One thing I like about our new Coscto scheduling is that it gives me some budget freedom. Or at least it feels like it does.
Before the rumpus, I was going twice a month, with a budget of $150 each trip. Now that I am going once a month, I get to spend all that $300 at once. There isn’t a difference, really. The money is the same. I’m getting many of the same things, just in one trip instead of two. It just FEELS like I have more freedom. Which, I’ll be real, my life is dictated by three tiny tyrants. I’ll take my freedoms, imagined or not, where I can get ‘em.
Speaking of my tiny tyrants, they were along for the ride but not the shopping portion of today’s trip. Our Costco is about thirty minutes away, so we all drove up together. We hadn’t planned on it, but when the girls got wind I was leaving the house they begged to come. Even the Teacup was trying to say “car”, which sounded like “kah.” She was either saying “car” or doing a crow impression. Either way, we thought the girls would like a change of scenery, even if it is just through the windows. Onward to Costco!
Mr. B dropped me off, then he and the girls went through the Starbucks Drive Thru. Armed with hot coco and treats, they settled in the van, in the Costo parking lot, to watch a movie. Very cozy. Meanwhile, I was braving the Memorial Day weekend crowds at Costco.
Even allowing for the crowds, this was a very heartening Costco trip. My store had flour, sugar, and batteries galore. Some essentials were on sale and I was able to grab some produce for way cheaper than at Kroger.
They say human beings are 97% water. Members of the B Family might be 97% avocado. If there is one thing I miss from the every two week trips, it is the avocados. Generally, Kroger avocados are $1.25 a piece, with occasional sales of $.77 each. Costco avocados tend to be less per avocado, even as the price fluctuates. This time, the avocados were $6.59 for six, making them $1.09 each. While the 16 cent price difference may not seem like a big deal, it makes more sense when you factor in the avocado quality. Costco avocados are organic and routinely bigger and fresher than their Kroger counterparts.
I got a giant box of Honey Maid Graham crackers for $7.89. It included 4 regular sized boxes, which at my Kroger tend to be around $3. For a little more than double that price, I can get three times as many graham crackers. The Tiny Tyrants love a graham cracker.
More peanut butter! The store was very well stocked on peanut butter this trip.
These pretzel thins are life! They were on sale, too. Normally they run for $6.69, but they were $2.90 off, so only $3.79. Which is what you would pay for a bag 1/3 the size at Kroger.
Nuts for the nut! For $12.49, we get two and a half pounds of almonds. At Kroger, a 12 oz bag will cost me $6.99, which means to get the same amount of almonds from Kroger I would spend $20.97. And I would still only get about 2.25 lbs.
I did not buy the paper towels during this trip, but I figured we needed a good shot of me cuddling with paper goods.
Organic Maple Syrup costs me $10.49 for one liter. At Kroger, it would be $36.95. Duh.
This one had me hitting my forehead. A few weeks before our Costco trip I ran out of garlic. I put garlic in almost everything, so I couldn’t really wait. I grabbed one from Kroger, knowing full well I would buy a bigger one at Costco and probably hit my forehead in annoyance when I did the math on prices. At Kroger, I was psyched that I paid a sale price of $2.41 for 2.5 ounces. Then I got to Costco, where I paid $5.99 for 18 ounces. Why was I hitting my forehead? At Costco I paid .33 per ounce. At Kroger, it was $.96 an ounce.
Someone asked about butter last month, so here we go. Four boxes of four 4 ounce sticks (so many fours!) is usually between $9.99 and $10.99. This trip they were $6.49. Which is bananas. That means we paid $1.62 a box, or $.40 per stick of butter.
This was the line. It moved a lot faster than you would think.
Them’s the rules.
And ya girl loves a rule.
Our budget going into this trip was $300, and we spent a total of $278.36. This means we were under budget by $21.64. That $21.64 will be rolled over to the overage from the Kroger trips during the month of May. Of which there will inevitably be, because that’s how groceries roll these days.
But wait, there is more! So, as I was typing this report up, I happened to notice that was (gasp) a mistake. In all the years I have been shopping at Costco, there has never been a mistake from the cash register. But low and behold, I was charged twice for batteries. (A very good deal, $13.49 for a 32 pack of AAAs.) Seeing as the trip was over a week ago, I didn’t know if much cold be done. I asked Mr. B and he confirmed, we would probably just have to eat the $13.49.
This is NOT the time to be eating $13.49. So I hopped on the Costco live chat, with a little hope and my husband standing behind me, saying, “I just don’t know how you would prove you didn’t buy two sets of batteries…”
What followed was the most efficient, pleasant live chat I have ever experienced as a human who chats with other humans on the internet. Alyssa B quickly saw the problem, believed me no questions asked, and said a ShopCard with the amount I was overcharged was on its way to me. It took a lot of self control to not turn around crow at Mr. B, “AND YOU WANTED TO TAKE THE HIT!”
Turns out, I did not have that much self control. He very graciously admitted I was right, and it was great that I was able to save us $13.49 for our next Costco trip. But that was not enough. I had to come tell you guys, too. My victory shall fuel me forever!
What’s the best deal you’ve ever gotten at Costco? Tell me down below so I may share in your victory, too!
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!