I go to Costco about once every 1-2 months. I can not beat the prices on canned goods, paper towel, toilet paper, detergent, meat, and fish. I try to only get things I know I am going to use. I don't do lots of snack stuff since I am trying to loose weight and I do not buy a lot of pre-made stuff since I cook.
I must admit that I did get some pre-packaged questadillas this trip. They were just too convienient for the baby play date I am hosting this week. I also got a flat of bottled water for the mommies.
I thought it was funny the mention of a limit on rice. I had two Asian women in front of me at Costco on Thursday. They had at least 8 bags of rice. I knew the price of rice had gone up, but I was wondering how long it would take them to go through that much rice. Guess it does not really go bad. The checker looked a bit upset about them buying so much of it.

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It is the simple things in life that make us Happy!

Haven't read the other responses...

We are Costco members. It is within walking distance of work. I used to walk over there (which prevented me from buying too much!) Now we have a monthly "date" at lunch where we do our Costco shopping and have a hotdog.

If you eat a lot of snacks, it is a good deal. We don't. We do buy the applesauce in 4 oz cups, a bit benefit with a toddler.

I have found that Costco has superior prices on:
1. cheese (sale prices don't even come close)
2. whole grain bread
3. tortilla chips
4. bread flour
5. pinto beans
6. canned tomatoes (in the large #10 cans)
7. organic, natural peanut butter
8. jam
9. frozen OJ
10. whole roasted chickens
11. diapers

And we also shop there for TP and paper towels and tissues, just because it's convenient.

I also like their underwear.

You could get sucked in to other things. Costco admits they go for a particular type of shopper...it's a little more "high end" than Sam's, and that's the customer they are going for. Still, they are a good deal, and we did get their 14-piece nonstick pot and pan set, which was very much worth the money.

We are Costco members and shop around 1-3 times/month.

I agree that it depends on what you buy. It is VERY easy to impulse shop there.

We buy alot of the items that mm1970 listed as I can't find cheaper prices anywhere here.

Usual purchases are:

block cheese
shredded cheese
tortillas
tortilla chips
organic peanut butter
baby wipes
frozen boneless/skinless chicken breast
grilled chicken breast strips
ground beef
Kirkland albacore tuna (sometimes it's not the cheapest, but the best quality)
bagels
dinner rolls
bread
sugar snap peas (yum)
organic carrots
lunch meat
salad
cuties (cheapest in our area)
bottled water (we have a water softener, so no tap water for drinking)

Their organic milk is about .07 cheaper per gallon ($5.92), but it's low fat and we only drink skim. I'll pay the extra at our grocers for skim milk.

It does sting to see the total as we can't get out of there for less than $100. I sometimes feel like I can shop better at our grocers with specials and double coupons, but I just can't get the quantity for our large family. We have tried really hard to cut down on the snacky stuff as it adds quite a bit to our total. We're trying to stick with the basics.

We have an executive membership and the 2% rebate always covers the $100 membership fee plus some extra. We also have the Costco Amex and last year we got a $450 rebate.

We get the majority of our one time prescriptions there as well. The only ones we don't get are ongoing meds as we use mail order for those. For our health plan, Costco is always cheaper than going to CVS, Rite Aid, etc.

As a side note, you do not have to have a Costco membership to get medicine there. Tell them that you are getting meds at the door and they'll let you in.

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SAHM of 4

July food budget: $500.00
Eating out spent: $85.00
Groceries spent: $248.12
Total spent: $333.12