy what you need. This helps those who do not shop much at Costco due to living far away from the store. 

If you sign up for the executive membership ~$120 with the Costco Visa credit card, you may receive a $60 gift card.

If you are vacationing in Mexico, you can get the Costco membership there. It is around $25 and is accepted worldwide.

What do you think about Costco? We like Costco membership. 

 

Difference between Costco and Sams club membership? Which one is better?

It is more about which one is closer to you.

Costco is expensive but has good quality stuff, Sams is cheaper and less crowded.

Costco is known for High Quality at Low Price, Sams club is known for Mid-Quality at Low Price.

Membership of Sams club is cheaper.

Costco has good quality specially in clothes. Sams club on the other hand is good for food varieties.

Costco has more varieties in Organic products.

Sam’s club has “pickup in store” option and “self-checkout” counters.

Sam’s has more variety when it comes to food.

Costco for clothes as they carry S and Medium for most clothes which Sams doesn’t.

 

As always, please confirm if all the above is true at the time you plan to use Costco newly as rules can change anytime.