Frugal Friday: Top 5 Things To Buy At Costco

Oh, Costco, where the food is plentiful, the deals are questionable, and the samples are always free. I have a love-hate relationship with Costco.   

What I hate most is that it’s always so busy and that the annoying and inconsiderate shoppers of the world tend to congregate there.  The other thing that frustrates me is that everything seems like such a good deal because you get so much of it.  20 pounds of apples? Well whatever it costs, I’m sure it’s a good deal- I mean you get TWENTY POUNDS! 

On the other hand, what I LOVE about Costco are the free samples. Obviously. And did you know that they don’t contain any calories? Well, in my opinion they don’t. Not that it’s really a matter of opinion, but I maintain that it is absolutely impossible to gain weight no matter how many Larabars and Nutella sandwiches you eat, as long as they are portioned into sample-sized pieces and served in mini muffin cups.  I came to this conclusion with the same logic I used to ascertain that twenty pounds of apples are a good deal regardless of the price. Still with me? Good. Because I’m not done yet.

The point I’m trying to make is that when you’re surrounded by all those free-flowing samples, those ginormous bags of chocolate chips, the fluorescent lighting and the crowds, it’s hard to figure out what you really should be buying at Costco .

Here are my top 5 things to buy at Costco:

Baby wipes

You get 900 wipes for around 20 bucks, sometimes cheaper if they’re on sale. I have never seen a price this good for wipes anywhere else. 

Avocados

$5.79 for five avocados, compared with $2 per avocado at the regular grocery store.  In addition to the fact that this is an incredible deal, the Costco avocados are usually bigger than the ones at the grocery store.  The avacados alone are worth the trip to Costco, especially given my daughter’s hardcore avocado habit.

Gas

Filling your car up at Costco is always cheaper where I live, so we fill our tank every time we do a Costco trip.

Bananas

$1.69 a bunch, and they’re BIG bunches. And if we don’t eat them all before they go bad, then I have an excuse to bake. Not that I need an excuse, but it makes me feel virtuous to know that I’m not wasting food. And that I'm putting banana in my baked goods.

Starbucks Coffee

You get a massive bag of yummy yummy Starbucks coffee for $22.99. It's not going to taste as good as when someone else makes it for you and puts it in one of those delightful paper Starbucks cups, but it's the next best thing.

What are your favourite things to buy at Costco?

If these don't seem like such good deals to you, it's probably because you live somewhere where you can actually get food for reasonable prices. Maybe Costco is even cheaper where you live too. Lucky you. But please don't gloat about it in the comments section because you might break my heart a little.