Sunday Review: Why you need a Costco membership.

"We can't store bulk groceries, why would we have a Costco membership?"

I cannot for the life of me comprehend this response when I recommend that other full timers make purchases at Costco.



Costco cards are not expensive. The basic membership is $60/year. That's like spending $5 per month. You will save far, far more than $5 per month with a Costco membership.

First, there are plenty of groceries you can get at Costco that don't take up massive amounts of space but will save you money. Fresh fruits and berries are some of my favourites, but ground meats are also easily separated into smaller pakaging for storage in the freezer. Coffee is another favourite for a bulk buy, along with gatorade (I leave it in the truck), drink mixes, sauces, butter, vinegar, cheap lunches (my God those all beef sausages are amazing)... and more.

Second, groceries take up less than half of Costco. Just the other day I bought a memory foam pillow for about thirty bucks. Prescription medication prices can't be beat. We fill up both gasoline and propane for maximum savings - unless you're 100% diesel fueled, you'll save just on that alone. We buy educational workbooks for our daughter, movie passes, small appliances and more. Our favourite cooking method - the InstantPot - was purchased at Costco for far less than other retialers - even online retailers.

And honestly, I'd have a Costco membership just for access to their credit card.

Costco's members-only credit card has an amazing cashback program: 1% on groceries, 2% on fuel, and 3% at restuarants. That is in addition to any cashback you may be getting on your membership. We easily rack up close to $500 in cash back every year between the credit card and our membership.

Their card also comes with free insurance on all purchases made on the card. There are too many details to go into here, but I'll tell you about my experience.

I purchased a new bicycle through Costco on my card. It was a lightweight aluminimum mountainbike. Perfect for the kinds of trail riding I enjoy along with getting to and from work without spending money on fuel and wearing down my vehicle in rushhour traffic.

Within about two weeks, it was stolen from my place of work.

Too bad for me, right?

Well, I called up the credit card company and asked them about what converage my zero fee card may have for theft. I was put through to insurance and was told how to make a claim. About two weeks later, I was approved for a new bicycle of equal or lesser value. I repurchased the exact same bicycle and it was entirely covered.

I did purchase better bike locks after that incident, but I would have been out close to $600 had I not made the bicycle purchase on my Costco credit card.

Costco also sells generators, solar panels and batteries at deeply discounted rates. The Costco online store also gives you access to goods at much lower prices than other online retailers that you can't buy directly in store. And you can have it shipped to your local warehouse for pickup!

So why don't you have a Costco membership, yet?