Things I Buy At Costco #mealplanning #shopping #motherhood #savingmoney

If you are a regular follower of Not Your Mama's Martha!, you know I never pay full price for anything.

Not because I can't afford it but because I don't have to and just don't want to! :)

A little time to comparison shop and keep a short of list of pricing always guarantees I get the lowest price and a major component of my success is shopping at Costco.

If you are a single person, married couple, or even a small family, it can be hard to store things purchased at Costco because they are sold in bulk; I understand Costco isn't for everyone! An easy way around this is to split a Costco membership with friends as well as to split some of your larger hauls.

I find Costco's prices to be consistent, only ever decreasing with select items on sale in their monthly coupon books. You'll get these books in the mail once you sign up for a membership. I plan my shopping around these books and find it best to wait on things if I don't need them because every 6-8 weeks, just about everything in the store rotates into the coupon book. 

This is going to be a post I update frequently as they carry seasonally merchandise as well as new products from time to time so, be sure you check back for updates if you are interested in seeing if a Costco membership might be right for you.

So, what do I buy at Costco?

This picture above is my haul from last month.

• 4lbs Meyer lemons, $5.99 - these are best for baking! I squeeze all the juice and freeze in ice cube trays to use in recipes as I go along. Each ice cube is one ounce or about 2 tablespoons
• 8lbs seedless purple grapes, $6.99 - that's less than $1/lb and my family will eat these in about a week
• 20oz Organic blueberries, $8.99 - that's 1/4 of the Safeway price!
• 60ct Precious string cheese, $10.89 - half price of Safeway and they last for several weeks
• 48oz, 2pk Kirkland brand Mexican-style shredded cheese, $7.99 - half price of Safeway when they are on sale. I freeze one and will use up the other in about 2 months
• 48ct AAA batteries, $15.49
• 4pk, 1lb/each butter, $6.99 - that's only$1.79ea rather than $3.99. Butter also freezes really well!
• 2lb sliced Provolone cheese, $7.99 - half of Safeway's price! I freeze half this cheese as we will eat the other half in about a week.
• Tillamook cheese, $7.99 - $3.00 less than Safeway
• 3pk guacamole, $6.99 - about $2.00 less than Safeway
• 3lb Cuties, $6.49 - same price as Safeway
• 24oz Roasted hatch green chili salsa, $5.97 - 1/3 Safeway price
• Bisquick, $5.49 - a FIFTH of Safeway's price
• 2pk Worscestershire sauce, $6.99 - 50% of Safeway's price
• 2pk 20oz/ea Organice Heinz ketchup, $6.99 - 50% of Safeway's price
• Grade A maple syrup, $13.49 - $4.00 less than Trader Joe's
• 2pk Pam cooking spray, $5.99 - 1/3 of Safeway's generic spray price
• 2pk Lysterine mouth wash, regularly $10.99 on sale $8.49 after $2.50 coupon - making each bottle only $4.25, which is $2.00 less than Target's Up & Up price
• 2pk 200ft each, Reynold's wrap, $10.25 - 50% off Target's Up & Up price and it's a better product!
• Dove 3pk body wash, regularly $12.99 on sale $9.99 with $3.00 coupon, making each 20oz bottle only $3.33. ON sale and with a coupon, the lowest price I've found this body wash is $4.99.
• 12pk organic tomato sauce, $5.99 - that's only $0.50/can
• 4lbs flank steak, $29.00 or $7.25/lb - about $4.00 off per pound!
• 3pk Organic Classico, regularly $8.99 only $6.99 after $2.00 coupon - 1/3 of the Safeway price!
• G&H 10lbs granulated sugar, only $3.99 - that's 1/4 of the Safeway price!

My most recent trip to Costco including the items you see in the photo above, including:

• 2pk 30oz each French's mustard, $4.89 - that's only $2.45 each, which is less than half of Safeway's price for the small 24oz bottle.
• 24oz cremini mushrooms, $4.79 - half price when Safeway has them on sale!
• 6lbs multi-colored potatoes, $4.99 - $2.00 less than Trader Joe's
• 5lbs sweet Spanish onions, $3.59 - $0.72 per pound (these keep really well is your basement, garage, or a dark cabinet!)
• 2pk 12oz each goat cheese, $6.69 - that's 6 times LESS than Safeway's price!
• 2pk Quaker Oats, $8.39 - 50% off Safeway's generic brand of oats
• 5pk Crescent rolls, $4.19 - that's less than $1 each
• Organic Better than Bouillon chicken base, $6.49 - half of Safeway's price
• 12pk Sara Lee french bread rolls, $3.39 - which is half what I pay at Safeway every week! I'll freeze these to use throughout the coming months for sure!

I purchase SO MANY other things from Costco, not yet pictured here including:

• Razors
• Organic ground turkey 
• Whole pork loin
• Large chunk cheese - brie, parmigano-reggiano, feta, gorganzola, fresh mozzarella
• 2pk milk
• 24ct large eggs
• Half 'n half
• Organic spinach, kale, carrots, apples, Romaine lettuce, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries
• Canned pumpkin
• ALL organic canned tomatoes
• Honey
• Cereals

Keep checking back for future Costco trips and savings reports!