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This is a post by BargainBabe.com writers Yazmin Cruz and Julia Scott.
I love shopping at Costco. I feel like a kid in a candy store especially with all the yummy samples! Below I share tips to save money while shopping at warehouse clubs.
1. Avoid food samples. As tasty as they are, the chance you will buy a new product goes through the roof when you put it in your mouth.
2. Consider executive. A regular annual membership is $50. An executive membership is $100. I recently calculated that my friend, who upgraded, would have to spend $2,584 a year in the warehouse, plus $780 a year in gas, and buy a $500 vacation through Costco to make his money back. Is a Costco executive membership worth it for you?
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A new friend shared a little known fact about shopping at Costco. Members can purchase Costco cash cards and give them to non-members. Recipients can get a free one-day membership to use the cash card on gas or warehouse items. The cards are also good online. Cash cards make great gifts and they are useful for employees, students living away from home, and friends who are dying to buy 20 pounds of strawberries. Ways to shop at Costco without a membership.
Looking for an extravagant meal without knockout prices? Have a (more…)
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A friend recently shared that he upgraded his regular $50 Costco membership to the $100 Executive plan, which immediately made me wonder how much money he will have to spend to make his yearly fee back. If he spends more, the upgrade was worth it. If he spends less, he should have stuck to the regular plan.
My friend makes 1% back on travel purchases, 3% back on gas, and 2% back on all his other bulk purchases. There are also membership perks for check printing, auto financing, and long-distance phone service. The rebates are valid on future Costco expenses.
Cash outlay
$100 to join at the executive level
Money back
$10 Costco gift card for signing up that my friend earned through his company (it’s not clear if this perk is widely available, but you can ask)
$9.92 Amazon selling price of Home Cooking: The Costco Way, which he received for signing up
$5 in travel rebates if my friend buys one $500 vacation package
So far my friend has – theoretically – earned $48.32 back towards his $100 membership on the 1% and 3% rebates. So how much does he have to spend on groceries and other items, earning him 2% back, to earn another $51.68 so he gets the full $100 back? Dusting off my algebra skills…
$51.68 – .02 cash rebate (Costco purchases needed to break even)
$51.68/.02 = Costco purchases needed to break even
$2,584 = Costco purchases needed to break even
My friend has to spend $2,584 on general Costco merchandise in one year to break even. That breaks down to $215 every month or $99 every two weeks, which is entirely do-able for a lot of people. If my friend bought more Costco gas, he would need to spend less in the warehouse to make his Executive Membership back. Buying glasses at Costco is one way to make your money back in one purchase.
Additionally, my calculations do not take into account any savings my friend earns on Costco’s lower prices. Costco gas, for instance, is about $.05 cheaper per gallon. I decided not to take this price differential into consideration because Costco splurges – virtually impossible for mere mortals to resist – cancel out price savings for many shoppers.
Are you a warehouse member? What makes it worthwhile for you to pay the yearly fee? If you are not a member, there are still ways to get deals at Costco.
Speaking of buying groceries on a budget, here are seven recipes that serve four people for less than $12 per dish courtesy of BJ’s, a warehouse club on the East Coast. (If you are not near a BJ’s, check out my tips for getting Costco deals without paying for the membership.)
Guess how much each the recipe for Lemon-Chicken Bowtie Pasta costs and the person who comes closest will win a free one-year membership to BJs, valued at $45. Leave your answer as a comment on this post, on my Facebook page, or on Twitter. One guess per email, please.
The giveaway will work a bit like “The Price Is Right.” The reader whose guess comes closest to the amount without going over wins. If multiple readers guess correctly the prize goes to whoever answered first.
BJ’s has 187 locations in 15 states. Find a BJ’s near you.
Lemon-Chicken Bowtie Pasta, serves 4 at ??? price – guess for a chance to win a $45 BJ’s membership
8 oz. Barilla® Farfalle
4 Perdue® Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (1¼ lb.)
5 Green Onions, sliced
1 clove Garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. Wesson® Canola Oil
1/ 8 tsp. McCormick® Cayenne Pepper
1½ cups Progresso® Chicken Broth
2 tsp. Grey Poupon® Dijon Mustard
¼ cup fresh Lemon Juice
White Sauce (see below)
1. Cook pasta until al dente. Drain and set aside. 2. Cut chicken
into ¾” pieces. Set aside. Heat oil in large skillet over medium high
heat. Add green onions and garlic and sauté one minute.
3. Add chicken and sauté, turning chicken occasionally until
cooked through, about 12 to 15 minutes. 4. Add pasta, toss
and set aside. 5. Adapt Basic White Sauce recipe (see previous
page): mix cayenne pepper into flour before adding. Reduce
milk by 1½ cups, substituting same amount of chicken broth.
Add chicken broth-milk mix to fl our mix per recipe instructions.
6. While sauce is still hot, whisk in mustard and lemon juice,
then immediately pour over chicken-pasta mixture; lightly toss
to mix. 7. Garnish with sliced lemon and serve immediately.
BASIC WHITE SAUCE Makes 2 cups.
Your microwave’s cooking times may vary.
Please watch carefully.
4 Tbsp. Land O’Lakes® Sweet Butter
4 Tbsp. Gold Medal® All-Purpose Flour
2 cups Milk
Salt and Black Pepper to taste
1. Melt butter on high in 1-qt., microwave-safe
bowl, about 20 to 30 seconds. 2. Stir in fl our,
using spoon to break up lumps, until smoothly
blended. 3. Add milk, salt and pepper and stir
until completely blended. 4. Microwave on high,
pausing to stir every 30 seconds or so, until sauce
is thick and bubbly, about 1 to 2 minutes.
Variation: Add 2 cups of shredded Cracker Barrel®
Sharp Cheddar Cheese and toss with cooked elbow
macaroni for mac and cheese. See pasta recipes
for more variations.
For six more recipes that feed four for less than $12, keep reading.
A new friend shared a little known fact about shopping at Costco. Members can purchase Costco cash cards and give them to non-members. Recipients can get a free one-day membership to use the cash card on gas or warehouse items. The cards are also good online.
Cash cards make great gifts and they are useful for employees, students living away from home, and friends who are dying to buy 20 pounds of strawberries.
Costco’s page on cash cards lacks details but it may be possible for the recipient to re-load a card as long as they leave some money on it. It also looks like recipients can buy goods for more than the card is worth as long as they can pay for the remainder in cash.
It is unclear if a non-member who receives a Costco cash card is limited to a certain number of uses per year. I suppose if they start recognizing you, you’ll need to pony up $50 and get a membership. Otherwise, the usage guidelines are somewhat open to interpretation.
Thanks, Kim!
