Saving Money
Aug 28Because not everyone can be an expert.
Look out for Groupon specials
If you’re not sure you’re ready to commit to a full-priced Costco membership, wait for one to go on sale. The warehouse partners with Groupon about once a year to provide discounted Gold Star memberships. This year’s deal included $ 20 in Costco Cash and $ 65 in coupons. The memberships sell quickly though, so set up a Google alert for “Costco” and “Groupon” to make sure you get first dibs. Once you’re in the club, you’ll want to know these 5 awesome perks for Costco members.
Chose wisely between memberships
Once you commit to purchasing a Costco membership, you’ll need to decide which tier of membership you’d like to buy: gold star ($ 60 a year) or executive ($ 120 a year). The most exciting perk that comes with the executive membership is that it gets you 2 percent cash back annually. That means you’ll have to spend $ 3,000 a year to make the card pay for itself.
Ask for a chub of beef
One of the most important things frequent shoppers know about Costco is that it pays to ask for what you want. Often, the butcher and bakery workers are happy to see what they can do. This works for getting cheap ground beef too. “For extra lean (and cheap) ground beef, ask the meat department for a 10lb chub,” writes one Reddit user who works at the store. “We sell our regular ground beef (88/12 percent) for $ 3.49 a pound. The way we make it is we take our fat trimmings from cutting steaks and mix it with the chubs to bring up the fat content and increase our profits. The 10lb chubs are probably sitting around 5 percent – 8 percent fat and only cost $ 2.99 a pound! You’ll have to ask for these specifically as we don’t normally put them out for sale.” Here’s why professional chefs love Costco beef.
Buy alcohol without a membership
Many states prohibit any establishment from requiring membership to purchase alcohol. That includes Costco too. Simply tell the storefront attendant you’re there to buy alcohol and they should let you straight through. When you get to the checkout counter you’ll have to tell that worker as well—but it’ll all be worth it when you see the deal you’re getting. Make sure you live in one of the following states: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Texas, or Vermont.
