Costco. I was introduced to the phenomenon by my overly enthusiastic sister. Ever noticed how people who go to Costco are extremely enthusiastic about it, to the point of being tempted to say "calm down now," because really how great can it be? I mean really, it's a store. A shop. For groceries.
Then I went.
Okay, so now I get it.
Costco provides some of our healthy snack options and meal/snack ingredients, made in countries that have food regulations, at a great saving of both time and money. For me it's not only all about the savings. But mind you there are great savings to be had.
Overall we spend a lot on food. For example at the moment we spend more than $10 a day on fruit and $7 every two days on yogurt, and these are minor items. I know much has been said on the topic of expense involved in providing healthy food. I personally find it very expensive. It would be cheaper to provide mass produced bags of chips or a packet of biscuits, compared with the price of fruit. There are lots of ways to make healthy options cheaper, but so far all the ones I've found require time. Time I simply don't have during the school term. I'm constantly battling time vs money to come up with reasonably priced healthy options. Pinterest is certainly my friendly helper in this regard, but so is Costco. Making some of our ingredients cheaper, really does help on the whole.
The prices are great. Mostly. There are some amazing specials, BUT some things are almost the same price as they would be at the local grocery store when on special, so would not really be worth the trip if only in search of savings. You could do your research before going, but for me, I buy and then my lovely sister compares later. It has never cost me more for any item (adjusted for quantity,) but some items have worked out to be the same price, especially if the item was on a great special at the local store. Make sure you are considering quantities when looking at prices. For example, it may seem a lot to pay $9.89 for Craisins. BUT when you consider that the bag is 1.36kg, and Craisins cost $4.46 for 170g at Coles, the savings are pretty clear.
Just make sure when purchasing that you only buy what you will actually use before the used by date. This isn't something I really have to worry about, but with fewer family members I would be taking this into consideration.
How much do I save?
When I go to Costco I do a massive shop. Almost every time I go (once a term during the holidays) I spend $1000, and generally save $500 off regular prices. And that is just off the items that there is an easy to find comparison item. Many items, such as organic cotton pj's, are from brands not sold in Australia (rather USA). This total saving doesn't take into account this type of saving, which can be substantial. It also doesn't include savings made on items I hadn't bothered to find alternate prices on, such as swimming goggles or underwear or a large packet of Sharpies.
My other big reasons to shop at Costco
One benefit of doing the massive shop (with great trolleys that can handle it!) is that we have all the items purchased that we will need throughout the term. Less trips to the shops during the week, and if we do go, we are only buying perishables such as milk, dairy items, meat, bread, fruit and veg. I can grab some of these things at the local corner store, green grocers, or butchers, supporting small local businesses. If doing a regular shop, I just don't do this. It is also a great deal more manageable and time efficient. No looking through or walking down isles every few days. I didn't realise what a blessing this was until part way through the previous term. I didn't do a Costco shop before there start of Term One and it really affected the running of our household. I'll never forget the look on Jack's face, coming upstairs from our storage room, exclaiming that we had no toilet paper on the Costco shelf. He was in shock. As was I. It would take several annoying trips with a regular trolley to fill my Costco shelf ready for the term, eating away at my holiday time with the kids.
I am 5 foot 1. It's not something that really bothers me as I've always liked being short. But handling a very over-full trolley and reaching for items on high shelves can be tricky. I can fill a trolley with items we need on any given day of the week. I buy 6 or 7 kilograms of bananas or apples at a time, along with three 3L containers of milk, and all the other fresh produce needed, multiple times a week. There are always looks of shock from all surrounding me when I make my way through the checkout. Always. And people can't help but ask, so grocery shopping is a very social experience. Having a Costco stock shelf to pull from on a needs basis is great because my trolley stays at least slightly manageable for me to manoeuvre around the shops and car park. And I can still see over the top. Costco trolleys are much more manageable, although larger, and somehow much easier to use.
So why else do I buy at Costco when there are other 'cheap' stores closer?
* Many of the products are from reputable brands, produced in countries that have food regulations. The products are what I would choose to buy, given all the choices.
* I have tried the local 'cheap' grocery store and don't like the products. The difference I found was that at the cheap store the products were a reduced quality, and had many additives that I try to avoid, in the items I choose to purchase.
* The reason Costco is cheap, isn't because of cheap products, but rather a guaranteed lower mark up. No item has a mark up greater than 14%.
* I really like many of the products Costco stocks, that are unavailable elsewhere. Peanut butter, dried onion flakes, Californian granulated garlic, and oh my, the pretzels! I could go on....
* They treat their staff well and offer advancement programs. I worked in retail from the time I was 15, until I worked as a teacher. Actually, I even worked in retail during the Christmas holidays to help out the jeweller I once worked for, until I had 3 children. I had great bosses, but know of many others who didn't, including my husband. It makes a difference. And I will support companies that encourage their workers and treat them well. I also give written positive feed back on helpful staff, but that is a story for another time.
* I can do many types of shopping at once, in a short space of time. I buy goggles for the kids (three children have weekly swimming lessons year round), organic cotton pjs for my children with sensitive skin, and even a new fry pan not so long ago. The deep walled fry pan is the best by the way and big enough to double batches for my big family!
* I have found many more additive free items. This makes a difference to my sanity. Additives really affect a couple of my children. I try to buy products that contain as few ingredients as possible, and have ingredients that I can read and know what they are. The closer to whole food the better, while accepting sometimes I have to have convenience foods.
* Buying at Costco has been part of my journey to simplify.
* Time. I save time in so many ways with this big shop. I don't need to look through weekly specials in catalogues, and I stock up all at once. When I go shopping through the week for perishables I just quickly pick up and buy. Much faster. Making the space for our Costco shelf has been life changing.
What do I buy regularly?
Some of these I have only bought once because the original is still in use:
Sandwich/snack bags
Yogurt (Jaalna 2kg)
Rice
Smooze ice-blocks
Dried onion flakes (Kirkland brand, no preservatives)
Californian granulated garlic (Kirkland brand, no preservatives)
Fine sea salt (Kirkland)
Pretzels (the massive barrel, now I can't eat any other kind!)
Carmen's bars (box with 48 half size, nut free, two types of muesli bars)
Annie's fruit straps
Garbage bags (don't get Jack started about this one. Quality difference.)
Peanut butter (Skippy)
Tissues (Kleenex, 8 large boxes)
Paper towels (Bamboo Viva)
Craisins and other dried fruit (biggest range preservative free, even dried blueberries)
Nuts: almonds, cashews and pistachios (Kirkland brand- awesome prices and sizes!!!!)
Dishwasher tablets
Speedo swimming goggles for the kids (a three pack)
Calvin Klein underwear (sorry if too much information!)
Crackers (Mary's gone crackers brand made completely from seeds are awesome)
Chia seeds
Levis jeans
Quinoa (but I check the price- sometimes this isn't cheap)
Semi sweet choc chips (only two ingredients and I couldn't find 'semi' sweet anywhere else. They are also sustainably sourced, fair trade.)
Sharpies (I have only bought this once, but awesome)
Kids band-aids (Band Aid brand character ones)
Hand wash refills
Queen organic vanilla bean paste (nothing is better than this for cooking!)
Organic coconut oil
Children's books (sometimes a great special, but check the prices)
Frozen veggies
Coconut flour
Whole grain wraps
Socks
Tasty cheese slices (we all love these)
Tins of sliced pineapple (perfect size to add to afternoon tea for my children, when I haven't had time to buy fruit)
Christmas gifts for children (for example for Henry, a 'Planes' pack that had the big plane and 5 die cast figures, unavailable elsewhere, so very cheap)
Weet bix (only a $1.30 saving per box, but we go through boxes so fast it is great to have many in reserve)
Swiss Miss hot chocolate (I know it is terrible for me, but so yummy as an occasional treat!)
Some of these items are ridiculously cheap when considering the cost per item at a regular grocery store.
Items I would like to try or would buy in the future
Organic coconut sugar
Hershey's cocoa
Pure maple syrup (I don't need any right now, but the price is amazing so will buy at Costco in the future.)
If I ever need to replace my kettle I will buy it at Costco. My exact kettle is $30 cheaper there.
So yes, I think that a trip to Costco, which is an hour away from where I live, is completely worth it. And I'll be there with my sister tomorrow. Which is my final reason for going there. My sister and I have such a great time. I laugh so much with her, looking at some of the ridiculous products and sizes available. Always bring a friend along.
Want to see what it is like? My Costco photo gallery is here.
Jen.x
No comments:
Post a Comment