Groupon has a deal where you can get a membership fairly cheaply right now.
However I had a sams club membership many years ago, and gave it up since I didn’t use it. There aren’t enough items I need to buy in bulk.
So I already kind of know the answer, for me I don’t think theres enough stuff I can buy as a single person.
Do other single people who only buy for themselves have membership to costco or sams club that they feel is worth it? What do you buy that makes it worth it?
While we do buy some stuff in bulk, much of the benefit of our Costco membership is for the products they have that are hard to get elsewhere and which are good no matter their size.
There are just two of us, and I doubt we use more paper towels than one person would. And I probably pay for our membership with their travel agency anyhow.
I’m a single person…with pets. Costco saves me so much money on pet food and supplies that that alone is worth the membership. Then there’s the other awesome stuff. So for me, yeah.
There might be a big ticket item whose purchase by itself would pay for the membership–for example a set of tires.
Anything come to mind?
We’re a family, but here are some Costco items we’ve bought recently that aren’t bulk or that just 1 member of the family eats/drinks/uses:
laptop
home office shredder
contact lenses
Naked smoothies
almond milk
jeans
set of bed sheets
cat litter
sneakers
a book
restaurant gift cards
pack of 6 cans of sardines
gummi multivitamins and vitamin C
a potted plant
smoke detector
tires
I’m also trying to decide if it’s worth getting an Instant Pot for $69.99
Take a look at their website for the range of products available: https://www.costco.com/
The Costco is the closest grocery store and gas station to my house. I find the cheap gas to be worth the membership. I do find a lot of items in the store to be worth while, especially produce and meat. It probably wouldn’t be worth it if it weren’t so close.
It was for me.
You can split it with roommates too. They allow one other person to get a card.
Costco also has some excellent deals on liquor. Their Kirkland brand vodka and tequila are much higher quality than you’d expect, and they’re dirt cheap. Most name-brand wine and spirits are less expensive than you’ll find elsewhere as well. Something to consider if you happen to be a drinker.
I’m married, but without kids, and my wife and I never really cared for bulk buying of pretty much anything. But, for 3 1/2 years, I worked at a place that was a quarter-mile from a Costco. I got a membership, and used it almost exclusively for buying inexpensive gas – my place of work was 25 miles from my house, and the inexpensive gas paid for the membership, and then some.
When I changed jobs, and started working back in downtown Chicago (and could take the train to work again), I dropped the Costco membership.
When I was living alone (married or not), only having cats made it pay off. Otherwise, I basically broke even in savings on things I bought lots of as well as the every other year big ticket item and gas. I will say their fresh salmon is the best quality in this area, hands down.
…and many of the stores have an on-site pharmacy (generic drugs, low-cost flu shots) and optometrist, and when you’ve got a jones for cheap pizza or hot dogs or any of the rest of the snack bar items, it’s great. And cheap gas is a good thing here in So. Cal.
Definitely. We’re a household of 2 now, but my generic Claritin alone pays for my annual membership. They have the best prices by far on OTC drugs and supplements, yogurt, toilet paper, cleaning supplies, basic nonperishable foods like canned tomatoes, beans, canned tuna, walnuts and other nuts and dried fruits, olive oil, cage-free/organic eggs, milk, butter (which is easily frozen)…all of these things were worthwhile even when I was single.
If you eat meat in any quantity, and have a freezer, the quality can’t be beat for the price.
The Kirkland brand merino wool socks are also awesome and cheap as dirt.
I buy some basic clothing items there now and again (pajamas, the occasional sweatshirt, socks, etc.)
Until I recently got good employer-based vision coverage, I got my eye exams there.
The aforementioned gas - we drive around 3,000 miles a year, so it would be even more worthwhile for people who drive more.
If you want to buy a new or certified used vehicle, and have no patience or talent for price haggling, they have a vehicle buying program.
We buy the occasional small household appliance there (blender, toaster oven, etc.), either for ourselves or as a gift for someone else.
They have discounted movie tickets for the major chains.
From what I’ve read in previous threads, the pharmacy is open to everyone, including non-members. I’ve bought some OTC medicines and health and beauty-type products from the website for home delivery with free shipping. (And more recently, I got my parents’ membership number. I think with that, I can mail order stuff and not pay the non-member surcharge. I haven’t had a chance to test that, though.)
You should of course compare prices. If you’re very careful about buying stuff on sale from Walmart, Target or the supermarket you might do better than Costco prices. And course compare to Amazon prices.
If you buy a lot of gasoline, that alone might justify the membership fee. But in general, I’m philosophically opposed to the idea of paying money to a store for the privilege of shopping there. (For the same reason, I don’t have an Amazon Prime membership.)
W/ the exception of the gas, all of that is available to non-members.
Get the membership, try it for a few months. If you’re not using it much, just ask for your money back and they’ll refund the costs. If you want to hedge your bet, first buy yourself a Costco gift card and THEN refund your membership. You can come back in any time and shop with the gift card (and make up the balance with another payment method).
Even if you don’t buy in bulk, it’s great for things like: tires, gasoline, optical/hearing aids, medication, flu shots, HDTVs, liquor/wine/beer, clothes (good quality for not a lot of money), food court items (pizza/hot dogs/chicken bakes, all very reasonable and delicious), small appliances, big appliances, home hardware… you don’t have to buy any of those things in bulk, and they have very good prices on most of it. They also, or so I hear, treat their employees better than most retail.
Consider the membership as part of your entertainment budget. People watching is incredible at a membership store. Peek into shopping carts and make up stories as to why that person is purchasing all that crap.
Saturdays, you can eat enough samples to equal one or more meals.
And during the holidays they stock a huge variety of gift baskets to take care of anyone on your Christmas list. AFTER the holidays, all the Christmas stuff goes on sale, and you can buy a year’s worth of birthday and thank you gifts for a song.
I love those stores…
~VOW
I never even think of Costco as being a “bulk” warehouse. Granted, I go there to buy meat in bulk, and bread is sold as two loaves, but the sizes for most things is reasonable. Maybe not for rice, but other things.
I bought a membership about a year ago just to check their auto prices (which were not very good). I never used it for anything after that and never even entered a store. The nearest store is 20 miles from me. I can’t imagine what they could offer that would justify me spending an hour on the road.
Well, you didn’t need to imagine whether Costco could offer something worth the membership fee. Given that you already paid it, you should have, at least once, driven there to check it out. You may find things there that you already buy but are at a better price, or new things that might appeal. And as I said upthread, you can do Costco mail order.
Well, I’ve been in a Costco store with a friend. It was big, but that’s about the best thing I can say for it. Also I greatly dislike driving. I suppose I might drive an hour to save $100 or more, but I doubt that would happen in one trip to Costco.