SacMomsClub.com

So I must confess that gong to Costco isn’t just a shopping trip for me, it’s an event.  It’s my PILs fault.  They bought us our first membership years ago.  At first I only went a occasionally and for Christmas shopping.  Then I started going about every other month for household supplies.  Now I go about every other week for regular stuff, clothing, books, kids things, business supplies, lunch, a frozen mocha, just to browse....Yes, I’ve got it bad!

The latest coupon mailer came in the mail about a week ago.  They send them out ahead of the date that the coupons are good for.  This gives me time to pour over the deals and consider them good and long. I actually Post-it flag the coupons I want to use!  The Costco coupon mailers are valuable because, as you might know, Costco does not accept outside or manufacturer’s coupons.

I recently did a price comparison of all the places I shop for food and household stuff.  I made a spreadsheet (yes I’m that way). I listed down the side all the most common products I buy and across the top I titled the columns for the stores I shop in. It actually took a couple days and a couple shopping trips to fill the whole thing it.  But it was an exercise worth doing.  It gave me a baseline comparison for the non-sale price of items at each store.  I knew Costco had good deals on a regular day, but this proved it.  Since then, I actually have started to buy more items there than I was before – like eggs and milk and bread for instance.

So, today with coupon book in hand I took off happily to Costco – without the kids.  An outing of nirvana proportions (Thank you Grandparents!).  Don’t get me wrong, the triplets are pretty good shoppers; I’ve been toting them to stores with me since they were 10 months old.  They especially love to go to Costco – grazing the land of free snacky samples.  They love to eat lunch there too – sometimes it’s a toss up between McDonalds or Costco, really!  But a chance to go without them is something I don’t pass on. 

 Today I actually stuck to my list.  I bought all coupon items for things we use on a regular basis. And felt like I really scored triumphantly.  Until the associate at checkout told me my total purchase tally for the past year.  Apparently I spend so much there that I qualify to save a ton – if I upgrade my membership level.  Hmmmm....  I’ve heard this before.   And I was actually looking into it a couple months ago, but I hadn’t moved on it.  Apparently, if after a year, I don’t ‘earn’ back in savings more than I spend on the upgrade, then I can downgrade again and get my upgrade fee back.  I've been in denial for awhile about my Costco spending.  I thought I didn't spend enough to make the upgrade worth it.  So, with today's spending info, I decided to do it.  Besides, soon Costco's coupon policy will be changing and only the Exec members will get the coupon mailer - Oh No!!!!

For some it is the call of the wild. I guess for me it is the call of the warehouse store.....