My Top Tips for Saving Time and Money at Costco!

Are you looking to get more out of your Costco membership, or debating getting a membership?

Whether you have the basic or executive, there are a lot of great ways to save even more. And the way items move at Costco, it’s good to be prepared and not miss out on the hot items, special deals and also just great items that come in.

You’ve already paid for the membership – so why not get more out of it?

Here are my favourite ways to save time and money shopping at Costco.

• Learn the codes at Costco to know you’re always shopping smart. If there’s a star * on the price tag it means that they won’t be ordering more – so if you like it, it’s time to stock up. If an item ends in .97 it means it’s marked down – usually a great deal!
• Start shopping on Markdown Mondays – it’s every fourth Monday and it’s a ton of .97 deals – they go quickly so go as early as you can. Check out the full Markdown Monday calendar for 2018!
• Figure out which membership works for you – they are pretty flexible with changing it too, which is great. The business one is $55 and is valid for all types of businesses. The basic is also $55 and you can also get a spouse card. Executive is $110 per year and you get a spouse card. You also get 2% back on that one, up to $750 in the form of a cheque when your year is up. Let’s say you spend $500 a month at Costco before taxes – that means $10 back a month. Times that by 12 months and you’ve paid for your membership. You might think that you won’t spend that much, but if you buy tires, a bed, a tv, a computer etc. it goes quickly. I’ve found that a lot of our other budgets such as clothing, gifts etc. are being spent at Costco now. If you get the Executive and find it’s not worth it, you can change back. With the executive membership you also will receive special coupons in the mail that only executive members can use.
• Take a look at all of the other services they offer – they have amazing deals for cell phones, printer ink refill, pharmacy, hearing aids, photo printing, car rentals, all kinds of insurance, water delivery and many, many more.
• Take your time and convenience into it also – often one trip to Costco can save several trips to other stores. Stock up on things your family will use a lot of – toilet paper, laundry soap etc. and you won’t need to shop as often. My example is always the box of garbage bags for our kitchen garbage – there are 320 bags in there and we don’t change it daily, so I won’t be thinking of garbage bags for a very long time!
• Check out what you can order online, you might be surprised! There are all kinds of great deals that are only online, products you’ll probably never see at your local store. And those prices all include shipping – so if you need to send a gift to someone, take advantage of this. Also great for large items that might not fit in your vehicle – no need to ask someone to pick it up, or pay to get it picked up. Convenient and money saving.
• Shop early! They always run a season, or two in advance. Just keep your receipts and if you get to the season and it doesn’t fit or there’s an issue you can always return it. Things sell out so quickly at Costco – they had winter gear out at the end of the summer already, better to get the right sizes and colours early.
• Once you know their prices, keep an eye out for unadvertised price reductions. These are not marked in any way at all, the price will just be lower. Can be anything in the store, from ground beef to peanut butter. If you notice the price is lower and it’s not a sale – and it’s something you use, make sure to grab it then as the price can go up at any time.
• Install Checkout51 on your phone and keep an eye out for items that they have at Costco to get more savings. It’s an app that is easy to use. They tell you what the deals are for the week – let’s say it’s $3 off a certain cheese. Buy that cheese and then take a photo of the receipt with the cheese on it, submit it to the site and they add $3 to your total. Get to $20 and they will mail you a cheque. There won’t be many at Costco due to their sizes, but it does come up and just takes a few seconds to do. Getting an extra cheque in the mail is always great!
• Free samples! Need I say more? 😉 You’re there, might as well snack as you walk along, or even make it a full meal if you’re there at the right time. I love getting my daughter to try out all the samples, helps her choose new items she wants, and get a better variety. And sometimes you really don’t like the sample – better to know before buying it Costco size.
• Make sure to check out the giftcard sections and movie passes. They are a huge discount and are great for outings, but also as gifts. The movie passes are discounted and include snacks. They also have giftcards for restaurants and other special event places – things like $80 gets you $100 etc.   All these savings add up, especially if you know you’ll be going to a play already or a special event – might as well head to Costco and pick up the deal before buying tickets.
• If certain things are too big for you and you don’t think you’d use it all but it’s still something you want, find a shopping buddy to split it with, or even donate a portion of it. Some items are priced so low that even if you gave away half you’re still way ahead. And having a shopping buddy is great, that way you can take advantage of the larger sizes and not let anything go to waste.
• If you find something you really like, stock up when there’s a sale. They rotate items and stock so much that you never know if it’ll be gone forever. This one has taken me some time to get used to, but when you go back for an item and it’s gone forever, it’s pretty disappointing.
• If you shop solo, make sure to have all your family’s sizes with you. Trace out their feet, know what their size is for pants, shirts, coats, underwear etc. in case you ever find a great deal. I’ve found shoes for my daughter for $6 there, and tshirts for my husband for $1 each – when you’re alone you don’t want to be guessing. But if you do guess wrong, don’t worry, you can always return it.
• Pick up some cheap lunch or dinner while you’re there! Can’t beat their hotdog and drink for $1.50 – and they have a lot of other options too.
• Keep your receipts in case an item changes price within 30 days – you can get it adjusted. And they are really great with all kinds of returns, just that will end up saving you money if you have any issues.
• Check back in here on Mondays – I post up the Unadvertised Deals at Costco every week. Good way to plan out your shopping trips, you can wait til what you need is on sale.

What are your favourite tips for shopping at Costco?