I had to do it, y’all!
I had missed Costco so bad. But I have refrained from going as long as I could in the interest of limiting my exposure (and thus my family’s) to a variety of locations. “We can get the same kinds of things at Kroger,” I reasoned. Sure they might be more expensive. Sure they might not be the taste/flavor/size I preferred, but we’re living in extraordinary times. I made the call to cancel my bi-weekly Costco trips.
But then we reached the point of no return. We were out of green chile. We were out of diapers. We were out of patience with the Kroger block cheese that wasn’t as good as the Costco block cheese. So after a month of Kroger only, we decided to brave Costco.
Now, when I say we, I mean me. Mr. B and the girls drove with me because it is far and my nerves were a little jangled. They would stay in the car and watch a movie, noshing on Chick-Fil-A breakfast, while I battled the masses for toilet paper.
Folks have been asking for a Costco post for a while, but truthfully, I never did one because I didn’t think they were that interesting. We use our home budget at Costco, specifically for items like detergent, cleaning supplies, paper towels, batteries, toilet paper, that kind of thing. We visit Costco every two weeks. If there is money left over, which there usually is, we’ll grab few staples that are cheaper and/or taste better in the Costco brand. This varies trip to trip but usually includes: cheese, bacon, butter, carrots, and avocados. Because Costco doesn’t do sales or discount with the same frequency and variety that Kroger does, I didn’t think y’all would really want to see post after post of bacon, cheese, and butter. I give you carrots, again, ladies and gentleman! The exact same price, quantity, and quality as a month before! Oooooh and ahhhh!
But this trip was a little different. This was a full on load up trip. I drove all the way up here, I was going to get my money’s worth. And I was able to do that because the April home budget was untouched. Not a cent used. We made the decision to use it all on this trip. Weeeeeeeeeee!
Showed up ready to go at 9:15am. The store opens at 10am.
But there’s already a line! Social distancing like champs.
I take this opportunity to wipe down my cart.
Shopping, shopping, shopping. I didn’t take pictures inside the store, because it was a little like one of those game shows where people are dashing around with carts and flying into each other. I needed my wits about me.
I did it!
The most important purchase.
The second most important purchase. Y’all know how I feel about cheese, and I am sorry, but the Kroger brand was not cutting it. Look at this. For $3.99 you get one pound of Kroger cheese. For only $1.50 more, you get double the Costco cheese. Double the better tasting cheese. It’s not even a choice.
I bought three blocks of Colby Jack, at 2 pounds for $4.99 each. That came to $14.97. I bought three blocks of Sharp Cheddar, at 2 lbs for $5.59 each. $16.77 plus $14.97 comes to $31.74. $31.74 on cheese, and I would do it again. In fact, I probably will do it again, next month. It’s comes down to $2.64 a pound, which is a way better value for me than the Kroger cheese.
These tortillas are life! They come with 30 to a pack for $3.99. I’ve been buying Mission Tortillas at Kroger, which are $2.29 for 10. The Costco brand, again tastes better. It’s $.13 cents a tortilla. I bought three.
This fancy bacon is fancy. I’m not going to pretend like it’s not a splurge. But it tastes so much better than any bacon anywhere else. This two pack will last us two months.
Anyone else doing a lot of Quaranbaking? This 4.5 pound bag is $8.99. A one pound bag of Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chips at Kroger is $5.38. Nuf said.
This smoked paprika is $3.79. It is 8.05 ounces. For the same price, I can get the same brand at Kroger. Only the serving size is .9 ounces.
Green Chile, the best stuff around. We got three for a total of $23.97.
These are Mr. B’s sharp containers for his shots. He takes between three and five shots a day, so we go through these pretty quickly. They’re only $2.29 at Costco, so I grabbed a few.
I’ve been crying about this for a while. You can literally grab two at Costco for what one costs at Kroger. We doubled up.
Okay, so fun story about this peanut butter. At my Costco, they have a white board in the front with what items they are out of. This trip, they were out of Lysol spray, Lysol Wipes, and Peanut Butter. I was bummed about the peanut butter but very excited to get in there because it sounded like I was going to get my toilet paper, diapers, and paper towels, the big ticket items. And I did! So the rest of my trip was real leisurely.
It was because I was so calm and relaxed (for me) that I spotted something amiss near the pasta sauce. Wait a minute, were my eyes deceiving me? Could that be, PEANUT BUTTER? What was one lonely little two pack of peanut butter doing here, in the pasta /rice/beans aisle? I looked around to make sure this wasn’t a trick. All clear. I scooped up the last peanut butter in the store and held it to close, like a treasure.
It was kind of like this moment.
That’s a subtle plug for my Mandalorian recaps. Come watch with me! I know not nearly as much as I should about the Star Wars universe and am delighted by nearly everything that happens regardless! It’s a fun time. ;)
We used the entirety of our Home Budget for April ($300) on this trip, with the hope that it would save us money on the weekly Kroger trips. We’ll be back in May, I think. We don’t have it in us to do bi-weekly trips (and by us I mean me) but once a month should work out for the foreseeable future.
Are y’all big Costco shoppers? Would you be interested in a monthly Costco roundup, similar to my Kroger trips? What’s the one thing you get at Costco you can’t get anywhere else? Let me know in the comments!
Kristen B. is wife to the best Prince around, mama to the spunkiest little princesses, and lover of all things Disney. She started her savings journey five years ago and is now dedicated to making her family’s wishes come true one coupon at a time. She is so excited to take her love of saving to the next level and share her journey with you! Click here to catch up on Kristen’s Savings and join in on your own savings adventure!
Stella Boudreaux says
We, my daughter and I, shop at Cosco a little over an hour to get to Baton Rouge or New Orleans. We go every month or as often as the milk will last. lol We go for organic lactose free milk and get 6 packages. My grandson loves his milk and if allowed would drink half a gallon a day. Meat and produce are a good prices. Never know what other home items we might find like my Kitchen Aid 6 quart mixer for $249. So good for making bread. Glad bread was hard to find after I found a great receipt for it. There is no better bread and smell in the house. My daughter found a Brothers Sewing machine at a fantastic price that I forgot. Dog pads are a better quality and price than the other stores. There are things we can only get there like Mango nectar. Price and convenience for a day out is great. We are able to shop other stores we don’t have here. Time for another trip, but my daughter has to go alone because my husband and I are high risk group.
Kristen says
I love that your Costco has so many things you need! Thanks for reading and stay safe!