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The Best Things To Buy At Costco To Save Money
When you think of shopping at Costco you probably think about spending a lot of money. Shopping in bulk can get expensive quickly if you aren’t careful about what you are buying.
Not everything at Costco is a good deal.
As a seasoned Costco shopper, I have learned the ins and outs about buying in bulk and how to get the most bang for your buck. Buying in bulk has saved my family hundreds of dollars per month and a whole lot of time as well.
To be exact buying in bulk has shaved off $300-$400 a month off of our grocery budget.
17 things you should be buying at Costco:
Updated 03/02/22
With grocery prices increasing rapidly it’s becoming much harder to shop economically in bulk especially when you have to factor in the cost of the membership.
Recently, I have made the switch over to Sam’s club because right now they have a promotion where you can Join for $45 and get $45 off your next in-club purchase of $45 or more. Basically, you are getting $45 of groceries for FREE. Not only is that promotion great but they also offer lots of different shopping options like scan and go & grocery pick up which is a game-changer for bulk shopping.
Also…
If you are looking at wanting to save a little money every year on a membership you can now shop without a membership to Costco & Sam’s Club via instacart. This is a great option for people who don’t shop at bulk stores very often or for people who might just want to try out bulk shopping before they commit to a memership. Highly recommend if this is something that you are interested in.
1. Bread/Tortillas
Bread is an absolute must at Costco. Our favorite brand is Artesano which you can grab a 2pk at Costco for $3.99. At the regular grocery store, you would never see that brand for under $2.00 per loaf even with a good sale.
We typically go through about a loaf a week so I will grab an extra pack to throw in the freezer to last us the entire month.
Tortillas are another must have from Costco. You can grab a 30 pack of the burrito size tortillas for $3.29. These are great for making big batches of bean and cheese or breakfast burritos for the freezer.
2. Muffins
If you didn’t already know Costco muffins are the bomb! They are an incredible deal because you get 2 containers of them (12 muffins total) for $7.99.
We always cut them in half because these muffins are insanely HUGE. You can get so many meals or snacks out of this 12 pack of muffins.
I always freeze them immediately for quick breakfasts on the weekend or towards the end of the month as we start to run low on things.
3. Coffee
Coffee from Costco is a great deal. You can grab a 3lb container of it for $9.99. Even though my husband and I are daily coffee drinkers this container of coffee easily lasts us 2 months and sometimes even longer.
4. Butter
Butter, yes, do not skip over the butter! You can grab a pack of butter at Costco for $7.29.
Each big pack contains 4 smaller packs which works out to be $1.82 per pack. I don’t know about you but I never find butter in the grocery store for $1.82.
This butter lasts me months and it’s great to have on hand for cooking and baking especially in the winter months.
5. Bell Peppers
I don’t usually buy that many fresh vegetable items at Costco because we just don’t go through it fast enough but bell peppers are the exception.
We use bell peppers in so many recipes and even my kids like to snack on them. They are excellent for freezing so that you can quickly add them to meals.
1 pack comes with 6 bell peppers in various colors. If you know bell peppers you know that yellow and orange are usually more expensive and you can get them all for $5.89.
6. Fresh Fruit
Although we don’t go through Costco sized fresh vegetables quick enough we DO easily blow through the fruit. Buying our fresh fruit at Costco makes so much sense.
Our favorites are
- Organic Grapes – $7.99 for 4 lbs. This works out to be about $1.99 per pound. Most of Costco’s produce tends to be organic and grapes are one of them. These hold up so well in the fridge typically up to 2 weeks. In the summer we will sometimes freeze half of the batch for a fun frozen treat.
- Apples – $7.99 for 5.5 lbs. I can sometimes get apples for a little bit cheaper than this at the store but the quality is why I keep buying from Costco. These apples are always super fresh and last weeks without going bad.
- Strawberries – $3.49 for 2lbs. Our family can easily go through 3-4 packs of these in a 2-week span so buying them at the grocery store especially in an off season (like right now, its fall) can get expensive.
- Blueberries – $4.29 for 18 oz. Just like the strawberries, we go through a lot of blueberries too. Blueberries are great for so many things like adding to yogurt, cereal, or pancakes. They also freeze really well!
7. Ground Beef/Chicken/Bacon
Where I live meat is expensive. There is no way I would be able to find ground beef for less than what I purchase it for at Costco.
At Costco, I can grab a 7lb pack of ground beef for $23.63. Most grocery stores around me typically sell ground beef for around $4-6 per pound.
Costco also sells a 6lb pack of ground beef in the frozen section that is preportioned out to (6) 1 lb pound packs. This is a far better deal as it usually runs for around $17 but they are very hard to find in stock. When I do see it I always pick it up.
8. Shredded Cheese
Cheese is one of those things that is used so often. Before I started shopping at Costco I was buying cheese weekly at the grocery store and spending so much on it.
Costco sells shredded cheese as a 2 pack (2.5 lbs each) so 5 lbs total. The packaging is compact enough to be able to easily store one in the freezer and one in the fridge without taking up too much space and it will easily last me a few months.
The pack is sold for around $14 for 5 lbs.
9. Peanut Butter
Peanut butter is a great protein to always have on hand and it is an excellent deal at Costco.
The peanut butter is sold as (2) 40 oz jars and goes for $8.99. I would love to say this will last me months but we usually buy this monthly as we go through it so quickly.
Because we go through it so fast it’s definitely a better deal to buy this in bulk.
10. Eggs
Eggs are definitely another great Costco purchase. You can get 24 eggs for $3.49! Around here you would barely be able to get a dozen for that price.
They do sell larger quantities of eggs but because of fridge space, I usually don’t purchase them. Either way, both packs are great deals if you use eggs often.
The Best Non-Food Items To Buy At Costco Are
When it comes to the non-food items I buy at Costco I usually stock up on them once a year. There is something wonderful knowing you don’t have to worry about running out of toilet paper or dish soap for an entire year.
Now there IS an exception to my “I only stock up on these items once a year rule” and that is if I can get them on a really good deal.
Last month Costco had a promotion where if you spent $100 on certain household and toiletry items you got a $25 gift card.
Not only did they run a gift card promotion but all of these items had additional coupon offers as well.
So bulk items + gift card offer + instant coupon savings = stock up.
11. Trash Bags
I am one of those people that never leave food in the trash overnight so because of that I take my trash out daily.
These trash bags last forever. One box has 200 trash bags and I can go almost a year without purchasing them again.
For around $13 a box there is absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t buy them in bulk.
They are such a great item to always have on hand and plus side – trash bags can never go bad.
12. Dish Soap
Dish soap is one of those household items that you will always need. It’s pretty much impossible to go without it even if you have a dishwasher.
The Costco brand dish soap is around $6.99 for 135 oz. The last time I had to purchase this was 7 months ago and I should be able to go for the rest of the year without buying it again.
13. Toilet Paper / Paper Towels
Paper towels aren’t something we go through quickly. When we were getting out of debt we actually stopped using paper towels altogether in order to save money.
But if you are going to buy paper towels getting them at Costco is totally worth it. A pack of 12 is just under $20 and each roll has around 160 sheets on it.
These rolls are massive!
1 pack will last my family for almost an entire year.
The toilet paper is just as good and you get 30 rolls for just under $20.00. These are one of my yearly stock up items. I can grab 2 packs and that will last my family for the entire year.
14. Toothpaste/Toothbrushes
When you can get these on sale they are such a great deal. These are one of those items that I would only purchase at Costco if it was on sale and thankfully they DO go on sale quite often.
15. Dishwasher Tablets
A container of these will last me 4 months and that is with running my dishwasher once a day. 3 of them will get me through the year. Buying these in bulk when they offer instant coupon savings is the best time to buy.
I purchased these this month on sale just under $12 for 120 count.
16. Laundry Detergent
When it comes to laundry detergent I am really spoiled. I like the convenience and ease of using the pods but I know logically the liquid is cheaper.
This is one of those items that I buy that I really don’t need so because of that I need to make sure I am getting a great deal on them.
These go on sale all of the time on Costco. Seriously, every few months you will see these pop up on instant savings, and last month they were also included in the gift card promotion too.
For around $60 I was able to grab an entire year’s worth of laundry pods and for me, that is worth it. If you opt for the liquid you can get it for even cheaper when they offer these deals.
17. Shampoo
I know my kids can’t be the only ones that use way too much product when they are in the shower.
Because of that, there is no way I am spending a ton of money on something they will use in no time. Buying the Costco brand shampoo lasts months in their shower and goes for around $8.99.
The pump on this is perfect because it doesn’t over dispense which makes it easier to use less product.
Great post! I love Costco!