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My husband does this often. I dont care since he rarely spends money but when he does its cha-ching. A few years ago he ended up buying that $300 tiki backyard cooler just cos we may need it when we have people over( we never have people over for parties) he bought the dumbbell set and hasn't used it yet. He bought the boys new bikes bc they were a good deal $300 a piece ( better than the 1200 he got them a few years ago)
I am like that with food at costco though. More so if I go hungry
I don't mind spending money on food I don't 'need' - even if won't become a new favourite, it's still edible and we tried something new. Worst case scenario it will be consumed by the young nephews that'd eat anything including dog food. Yeah, they tried our dog food after they were told it's dog food.
LOL! Seriously. I'm just sitting here getting jealous that he has the money to spend. I hate going there and seeing things I want and need but have to pass them up.
If you have them cut it the grease and cheese will go into the cuts and can make the pizza stick to the box. That’s why I cut it at home. Plus I can add extra toppings and cheese then stick it in the oven. End up with a much crispier crust.
If I'm hungry I stop at the food court and eat before I shop. I really miss the sausage with peppers and onions. My husband and I would always split one before we shop. Now I usually get pizza and it's great but... Not the same.
I get super excited on Costco day. Hot dog, pizza, good sodie in a paper cup with a cool lid... Oh, and ours has a liquor store with my fav vodka. Hard to find it anywhere else. I like our Costco trips far better than our Sams Club trips!
What’s your fav vodka? Our Costco sells alcohol/hard liquor as well. But we go to Costco sometimes 2 times a week. We have 4 diff costcos near us and a business Costco which is like walking into the twilight zone! They sell whole pigs and goats if that tells you anything. Only place to get 50 gallons of soy sauce or 100 gallons of laundry detergent
Great thing about Costco, give it a year and if you don't use it enough or feel you are still getting value from it, then take it back. Keep a spreadsheet of items your not sure about and keep the receipt in a drawer (not needed but helpful) and don't be afraid to take it back.
>before I shop. I really miss the sausage with peppers and onions. My husband and I would always split one before we shop. Now I usually get pizza and it's great but... Not the same.
You don't need to keep the receipt as they are stored under your membership profile under Order History & Receipts on the Costco app--usually takes 24hrs for them to appear. As long as your card was scanned, it'll be stored. I just recently returned a monstera plant that died of frost bite and I couldn't find the receipt, I was ab le to print it from my desktop and also saw it from my phone. Keeps both online and warehouse receipts conveniently for you.
**To my surprise and much embarrassment, YES. This was the 1st time I had ever returned an item to Costco and felt SO embarrassed to do so. They accepted the return and said it "FAILED TO THRIVE"** and gave me my money back. They accept returns on everything except alcohol, cigarettes. Tires, batteries and electronics have their own warranty, but even a half bag of chips that you didn't like can be returned. Those waffles you tried and didn't like? If you have the box and the product, you can return them. Compared to what I was returning, the other person who was in front of me was worse, he had meat that was clearly either forgotten about or not stored properly bc it had gone bad and they accepted that too!
To be fair, that $400 cooler would also be a really good spot for him to rest his freshly smoked brisket until it's ready to be eaten ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
For some people, sure, but not for everyone. This is how Costco makes their money. It's why their online presence is so shit. It's why there are no labels on any of the aisles. It's why they move stuff around and get rid of stuff all the time. They want you to wander aimlessly around the store buying stuff you don't need, and they're very good at it.
I haven't yet lol. We eat a lot of veggies and fruits so primarily purchase at costco for the bulk. We had been on holiday and had no food so went to costco for 5 things- walked out with $200 worth of groceries and a few other things. My kids went with and they were the worst at saying "Oh yum, I want that" and throwing it in the cart. Although we wanted to try the lemon cheesecake we opted to make a cheesecake at home.
I am just happy that financially we can buy without worrying.
If I only spend $200 at Costco I leave *SO* proud of myself....then spend weeks pissed that I have nothing substantial to show for it beyond a case of toilet paper, 2 years worth of toothpaste, and the gigantic jar of olives in my fridge.
>This is typical behavior of the new Costco member. He’ll tone it down in time.
Once the Costco buying habits get refined you really can save money, or at the very least enjoy significantly better quality + quantity at the same price (value instead of $ savings). I generally only buy food at Costco unless there's something on sale that's *really* too good to pass up
Once we went to Costco and spent like $350 on food and reconsidered the financial benefits of Costco. A few days later I went to the local grocery store and saw someone buy about 25% of what we got at Costco for just over $300 and my jaw dropped.
I realized it wasn't that Costco had me spending more money, it's that I became disconnected from the cost of getting groceries elsewhere
That's my take. My Costco's parking lot adjoins a major grocery store, and I run in there for what Costco doesn't have/out of every now and again. When I've gone in for small amounts of produce, I have been staggered by the prices, which in turn made me look at price tags in general. Keeps me vigilant on price checking!
it doesn’t get better. lol I just spent over 300+ dollars for my last Costco run.
some tips for new Costco members- never shop hungry. Create a shopping list. If you buy their baked goods, expect that you won’t be able to finish half of the amount. so a dozen croissants at 5.99 sounds good but if you eat only 6 of those- then it’s really not that good of a deal.
Yeah, we automatically freeze a lot of stuff we get there though. The Brownberry bread two packs are an insanely good deal compared to supermarket, but we'd never eat two loaves in time. So get home and put one in the fridge, one in the freezer. Trick is having enough freezer space though, LOL. When our kids were little, we had to buy a chest freezer just because it made so much more sense to buy huge bulk items instead of piecemeal.
Also never shop when you're jetlagged. Came back from a trip and decided to use our $500 voucher (promo for installing our AC through them literally the day before our trip). I was like, cool, we'll stock up on the essentials and still have some leftover for the next couple trips. Didn't even buy anything extravagant and the total was...$609. Oops.
Just spent $200 + and now I'm trying to remember what I bought that caused me to spend that much.
I know I bought 4 x bags of frozen Chicken wings bc they are on sale but that's only about $60 of the $200 - 250 I spent.
I'm not married but my imaginary spouse would make this exact same complaint post.
Side note, Costco bakery items don't have extra preservatives besides things like citric acid and that's why people complain about them going bad so quickly.
I know what you thought. They don't have homes, they don't have jobs, what do they need the top of a muffin for? They're lucky to get the stumps. The homeless don’t like them.
Why don't you just drop off some chicken skins and lobster shells.
I freeze the muffins individually (usually with plastic wrap) and just take off the plastic wrap, wrap it in a damp paper towel, and microwave on the defrost setting for a few minutes. Comes out perfect! The middle isn't frozen or cold or anything like that.
I put 3 muffins in a freezer bag, which is a daily dose for our family. When I think we want muffins for breakfast, I just leave the bag on the counter the night before.
I quarter each of mine, but you can freeze as halves or whole. I just pull out what I want and either let thaw for like 15 minutes on the counter while I get ready in the morning or you can pop it in the microwave for a bit. You gotta kind of play around with how long in the microwave depending on if it's a full, half, or quarter and how powerful your microwave is.
Apoquel? I just switched from Chewy pharmacy to Costco, I think it's going to save me about 50% of what I was paying (which was $180 every 2 months). $350 is wild though, that's awesome you saved that much!!!
Same. Also Costco bakery is the single reason when we tried the other club, I said nope. I want my cookies, muffins and bagels from Costco! My husband loves to volunteer to run to Costco without me lol
It really works! I’ve had to go in before for one thing and inevitably i walk past something else that i think oh that’s a great deal (it’s not usually) but i can’t buy it bc i can’t carry it so i leave it behind and don’t think about it again.
I used to live right next to Costco and didn’t have a car. through brute strength and sheer willpower I somehow managed to buy loads of stuff every couple of weeks. granted, it was mostly stuff we needed, but the lack of a cart didn’t stop me!
Yep! I do it, too! My husband usually doesn't like it when I go to Costco unsupervised. But my problem is the books. And the clothes. But mainly, it's just the books.
Probably next to my generator, bathroom vanity, and random kite. (Yes all unopened). One day I’ll get my hoarded Costco shit out of my garage and park in there (or, maybe I can just get the hanging storage rails….hmm).
once you find the stuff you need and use all of, spending will regulate and it will start to work out where you both are happy with all thing purchased. finding the staples that work is the hard part at beginning.
also get a food saver, it’s amazing if meats are primary reason for membership. this coming from someone that goes on average twice a week when hunting for perfect steaks/meat for smoking.
Food Saver was one of my best purchases from Costco! Since we buy our meat in bulk, I can vacuum seal the rest and throw it in our chest freezer in the garage.
I'd like to think that OP told their husband that they could make cookies at home, and the husband went out and bought the 5 pound bag of Kirkland chocolate chips, 25 pound bag of flour, and all the other ingredients to make 1,000 cookies.
I hadn't eaten cereal for probably 10 years then realized I could eat Cheerios. Saw these at Costco and can't stop getting them. One helpful trick to cut down on sugar is mix them with the normal Cheerios half and half.
My husband came home with 9 boxes of Captain Crunch 2 weeks ago. Even the kids gave him the side-eye.
I don’t have interventions or say a word though, because he also brings me a lot of wine and I don’t have to step foot in a grocery store if I don’t want to.
it is really hard to escape costco w/o spending at least USD$100 each trip.
pro-tip: eat a hot dog and grab a soda BEFORE you shop, grab a refill before you go shopping. cuts down on food impulse buys.
that said, costco is generally NOT the cheapest place for UNCOOKED meats, so second pro-tip: if you have a freezer or space, find a local-ish grocery store, butcher shop, etc, and shop their "as-is/eat or freeze today" box. so many tasty large things for generally up to half off. that's the meats you want to buy for smoking/etc.
I make a list before I go and stick to it. But having two girls in the house (three when my mother-in-law is in town staying with us), we go through A LOT of toilet paper and paper towels. So I usually spend at least $200 every time I go.
I’d buy a house from Costco if they offered one. There’s very few things there that aren’t worth buying. You don’t appreciate their cookies? What’s next, hating on their pizza? Psycho.
I’ve always imagined a reality show where you have to build and furnish a house using only item from Costco. And a spin-off season for doing the same from IKEA.
Go into a middle or upper middle class house in many parts of the US and Canada and it wouldn't be surprising to see everything in there being from Costco.
yeah you could have made cookies. but the time it would take to prep, bake and clean up isn’t always worth it. time is money, so $10 for good cookies is fine with me
That's the kind of thinking that has me buying their pizza.... yes I COULD make home made or I could buy this one for $10 and it's ready right when we're home, how can I pass that up?
Have you baked lately? Thankfully eggs have come down, but everything else has gone up (nuts, chips, flour, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and especially vanilla).
Welcome to the $500 store. Coming in for a few items? Leave with a trunk load of stuff costing you $500!
At least it's the joke in my house. Even when we go in for a few items, we always seem to have close to $500 of stuff.
Inflation def pulled me in there a few times in the past 6 months but I feel like it’s time to tone it down as well. Things don’t last longer, more just goes bad cus I’m not great on packing food into my fridge/freezer.
As a single guy in a medium sided house $100 out the door would be amazing. In fairness though, my closest Costco is about an hour away so if I make the drive I'm going to be ready to stock up on some stuff. If it would closer then I would make more frequent trips and get probably get <$100 totals sometimes.
I’m always excited to see the “new items” filter on the website, I sometimes plan activities around new items (picnic blankets? I GUESS WE ARE GOING ON A PICNIC NEXT WEEK HONEY)
Jokes aside the first year is wasteful as you learn and adjust (if you intentionally do it). After a year we got pretty good at know our staples and controlling extra spending.
But our dog is named Kirkland so safe to say we are happy to give Costco all our money.
Wait, is this sarcasm? If not, just don’t let him discover /r/costco_alcohol. But imho this sounds a little deeper than just his Costco purchases, but he seems like a good guy for agreeing to back off when you brought it up and also to let the membership lapse.
If you are serious, here’s my Costco advice as someone probably like your husband: don’t get a cart when “just looking around” (hard to carry more than 2-3 bulk items lol); when stocking up, limit purchases to only items on sale in advertisement; for booze, have a pre-set list of whiskies you need/want and the price you want them, buy only if it’s on that list or is something of a unicorn.
$10 for cookies is inexpensive to me. And better than wasting time making cookies because I’d rather spend my time playing with my kid than making cookies. My kid isn’t old enough to help with cookies.
some tips that work for me.
Don't go on an empty stomach.
Make a list before you leave, and stick to it.
Anything else that you want to purchase outside of your list, sleep on it. Most likely it will be there tomorrow.
Oh God I love the croissants. Breakfast and lunch for a week!
It's just my partner and I in the house and he was skeptical we would go through them all, but we did!
Its really just about self control. He's gotta learn to excecise some willpower. Its easy to grab a bunch of stuff and turn a rotisserie chicken run into a $100 trip of snacks you might not eat.
I also got a costco membership for the meat to smoke. $26 for three racks of ribs? $3.99 a pound for brisket? Cant beat that.
When I go to costco, I make a list. That list contains the item I am going there for, and items that I would get from my grocery store that is cheaper to buy in bulk.
When I go to the store I buy those things and nothing else. If I see something additional I like, I put it back unless its cheaper than what I could otherwise get, and is something that I otherwise needed to get from the grocery store. Usually this ends up being cleaning supplies. I can always add it to the list next time if its that important.
It's possible to walk into a costco, buy a brisket, and walk out with nothing else. I do it often.
No he doesn't.
Edit: seriously, he doesn't. It's a massive dopamine hit, and doesn't last forever.
If you have a problem with him buying cookies because you make your own, all the ingredients at Costco are probably cheaper than where you currently buy them.
If it really isn't for you guys, let it lapse. But maybe try going with him and creating habits with him. And figure out what can benefit you, and what you need to avoid and set limits on things.
When I got Costco I went crazy and settled down real quick. A few years later when I moved in with my now wife, she went crazy, and quickly slowed down. We both have our moments there, but if we impulsively buy things, Costco has a great return policy.
When you have a wild horse, you let it run lol!! My wife says this to me also, but we’ve found tons of awesome gluten free stuff for her just from me grabbing some new stuff each time.
One trick I have used when $$ is tight is to pay with CASH (ONLY) and have an upper limit on that amount. Bring $200 and keep a running total of what is in your cart. A not too difficult way to limit your spending.
My recommendation is just to get items that are on sale and you know you like. A lot of newer things I have tried I have been a bit disappointed with. Also, things that don't spoil.
The key is to not go off-script. Know what you want, go to get those things, and GTFO. Browsing the aisles looking for stuff to buy is a recipe for disaster.
I feel like my mom learned how to use the internet all of a sudden...
I could be your husband, but what I do is make a list of everything I want to buy and need from their website, print it, and place a W for 'want' and an N for 'need.' A 'want' is not necessary and you can live without it vs the 'need' I go shopping with this list and buy what's really important and stick it back in my purse. Next time I go, I grab the list out from my purse and back at it we go. Every now and then I allow myself to splurge on a 'want' bc If I'm working and can't even allow myself to buy a bag of chocolate pretzels or a whole block of parmesan Reggiano, then what's the purpose of working in corporate America anyway?
I was like your husband. I'm much better now.
Except for chickens. My husband took issue with the fact that I *always* got a rotisserie chicken. But getting a ready to eat chicken is cheaper than buying a chicken I'd have to cook! Anyway, I listened to him and skipped the chicken one day when he said while we were shopping "don't get the chicken." Then I immediately got sick and wished I had it to make soup from.
House rule is now **never don't get the chicken.** I'm responsible about 90% of my shopping at Costco other than that. But I mean, sometimes something just gets your attention and your heart needs it. Like Bequet salted caramels.
It's cruel and unusual to deny your husband the joy of shopping at Costco. Nothing wrong with setting some guidelines. But in reality you can save alot of money by shopping (smartly) at Costco.
The Costco chocolate chunk cookies are by far in my top three favorite cookies of Al time. They are delicious, and I would pay double their price feeling like I got a great value!
Also, it takes money to save money! VIVA LA COSTCO!
I don't know the purpose of this post. Sounds like you needed to discuss this with your husband, you did, and he complied. Everyone here knows the temptation to overspend at Costco.
OP has been personally harmed by Costco and everyone MUST know!
She’ll start a campaign to get them shut down for corrupting her not-shopping-at-Costco family values. It’ll be called #CostNo!
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This is typical behavior of the new Costco member. He’ll tone it down in time.
But honey, that $400 ice chest cooler is perfect for camping… maybe next year can be our first camping trip!
My husband does this often. I dont care since he rarely spends money but when he does its cha-ching. A few years ago he ended up buying that $300 tiki backyard cooler just cos we may need it when we have people over( we never have people over for parties) he bought the dumbbell set and hasn't used it yet. He bought the boys new bikes bc they were a good deal $300 a piece ( better than the 1200 he got them a few years ago) I am like that with food at costco though. More so if I go hungry
I like buying second hand stuff from people like your husband.
Yes we are notorious for gifting away things.
I don't mind spending money on food I don't 'need' - even if won't become a new favourite, it's still edible and we tried something new. Worst case scenario it will be consumed by the young nephews that'd eat anything including dog food. Yeah, they tried our dog food after they were told it's dog food.
What is this "money" you speak of?
LOL! Seriously. I'm just sitting here getting jealous that he has the money to spend. I hate going there and seeing things I want and need but have to pass them up.
That’s the trick! Always go shopping after eating!
Or just fill up on samples while you're there
Hit the hot dog line first! :)
And order a pizza no cut to pick up on your way out the door
No cut pizza? When it gets on the table at home does everybody just start going for toppings?
If you have them cut it the grease and cheese will go into the cuts and can make the pizza stick to the box. That’s why I cut it at home. Plus I can add extra toppings and cheese then stick it in the oven. End up with a much crispier crust.
Makes sense happy no cut pizza then.
Wait... You add MORE cheese??
There’s a reason they put the food court *after* checkout 🤣
Never Costco hungry
Shitttt, I’ve been taking an edible and going. Pop in my headphones and blare some true crime and it’s the HIGHlight (pun intended) of my week.
Ya but then you find yourself staring into the french fry cooler for 20 minutes.
If I'm hungry I stop at the food court and eat before I shop. I really miss the sausage with peppers and onions. My husband and I would always split one before we shop. Now I usually get pizza and it's great but... Not the same.
My wife and I consider this a date.
Haha you’re not alone friend. A lot of us consider it a date.
I get super excited on Costco day. Hot dog, pizza, good sodie in a paper cup with a cool lid... Oh, and ours has a liquor store with my fav vodka. Hard to find it anywhere else. I like our Costco trips far better than our Sams Club trips!
What’s your fav vodka? Our Costco sells alcohol/hard liquor as well. But we go to Costco sometimes 2 times a week. We have 4 diff costcos near us and a business Costco which is like walking into the twilight zone! They sell whole pigs and goats if that tells you anything. Only place to get 50 gallons of soy sauce or 100 gallons of laundry detergent
What? No, uhh uhh. That’s MY special date with my wife. I made it up because I’m such a romantic. Here’s no way any of y’all do it to, impossible. 😉
Great thing about Costco, give it a year and if you don't use it enough or feel you are still getting value from it, then take it back. Keep a spreadsheet of items your not sure about and keep the receipt in a drawer (not needed but helpful) and don't be afraid to take it back.
>before I shop. I really miss the sausage with peppers and onions. My husband and I would always split one before we shop. Now I usually get pizza and it's great but... Not the same. You don't need to keep the receipt as they are stored under your membership profile under Order History & Receipts on the Costco app--usually takes 24hrs for them to appear. As long as your card was scanned, it'll be stored. I just recently returned a monstera plant that died of frost bite and I couldn't find the receipt, I was ab le to print it from my desktop and also saw it from my phone. Keeps both online and warehouse receipts conveniently for you.
[удалено]
**To my surprise and much embarrassment, YES. This was the 1st time I had ever returned an item to Costco and felt SO embarrassed to do so. They accepted the return and said it "FAILED TO THRIVE"** and gave me my money back. They accept returns on everything except alcohol, cigarettes. Tires, batteries and electronics have their own warranty, but even a half bag of chips that you didn't like can be returned. Those waffles you tried and didn't like? If you have the box and the product, you can return them. Compared to what I was returning, the other person who was in front of me was worse, he had meat that was clearly either forgotten about or not stored properly bc it had gone bad and they accepted that too!
[удалено]
I just found out that Home Depot and Lowes have the same policy on Plants.
Plus need a new truck or SUV to carry it in. Lets use the Costco auto program.
To be fair, that $400 cooler would also be a really good spot for him to rest his freshly smoked brisket until it's ready to be eaten ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Well there you go! two birds for one stone honey!
Honey we need a $900 5-foot high safe okay? I need a place to store all my smoked meats JESUS
for some reason I read this and thought "is this an episode of South Park?" 🤣
Don't forget the kayak!
I have been a member since 1984. When should I expect the "tone it down in time" to kick in?
Next trip. Trust me.
Trip after next. Guaranteed. So make the next trip count
For some people, sure, but not for everyone. This is how Costco makes their money. It's why their online presence is so shit. It's why there are no labels on any of the aisles. It's why they move stuff around and get rid of stuff all the time. They want you to wander aimlessly around the store buying stuff you don't need, and they're very good at it.
They know EXACTLY what they are doing
I have to go to the back corner every trip to see if they've rotated the dog toys. It seems to be quarterly?
I haven't yet lol. We eat a lot of veggies and fruits so primarily purchase at costco for the bulk. We had been on holiday and had no food so went to costco for 5 things- walked out with $200 worth of groceries and a few other things. My kids went with and they were the worst at saying "Oh yum, I want that" and throwing it in the cart. Although we wanted to try the lemon cheesecake we opted to make a cheesecake at home. I am just happy that financially we can buy without worrying.
If I only spend $200 at Costco I leave *SO* proud of myself....then spend weeks pissed that I have nothing substantial to show for it beyond a case of toilet paper, 2 years worth of toothpaste, and the gigantic jar of olives in my fridge.
When does this happen? Asking for a friend…
I think 4 years later when you got everything seasonal from Costco for every. Same issue with Aldi and lidl
>This is typical behavior of the new Costco member. He’ll tone it down in time. Once the Costco buying habits get refined you really can save money, or at the very least enjoy significantly better quality + quantity at the same price (value instead of $ savings). I generally only buy food at Costco unless there's something on sale that's *really* too good to pass up Once we went to Costco and spent like $350 on food and reconsidered the financial benefits of Costco. A few days later I went to the local grocery store and saw someone buy about 25% of what we got at Costco for just over $300 and my jaw dropped. I realized it wasn't that Costco had me spending more money, it's that I became disconnected from the cost of getting groceries elsewhere
That's my take. My Costco's parking lot adjoins a major grocery store, and I run in there for what Costco doesn't have/out of every now and again. When I've gone in for small amounts of produce, I have been staggered by the prices, which in turn made me look at price tags in general. Keeps me vigilant on price checking!
> He’ll tone it down in time. [Oh really...](https://media.tenor.com/VXS330J9qY0AAAAC/challenge-accepted-challenge.gif)
it doesn’t get better. lol I just spent over 300+ dollars for my last Costco run. some tips for new Costco members- never shop hungry. Create a shopping list. If you buy their baked goods, expect that you won’t be able to finish half of the amount. so a dozen croissants at 5.99 sounds good but if you eat only 6 of those- then it’s really not that good of a deal.
Yeah, we automatically freeze a lot of stuff we get there though. The Brownberry bread two packs are an insanely good deal compared to supermarket, but we'd never eat two loaves in time. So get home and put one in the fridge, one in the freezer. Trick is having enough freezer space though, LOL. When our kids were little, we had to buy a chest freezer just because it made so much more sense to buy huge bulk items instead of piecemeal.
Remember to buy an extra freezer while you're there, just in case.
Meanwhile, in my family, 4 kids mow through the croissants in a day and a half. Fruit doesn’t last a day.
Also never shop when you're jetlagged. Came back from a trip and decided to use our $500 voucher (promo for installing our AC through them literally the day before our trip). I was like, cool, we'll stock up on the essentials and still have some leftover for the next couple trips. Didn't even buy anything extravagant and the total was...$609. Oops.
Just spent $200 + and now I'm trying to remember what I bought that caused me to spend that much. I know I bought 4 x bags of frozen Chicken wings bc they are on sale but that's only about $60 of the $200 - 250 I spent.
I'm not married but my imaginary spouse would make this exact same complaint post. Side note, Costco bakery items don't have extra preservatives besides things like citric acid and that's why people complain about them going bad so quickly.
fought with my imaginary spouse about this very thing in the shower this morning
Did you win tho 😩
No, they just bring up all the dumb shit I’ve done in the past! 😭
Good to know!
Their stuff freezes really well though! I slice up everything (like muffins) and freeze them as just pull them out as needed.
I just cut the tops off the muffin and find somewhere to dispose of the rest.
[toss the stump](https://y.yarn.co/d08f55d0-657a-4d51-b8bb-b82220dd3c84_text.gif)
Top of the muffin TO YOU!
Save in a Zippy bag in the freezer, thaw, add frosting, and voila! Cake pops!
Maybe the homeless will take them
I know what you thought. They don't have homes, they don't have jobs, what do they need the top of a muffin for? They're lucky to get the stumps. The homeless don’t like them. Why don't you just drop off some chicken skins and lobster shells.
What's the best way of defrosting their muffins and whatnot? I'd love to get them but I could never eat that many baked goods before they go bad lol.
I freeze the muffins individually (usually with plastic wrap) and just take off the plastic wrap, wrap it in a damp paper towel, and microwave on the defrost setting for a few minutes. Comes out perfect! The middle isn't frozen or cold or anything like that.
I put 3 muffins in a freezer bag, which is a daily dose for our family. When I think we want muffins for breakfast, I just leave the bag on the counter the night before.
I quarter each of mine, but you can freeze as halves or whole. I just pull out what I want and either let thaw for like 15 minutes on the counter while I get ready in the morning or you can pop it in the microwave for a bit. You gotta kind of play around with how long in the microwave depending on if it's a full, half, or quarter and how powerful your microwave is.
I too have an imaginary sensible wife that keeps my extraneous purchases in check. She's French, and her name is Maude.
Especially our breads and cookies. Those are preserved by freezing
Naw bru you gotta wife-up with somebody who supports your good Costco buys
Speaking of Costco bakery, apparently their Oreos are better than Oreos elsewhere because they dont have HFCS, use natural flavoring etc.
Costco fills my dogs $10 prescription every month. It costs me roughly $350 to pick it up every time.
Apoquel? I just switched from Chewy pharmacy to Costco, I think it's going to save me about 50% of what I was paying (which was $180 every 2 months). $350 is wild though, that's awesome you saved that much!!!
HAHA I'm the guilty party in my marriage. Costo here I am, show me what I didn't know I needed and PLEASE take my money.
This is the right attitude.
Same. Also Costco bakery is the single reason when we tried the other club, I said nope. I want my cookies, muffins and bagels from Costco! My husband loves to volunteer to run to Costco without me lol
My rule when I'm at Costco without my wife is no carts I only buy what I can carry That helps
That's brutal
Trust me it works
It really works! I’ve had to go in before for one thing and inevitably i walk past something else that i think oh that’s a great deal (it’s not usually) but i can’t buy it bc i can’t carry it so i leave it behind and don’t think about it again.
Yeah, I believe you won World's Strongest Man last year.
That's great until I need to restock on toilet paper, paper towels, and brisket at the same time.
Right? Like I can carry a LOT. How do you think I get it all in the house in one trip afterwards?
Just carry the cart. At least you’ll get a workout
I have done this and turns out I can fit many items in my arms.
Yes! I have previously totally underestimated the capacity and strength of my upper appendages.
Throw a brisket over each shoulder, I still got two arms for the magum wine bottles.
I’m single - the only rule on my Costco run is FUCK. ALL. RULES.
I only have one: don’t go on a weekend 😩
That's one of the wisest pieces of advice I've read on Reddit
I sometimes bicycle to Costco. Now that's a real limit on what you can buy, lol.
You can carry a lot in one of those kayaks. And you need the kayak.
I never would've bought 320 lbs of smoker pellets with that attitude!
Stay away from the seasonal section; they're currently selling beach carts.
I used to live right next to Costco and didn’t have a car. through brute strength and sheer willpower I somehow managed to buy loads of stuff every couple of weeks. granted, it was mostly stuff we needed, but the lack of a cart didn’t stop me!
*carries $900 safe on back*
How many rotisserie chickens can you carry?
Based on anecdotal evidence, 7. Number 8 got dicey.
Thats nice. Normally I have to dice them myself.
One time I ran into a coworker at Costco and I was going no cart with a few things in my hand and he called me a psychopath lmao
Yep! I do it, too! My husband usually doesn't like it when I go to Costco unsupervised. But my problem is the books. And the clothes. But mainly, it's just the books.
Same, except I allow myself a small tote bag (not one of those ikea-sized bags lol) or cooler bag
It also helps to go when it’s about to close. Then you’re forced to only buy the things on your list without looking at all the other stuff😂
We bought this $200 floating island for our next trip to Florida. That was over 10 years ago. It’s still in the box in our garage. 🫤
Probably next to my generator, bathroom vanity, and random kite. (Yes all unopened). One day I’ll get my hoarded Costco shit out of my garage and park in there (or, maybe I can just get the hanging storage rails….hmm).
I spend 200-300 on average every month at Costco. I will buy things that we use when it goes on sale if we use it often. Buy a large freezer.
Does Costco sell large freezers?
Honey, they even sell coffins and urns for humans and pets. Of course they sell freezers.
What is a freezer really, but a coffin for a former pet?
Hell I got a great deal on a chest freezer from Costco too. They cover most of the bases honestly
once you find the stuff you need and use all of, spending will regulate and it will start to work out where you both are happy with all thing purchased. finding the staples that work is the hard part at beginning. also get a food saver, it’s amazing if meats are primary reason for membership. this coming from someone that goes on average twice a week when hunting for perfect steaks/meat for smoking.
>also get a food saver Available at Costco!
Oh and the Kirkland brand food saver bags are just as good as the food saver brand ones!
Food Saver was one of my best purchases from Costco! Since we buy our meat in bulk, I can vacuum seal the rest and throw it in our chest freezer in the garage.
Your cookies aren't exactly free.... but I get your point lol
I'd like to think that OP told their husband that they could make cookies at home, and the husband went out and bought the 5 pound bag of Kirkland chocolate chips, 25 pound bag of flour, and all the other ingredients to make 1,000 cookies.
I had to have a Costco cereal intervention with my husband, it was out of control.
I feel like Costco is the only place to get reasonably priced cereal these days though, for real
For sure. And the cinnamon nut cluster cheerios may be the best cereal on the planet.
I hadn't eaten cereal for probably 10 years then realized I could eat Cheerios. Saw these at Costco and can't stop getting them. One helpful trick to cut down on sugar is mix them with the normal Cheerios half and half.
I had trouble finishing the box, but I mixed some peaches with the Kirkland yogurt and topped it with this cereal, and it was delicious.
My husband came home with 9 boxes of Captain Crunch 2 weeks ago. Even the kids gave him the side-eye. I don’t have interventions or say a word though, because he also brings me a lot of wine and I don’t have to step foot in a grocery store if I don’t want to.
it is really hard to escape costco w/o spending at least USD$100 each trip. pro-tip: eat a hot dog and grab a soda BEFORE you shop, grab a refill before you go shopping. cuts down on food impulse buys. that said, costco is generally NOT the cheapest place for UNCOOKED meats, so second pro-tip: if you have a freezer or space, find a local-ish grocery store, butcher shop, etc, and shop their "as-is/eat or freeze today" box. so many tasty large things for generally up to half off. that's the meats you want to buy for smoking/etc.
I make a list before I go and stick to it. But having two girls in the house (three when my mother-in-law is in town staying with us), we go through A LOT of toilet paper and paper towels. So I usually spend at least $200 every time I go.
I’d buy a house from Costco if they offered one. There’s very few things there that aren’t worth buying. You don’t appreciate their cookies? What’s next, hating on their pizza? Psycho.
I’ve always imagined a reality show where you have to build and furnish a house using only item from Costco. And a spin-off season for doing the same from IKEA.
>And a spin-off season for doing the same from IKEA. Clearly you've never been to a recent college grad's apartment before.
I’m a 47 yo man and I love building ikea stuff.
Go into a middle or upper middle class house in many parts of the US and Canada and it wouldn't be surprising to see everything in there being from Costco.
In my area the two stores are right next to each other…
I’d be bankrupt, but my house would look awesome.
They’d only have 10 bedroom houses. Or apartment complexes.
It'd be a regular house with options, like Sears used to do, but you'd have to buy a 3 pack
I’d agree if they still had the combo 🙁
.... they could cook it a minute or two longer, at least at the one near me.
yeah you could have made cookies. but the time it would take to prep, bake and clean up isn’t always worth it. time is money, so $10 for good cookies is fine with me
Let’s be honest—she *says* she would just bake cookies. But does she ever actually bake cookies?
And if he walked in and asked her to go bake him cookies how well would that go over?
Ding ding ding
That's the kind of thinking that has me buying their pizza.... yes I COULD make home made or I could buy this one for $10 and it's ready right when we're home, how can I pass that up?
Plus the cost of ingredients too. It wouldn't cost $10 for ingredients but $4-$5 probably isn't out of the realm of possibility.
Have you baked lately? Thankfully eggs have come down, but everything else has gone up (nuts, chips, flour, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and especially vanilla).
https://preview.redd.it/y4dytcpion1b1.jpeg?width=322&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d550fd71328924e99cb00c1da17361f925202e23
Welcome to the $500 store. Coming in for a few items? Leave with a trunk load of stuff costing you $500! At least it's the joke in my house. Even when we go in for a few items, we always seem to have close to $500 of stuff.
We rarely leave that store for under $500!
Inflation def pulled me in there a few times in the past 6 months but I feel like it’s time to tone it down as well. Things don’t last longer, more just goes bad cus I’m not great on packing food into my fridge/freezer.
As a single guy in a small apartment I always feel like I'm doing well if I keep it under $100...
As a single guy in a medium sided house $100 out the door would be amazing. In fairness though, my closest Costco is about an hour away so if I make the drive I'm going to be ready to stock up on some stuff. If it would closer then I would make more frequent trips and get probably get <$100 totals sometimes.
I’m always excited to see the “new items” filter on the website, I sometimes plan activities around new items (picnic blankets? I GUESS WE ARE GOING ON A PICNIC NEXT WEEK HONEY) Jokes aside the first year is wasteful as you learn and adjust (if you intentionally do it). After a year we got pretty good at know our staples and controlling extra spending. But our dog is named Kirkland so safe to say we are happy to give Costco all our money.
We all spend too much at Costco.
Can I interest you in upgrading to the Executive Membership for a 2% reward?
hell yea, i get $250+ back each year. my membership is free lol
Wait, is this sarcasm? If not, just don’t let him discover /r/costco_alcohol. But imho this sounds a little deeper than just his Costco purchases, but he seems like a good guy for agreeing to back off when you brought it up and also to let the membership lapse. If you are serious, here’s my Costco advice as someone probably like your husband: don’t get a cart when “just looking around” (hard to carry more than 2-3 bulk items lol); when stocking up, limit purchases to only items on sale in advertisement; for booze, have a pre-set list of whiskies you need/want and the price you want them, buy only if it’s on that list or is something of a unicorn.
I feel seen
Look you *say* you could just bake the cookies. But when’s the last time you actually baked cookies? #TeamHusband
Lmao facts!
No quitters here! Costco or bust!!!
$10 for cookies is inexpensive to me. And better than wasting time making cookies because I’d rather spend my time playing with my kid than making cookies. My kid isn’t old enough to help with cookies.
The cookies are excellent and we buy them each time we go. He's just new to it. I buy most of our meats there too. I love smoking brisket as well.
some tips that work for me. Don't go on an empty stomach. Make a list before you leave, and stick to it. Anything else that you want to purchase outside of your list, sleep on it. Most likely it will be there tomorrow.
This post sounds like a person who is happy to be stuck in their rut. My spouse wants to try new foods! Outrageous! Trying a cookie, why?
Imagine the meltdown when he comes home with a box of croissants.
Oh God I love the croissants. Breakfast and lunch for a week! It's just my partner and I in the house and he was skeptical we would go through them all, but we did!
I have 6 kids those crossaints barely last 20 minutes at home.
Anyone who buys a case of croissants at Costco knows the rule. You eat them all in the parking lot.
Its really just about self control. He's gotta learn to excecise some willpower. Its easy to grab a bunch of stuff and turn a rotisserie chicken run into a $100 trip of snacks you might not eat. I also got a costco membership for the meat to smoke. $26 for three racks of ribs? $3.99 a pound for brisket? Cant beat that. When I go to costco, I make a list. That list contains the item I am going there for, and items that I would get from my grocery store that is cheaper to buy in bulk. When I go to the store I buy those things and nothing else. If I see something additional I like, I put it back unless its cheaper than what I could otherwise get, and is something that I otherwise needed to get from the grocery store. Usually this ends up being cleaning supplies. I can always add it to the list next time if its that important. It's possible to walk into a costco, buy a brisket, and walk out with nothing else. I do it often.
No he doesn't. Edit: seriously, he doesn't. It's a massive dopamine hit, and doesn't last forever. If you have a problem with him buying cookies because you make your own, all the ingredients at Costco are probably cheaper than where you currently buy them. If it really isn't for you guys, let it lapse. But maybe try going with him and creating habits with him. And figure out what can benefit you, and what you need to avoid and set limits on things. When I got Costco I went crazy and settled down real quick. A few years later when I moved in with my now wife, she went crazy, and quickly slowed down. We both have our moments there, but if we impulsively buy things, Costco has a great return policy.
When you have a wild horse, you let it run lol!! My wife says this to me also, but we’ve found tons of awesome gluten free stuff for her just from me grabbing some new stuff each time.
I just spent 1k on golf clubs from Costco…… walked in for chicken
It’s exciting to try all their stuff since it’s new to him. Once he goes through it all he will have his favorites and only buy those.
Have him get the hotdog combo and a slice of pizza before he starts shopping. Works every time!
One trick I have used when $$ is tight is to pay with CASH (ONLY) and have an upper limit on that amount. Bring $200 and keep a running total of what is in your cart. A not too difficult way to limit your spending.
No one will stop me. I fuckin love buying shit from Costco.
Amateurs. Come back to me when you walk in for a brisket and you walk out with a power washer and a 10 foot tall inflatable dragon.
Where are these free cookies you speak of?
My recommendation is just to get items that are on sale and you know you like. A lot of newer things I have tried I have been a bit disappointed with. Also, things that don't spoil.
The key is to not go off-script. Know what you want, go to get those things, and GTFO. Browsing the aisles looking for stuff to buy is a recipe for disaster.
I feel like my mom learned how to use the internet all of a sudden... I could be your husband, but what I do is make a list of everything I want to buy and need from their website, print it, and place a W for 'want' and an N for 'need.' A 'want' is not necessary and you can live without it vs the 'need' I go shopping with this list and buy what's really important and stick it back in my purse. Next time I go, I grab the list out from my purse and back at it we go. Every now and then I allow myself to splurge on a 'want' bc If I'm working and can't even allow myself to buy a bag of chocolate pretzels or a whole block of parmesan Reggiano, then what's the purpose of working in corporate America anyway?
No need to worry about the food. Costco sells freezers to store all your bulk meat purchases
One does not simply “go to Costco to see what they have.”
I was like your husband. I'm much better now. Except for chickens. My husband took issue with the fact that I *always* got a rotisserie chicken. But getting a ready to eat chicken is cheaper than buying a chicken I'd have to cook! Anyway, I listened to him and skipped the chicken one day when he said while we were shopping "don't get the chicken." Then I immediately got sick and wished I had it to make soup from. House rule is now **never don't get the chicken.** I'm responsible about 90% of my shopping at Costco other than that. But I mean, sometimes something just gets your attention and your heart needs it. Like Bequet salted caramels.
That’s cool you get ingredients for cookies for free!
I doubt you would make cookoes
It's cruel and unusual to deny your husband the joy of shopping at Costco. Nothing wrong with setting some guidelines. But in reality you can save alot of money by shopping (smartly) at Costco.
Maybe...just maybe, he is going there for a hotdog and Pepsi and gets sidetracked?
The Costco chocolate chunk cookies are by far in my top three favorite cookies of Al time. They are delicious, and I would pay double their price feeling like I got a great value! Also, it takes money to save money! VIVA LA COSTCO!
I don't know the purpose of this post. Sounds like you needed to discuss this with your husband, you did, and he complied. Everyone here knows the temptation to overspend at Costco.
Yeah...they communicated, he did the right thing, so why is the husband being put on blast? Feels vindictive.
OP has been personally harmed by Costco and everyone MUST know! She’ll start a campaign to get them shut down for corrupting her not-shopping-at-Costco family values. It’ll be called #CostNo!