Costco Food

I'm pretty excited that I can get to the new Costco in less than 5 minutes if I don't hit the Bardstown red lights of doom. On the other hand, I think that's true of just about everyone else who lives around here, too, meaning I may never get inside.

Your odds of hitting the Powerball may be better than your odds of not hitting a red light on Bardstown Road!

BTW the membership aspect as well as the door check at the end greatly reduces shrinkage.

I'm really not so sure about that. Most times they just give a cursory look to what you have in your cart. If you are really intent on feeling something I don't believe they would catch it (same for Sam's Club). I've actually never seen them stop somebody that didn't pay for something they have in their cart. The argument could be made that having the check provides a deterrent to people thinking about stealing but in reality people who want to steal art smart enough to think about things like that in most cases!

Bingo! I used to do work for one of the warehouse clubs and I was told that just the fact that there is a person there "checking" has been proven through studies to be a huge deterrent.

BTW the membership aspect as well as the door check at the end greatly reduces shrinkage.

I'm really not so sure about that. Most times they just give a cursory look to what you have in your cart. If you are really intent on feeling something I don't believe they would catch it (same for Sam's Club). I've actually never seen them stop somebody that didn't pay for something they have in their cart. The argument could be made that having the check provides a deterrent to people thinking about stealing but in reality people who want to steal art smart enough to think about things like that in most cases!

Bingo! I used to do work for one of the warehouse clubs and I was told that just the fact that there is a person there "checking" has been proven through studies to be a huge deterrent.

I still think that the fact there isn't anything (much) for sale at Costco or SAMs that is smaller than TV (including vitamins or chips) or weighs less than a watermelon is perhaps the biggest deterrent .

I still think that the fact there isn't anything (much) for sale at Costco or SAMs that is smaller than TV (including vitamins or chips) or weighs less than a watermelon is perhaps the biggest deterrent .

The biggest deterrent is that admission is limited to those wealthy enough to pay for the privilege to shop for food.

I still think that the fact there isn't anything (much) for sale at Costco or SAMs that is smaller than TV (including vitamins or chips) or weighs less than a watermelon is perhaps the biggest deterrent .

The biggest deterrent is that admission is limited to those wealthy enough to pay for the privilege to shop for food.

It's not really limited though. You can buy a Costco gift card for yourself, (or have someone you know buy one for you) and they are reloadable. That way the person only uses the money given to him/her on food, and not on an acutal Costco card. You can also receive all of your money back for your Costco membership at any time for any reason. (even if it's the day before it expires!) Many of us also take our friends along who don't have memberships. I don't think fifty or sixty bucks a year is a lot to spend to save as much as we do, though.

It's not just food.
Best thing about Costco (besides rebates which more than pays for your memberships) is the wide variety of goods without 100s of the same things to choose from.
Winter time. New coat? Maybe 2 or 3.
Toothpaste? Maybe 5 or 6.
Such easy shopping because there are so few selections but you know that most selections are either very good and/or good value.
First place I shop when I need anything.

For food I shop at Paul's, Trader Joe's, and Prospect Kroger. Sometimes Whole Foods, Lucky's, World Market, Fresh Market.
Don't want to add Aldi or Fresh Thyme just because I spend so much time walking through food stores.
This time of year, farmers' markets.
And a favorite place to buy food.....local restaurants.
I don't need very much, so food is my main shopping need/destination. Actually enjoy it. At the Kroger, we seldom go through the middle. Mostly a perimeter thing. We drive out of our way to Prospect for several reasons. Springhurst parking lot is like so many areas in the Ville - poorly designed. Another topic.

Ellen

I'm loving Costco more and more. I bought some pork chops and chuck roast, divided it up and put it in the freezer.

Also, Costco sells gift cards to local places at a discounted rate. For example, you can $60 worth of Heine Brothers gift cards for $45 (I think that is the deal on that one, going on memory). Corbett's is $80 for $100. Comfy Cow $45 for $60. Many others too. Great for gifts or just to save money if you frequent those places.

I'm loving Costco more and more. I bought some pork chops and chuck roast, divided it up and put it in the freezer.

Also, Costco sells gift cards to local places at a discounted rate. For example, you can $60 worth of Heine Brothers gift cards for $45 (I think that is the deal on that one, going on memory). Corbett's is $80 for $100. Comfy Cow $45 for $60. Many others too. Great for gifts or just to save money if you frequent those places.

And the gift cards aren't on racks. Customer takes card to register, pays for it, then pick up gift card. Apparently, all those gift cards hanging on convenient racks are easy for scammers to use. They some how take the information from the card while it is hanging in the store, someone purchases, they 'use' it before recipient uses it.

And again, Costco pays annual rebates when you use your membership card (if you live close enough to one, you won't buy gas anywhere else in Louisville. Can be 30 cents a gallon cheaper. Was the other day. ) Also, if you get the Visa/Costco card, you use that everywhere and get an additional rebate. Either way, you pay for your membership, with gas savings, and/or rebates. Plus concierge service. Easy returns.

And the daily food samples. $1.50 mocha freeze at the food court.

Costco. First place I try before anything.

Photocenter. Haven't tried a vacation yet. Insurance. Cars.

No, I have no connections

Ellen

I love their Mocha Freeze. I'm worried about what is in it but it sure tastes good. On the Costco Visa, you get 4% cashback for gas, 3% for all restaurant purchases (may be good for Robin), 2% for all Costco purchases and 1% for everything else that does not fit in the first three categories.

No, you don't have to be rich to shop there but I think that is the perception. They have all of the basics and they have a lot of nice, upscale stuff (food, tv's, furniture, etc). I think a big family with not a lot of money could save money there. I'm not sure if they take EBT (food stamps) but they may have to.

Personally, I really focus on buying essentials and saving money by doing so. Paper products, food, healthcare products, etc. Basically I buy what will have to be used or eaten. I bought like a 25lb bag of rice, it wasn't much more than a few regular size bags at the grocery store (it was about $8). It shouldn't go bad. Things like that which will help you save money.

On the other hand, if you are well off then Costco definitely has some nice and expensive stuff you can spend your money on.

I got the Costco Visa. We started using it like our debit card, for everything. I've had it two full months now. I just checked an I've got a total of $75 in cash back so far. It's quite a big bill since we used it for everything. To benefit it has to be paid off each month so that interest will not be charged. But if I continue at $35 a month that will be $420 in cash back that I will get at the end of one year.

No, you don't have to be rich to shop there but I think that is the perception.

Lol! What!? You mean Fresh Market?

I just bought a membership last week. I've never been to Costco, and can't wait until the new store in Buechel opens. Having always lived in apartments, I've never had space to keep anything bought in bulk. Now I have a house with plenty of storage, thankfully. Can't wait to see what kind of deals I can find!

They have a very big selection of organic foods too. I really like some of their bakery stuff,it freezes pretty well too.

I'm interested in a vacuum sealer. Does it just allow you to freeze items for longer? Gets the air out I understand but what are the big advantages?

Costco is great for a lot of things but for my crew it can be too much food sometimes (especially produce, but the produce is high quality). I usually get easy to make frozen items that I can extend over a long period of time (Chicken breasts, pizzas, etc). The bakery is better than decent and I bought a whole cheesecake back in February and felt like I was living ultimate luxury haha.. it was huge and I think $12 (which is a bargain). The meat dept is good too but I rarely have the need for 5 plus pounds of ground beef or 7 steaks but I use a vacuum sealer and for me that's the way to go. Portion out everything and seal it/freeze it for later.

We go for bulk stuff we can store for a while and get our produce elsewhere.

Someone mentioned avocados in bulk earlier at Costco. I was curious about freezing them and in fact you can (best used for Guac). Makes it really handy to keep them on hand and make small amounts of Guac and not having to eat it fast and worry about it getting brown.

http://www.californiaavocado.com/blog/september-2015/how-to-freeze-california-avocados?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

The Costco opens this Saturday.