Costco has a reputation for being a money saver, and it can be, but only if you know how to shop it the right way. Walk in without a plan and it is just as easy to walk out having spent two hundred dollars more than you meant to.
Over the years of shopping Costco regularly, I have settled into a handful of habits that consistently keep more money in my pocket. Here are the seven strategies I use every single time I go.
1. Check the Costco Coupon Book Before You Shop
Before you even head to the store, pull up the current Costco coupon book. These come out monthly and cover everything from pantry staples to electronics to seasonal items. If something you already buy regularly happens to be on sale, that is your cue to stock up.
Costco’s markdowns tend to be deep, so timing a bigger purchase to line up with the coupon book can mean real savings on things you were going to buy anyway. The key is checking it ahead of time rather than discovering the deals after you have already loaded your cart.
2. Shop With a List
Costco is basically built for impulse buying. The warehouse layout, the free samples, the pallets of tempting seasonal items near the entrance, it is all designed to get you to buy more than you planned. A shopping list is your best defense.
Before you leave the house, write down exactly what you need. In my case, I have a list on my iphone notes app that I use as a checklist to help me stay on track.
When you stick to it, you naturally filter out a lot of the “ooh that looks good” purchases that add up fast. This does not mean you can never grab something unplanned, it just means you are making that choice on purpose instead of doing a lot of impulse buys.
3. Compare Price Per Ounce or Per Unit, Not Just the Total Price
This is one of the most overlooked money-saving habits at Costco. Bulk does not automatically mean cheaper. Costco prices its shelf tags with the unit price listed, usually in smaller print, and that number is the one that actually matters.
A giant jug of something might look like a deal at first glance, but once you break it down per ounce or per unit, a smaller size or even a different brand can sometimes come out ahead. Get in the habit of glancing at that unit price before you toss anything in the cart.
4. Buy Kirkland Signature Whenever You Can
Costco’s in-house brand, Kirkland Signature, is one of the best ways to save without sacrificing quality. Many Kirkland products are made by the same manufacturers as the name brand versions, just packaged and priced differently.
From paper towels to olive oil to vitamins, Kirkland products consistently perform just as well as their branded counterparts, often for noticeably less money. If you have not tried the Kirkland version of something you normally buy, it is worth testing out on your next trip.
I personally always buy the Kirkland uncured deli ham, beef hot dogs and olive oil. The quality is great it saves me money. Check out my list of Kirkland items that I always buy.
5. Freeze the Extras
Buying in bulk only saves you money if you actually use what you buy before it goes bad. That is where your freezer becomes your best friend. Meat, bread, cheese, and even prepared meals all freeze well, so there is no reason to let a bulk purchase go to waste in the back of your fridge.
Portion things out as soon as you get home, label them, and toss them in the freezer. This one habit alone can be the difference between bulk shopping actually saving you money and bulk shopping just creating expensive waste.
6. Watch for Prices Ending in .97
This is a bit of insider knowledge that a lot of shoppers do not know. At Costco, a price ending in .97 is usually a signal that the item has been marked down, often because it is being discontinued or cleared out.
If you spot a .97 price on something you use regularly, it is worth grabbing extra while it lasts, because that pricing pattern tends to mean the deal will not be around much longer. Keep an eye out for it as you walk the aisles.
7. Do Not Buy Something Just Because It Is a “Great Deal”
This last one might be the most important, and it is the easiest to forget in the moment. A great price on something you were never going to buy is not a saving, it is spending. Costco is full of good deals, but a deal only saves you money if it is a purchase you were already going to make.
If you find yourself justifying a cart addition purely because the price looks good, pause and ask whether you actually needed it in the first place. That single question can save you more money than any coupon or markdown ever will.
8. Never Shop Hungry
This sounds simple, but it makes a bigger difference than most people expect. Walking into Costco hungry means every sample table looks irresistible and every prepared food item in the case suddenly feels like a must-have.
A full stomach keeps you thinking clearly and sticking to your list, while an empty one turns the whole warehouse into a temptation. Eat something before you go, even if it is just a quick snack on the way out the door.
9. Buy Pantry Staples When They Are on Sale
Items like rice, pasta, canned goods, oil, and other shelf-stable staples do not go bad quickly, which makes them perfect candidates for stocking up when the price is right.
If you already know your family goes through a staple regularly and you see it discounted, that is the time to buy more than you need for just this week. You are essentially locking in today’s lower price for months of future use, and it is one of the lowest-risk ways to save at Costco.
10. Skip Bulk Items Your Family Will Not Finish
Not everything at Costco is a good deal for your household, even if the price per unit looks great. If your family will not realistically finish a bulk item before it expires or before everyone gets tired of it, it is not actually saving you anything.
Food waste and clutter cancel out any discount you got at checkout. Before adding an oversized item to your cart, think honestly about whether you will use all of it, not just whether the price looks good.
11. Use Your Executive Membership Rewards if They Make Financial Sense
If you have an Executive Membership, make sure you are actually using the two percent reward it earns on qualifying purchases. For heavy Costco shoppers like me, I get a few hundred dollars in cash back every year and it pays for my Costco executive membership fee.
That said, the upgrade only makes sense if your annual spending is high enough to make the math work in your favor, so it is worth doing a quick calculation before assuming the Executive tier is automatically the better choice for your household.
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