Fred Meyer $54.57 after iBotta rebates and FM ecoupons
After not leaving the house for an entire week I decided to stock up on a bunch of groceries. Not because we were out of everything {although all our fresh fruits and veggies were nearly gone} but I had so much fun staying put for 7 days… I may want to do it again. 😉
Some of my favorite deals from Fred Meyer: Milk $0.99 a half gallon, Saltines $0.99, Dave’s Bread $0.94 after FM ecoupon and ibotta rebate, 18 count eggs $1.78, ham $0.99 lb, Gala apples $0.99 lb.
Winco $46.05
Oh Winco. I love your prices. Seriously. I totally get bummed out when I see the prices at other stores. Although I do the occasional iBotta rebate here and there, I rarely use coupons.
Greek Gods Yogurt $2.64 each, Avocados $0.88, Zucchini $0.78 lb, Mango $0.78, Gala Apples $0.98, Pears $0.98, Clementines 3 pounds $3.98, Big Boxes of General Mills cereal $1.99 after iBotta rebate, Beets $0.98 lb, Oatmeal $0.61 lb, Turkey hot dogs $0.98, French Fries $0.99, Pepperoni $1.78.
Costco $27.02 after $25 Costco rebate check
I went to Costco with Mrs. HB last week to pick up a few of their mailer specials and pretty much came out of the store thinking what I always do…. Costco is great for buying large quantities of food. It’s convenient. The produce is always fresh and there’s always something new to try.
But….
Aside from the occasional deal, it’s rarely ever a bargain. And even when it is a bargain, I always end up asking myself do I really need that much?
Take this bag of mini peppers for instance. Costco is selling the 1.5 pound bag for $5.99. I bought a 1 pound bag of mini peppers at Winco for $1.99. So essentially Costco is DOUBLE.
Tropicana orange juice. Costco has it for $13.99. I can usually find it on Amazon for $11.99. Shipped to my front door.
Big boxes of Cereal. Seriously. This can almost always be found on special at the grocery store for less than Costco is selling it. This week Winco has the big boxes on sale for $2.99, plus there is a $1.00 off iBotta rebate which then brings the price out of pocket to $1.99 a box. 2 big boxes, 2 rebates $3.98 instead of Costco’s $7.99.
Fact: Even though my parents gifted us a Costco membership last Christmas, I have not renewed my card yet. It wasn’t something I really planned out. It just sort of happened. On weeks that I tag along with HB to grocery shop and make freezer meals I bring a little cash in case there is something I want to buy. But for the most part, I’m totally over buying large amounts of stuff…
1. I really don’t need
2. When I crunch the numbers… really isn’t a bargain.
Like I said before, YES you can find the occasional deal. But for the most part? I’ll pass. I like being able to walk into a store and buy exactly what I went there for and not have to look at a bunch of stuff I don’t need. The more you linger… the more you spend. And honestly, I have better things to do then to try and talk myself into products that weren’t on my radar in the first place.
That probably sounds really negative. But it’s true.
Monthly dates with my husband…. Now that’s something I enjoy. And I’m happy to spend money on.
How about YOU?
What do you enjoy spending your hard earned money on?
~Mavis
- Total Spent This Week $130.64 Groceries, Take Out/Date Nights/Bakeries $30.02
- Total Spent in January on Groceries $202.99
- Total Spent in February on Groceries $143.94
- Total Spent in March on Groceries $183.35
- Total Spent in April on Groceries $205.67
- Total Spent on Groceries in May $130.64
************
- Total Spent in January on Take Out, Date Nights, and Bakery Treats $42.19
- Total Spent in February on Take Out, Date Nights and Bakery Treats $118.45
- Total Spent in March on Take Out, Date Nights and Bakery Treats $25.29
- Total Spent in April on Take Out, Date Nights and Bakery Treats $62.50
- Total Spent in May of Take Out, Date Nights and Bakery Treats $30.02
Go HERE to read more Shopping Trip Stories.
Sue V says
Did you know you can shop at Costco without a membership? If Mrs HB has a membership, have her get a Costco gift card for you (you pay her back) and then you can shop there without paying the annual fee.
Kathy says
I love this information! Thank you for sharing!
connie says
this week I actually had my menu for the week and I figured out exactly what I needed for meals and I went to winco and bought exactly what I needed, went to bulk isle and bought only what I needed for the meal and the exact amount of veggies…once green pepper instead of the bag at Costco..2 carrots instead of a whole bag…instead of buying the bulk at Costco and planning my meals around that…I can track better this way and I already noticed the money savings…trying to do better with budgeting.. I told my husband our basket actually looked like a basket for 2 people instead of the Costco trip looking like we are feeding a family of 4…will see how it goes…
Jillbert says
You know, Mavis, I’m feeling the same as you about Costco. As my kids have gotten older (and one left for college), the buying in quantity thing just isn’t as appealing. We also have had a few more supermarkets open near us and there are always better prices to be had much closer to home than Costco. My membership expired in March. I haven’t renewed it.
erin in ia says
Never did the Costco thing but had a Sam’s club membrsbip only because it saved me $250 a year on a prescription. Stayed away from the food and never took my husband. When I no longer needed the prescription I let it go. I’ve got Aldi and that beats everything.
Marcia says
It’s funny, because if you look at where we spend our money (yes I have a spreadsheet with pie charts and bar charts), the top 3 are Trader Joe’s, Costco, and our produce delivery.
I think whether Costco is going to be a deal or not really depends a lot on location and what you buy. For us:
1. Milk. Costco, hands down, cheaper than any other store, including sales
2. Butter. Same
3. Cheese. Same We buy 2-lb blocks of sharp cheddar, plus a big thing of feta. I have never gotten any cheese on sale at any store, with coupon, cheaper per pound.
4. Bread. $4.59 for 2 loaves of whole wheat, no other store can beat it.
5. Cereal, though we don’t eat it much anymore, is cheaper than even sale prices at stores. (My hubby had a thing for Kellogg’s raisin bran).
6. Eggs, which *can* be had for cheaper at store sales, are consistently a good price at Costco.
7. Canned diced tomatoes and tomato paste
8. Natural peanut butter. My kids go through buckets of this
9. Swimsuits. I wear through 1 every 8 months, and you can’t beat the $19.99 Speedo.
10. Rotisserie chicken for 5 bucks
11. 3 lb tin of coffee, cheaper per pound than anywhere else.
12. Frozen salmon
13. Frozen cherries
14. Fresh raspberries in season
15. Veggie burgers
16. 4-pack of frozen pepperoni pizza, $12
17. Drugs – allergy meds mostly
You are correct, that a lot of the veggies are more expensive than I can find elsewhere. But I kept a price book for many years on the foods that we buy regularly, and the above are consistently cheaper at Costco, by quite a bit, than even the best sale prices at our other grocery stores.
So I just stopped even trying to find a good sale price on the above. We don’t have Winco, Aldi, Walmart here.
Katie says
Agreed. I also think it’s a great deal for photos, eyeglasses, clothing, tires, travel and where available, liquor. We also bought a new car using their service and were thrilled with how easy it was. Plus, they treat their employees well, the stores are clean, and the return policy can’t be beat. I love Costco.
Carol says
I’m confused. Today is May 1, right? By 9:14 am, you’ve already shopped at Fred Meyer, WINCO, and Costco, and had a date night?
Carol B. says
I think it’s her purchases from one day last week, hence the title of the page “$250 a Month Food Budget – Groceries, Take Out and Date Nights – April 25th – May 1st”. See the dates? 🙂
Kathy says
Her heading says April 25-may 1, but why does it even matter?
Chelsea says
Supeisngly, i actually disagree with your dislike of Costco. I used to love winco and the lower prices but it comes at the price of quality and treatment of employees . If you like processed foods it’s probably a better deal but we don’t eat much processed foods. I love Costco for the quality ingredients they have, cheap medications, and how well they treat their employees. I know certain things cost more but they have tons of organic/non gmo labeled foods which is what my family and I purchase. By purchasing these products we actually save money in the end. I think it just all depends on what kind of food you’re purchasing there.
Sara says
I agree with you on the great treatment of employees at Costco. I love supporting businesses like that. However, are you saying that Winco doesn’t have good treatment of employees? I’ve heard the opposite multiple times. Also, they are employee owned so it seems unlikely they’d treat the employees badly.
Carrie says
I have two adults in my household and I shop almost exclusively at Costco. I buy strawberries, raspberries, bananas, apples and spinach weekly. I also buy a ton of frozen fruit for protein smoothies, frozen organic chicken breast, whole wheat bread and salmon. They sell Vega plant based protein powder at a steal compared to Whole Foods. We drink a protein smoothie 5 days a week. The processed foods will blow my budget but its nice to have those organic rice packets on hand to go with some leftover grilled chicken. I also get the huge bag of almonds and walnuts for snacking and salads.
Jo says
Check Amazon. The Vega protein is consistently the same or cheaper than Costco.
Ray says
I agree with some of your readers who think Costco is a good deal for most kitchen staples. Here in Hawaii the cost of living is ridiculous…$6-$7 for a gallon of milk to name just one! Costco tends to have fresher produce, unless you buy local, which is oftentimes much more expensive.
S says
I suppose the Costco benefit/draw depends on your family size and eating/shopping habits. We enjoyed a membership for a year, but for me, the biggest downside was having to shop at two places (Costco and Market Basket, our regular store in the Boston area). It was time consuming and stressful to go to both and that Costco parking lot and check out line took forever (not to mention meandering around looking at products and samples, ha!)! Yes, there was some excellent selection and some decent deals at Costco, but too time consuming for me. (Market Basket isn’t quite as cheap as Winco or Aldi, but it’s very good prices overall.)
Gigi says
I agree. I never found the prices worth having to wait to get into the parking lot, to meander the aisles, and then wait in outrageously long lines all to save 50 cents on a gallon of milk.
Melissa says
We have a family of 10. I love, love, love Costco. I buy the Hempler’s whole hams & the Kirkland whole turkey breasts, bring them home & slice for lunch meat. Costco’s price on Romain lettuce beats everyone else, hands down. I buy their Kirland brand Greek yogurt, their frozen triple berry mix, real maple syrup, protein bars (the ones that are the knock offs of Quest bars), vitamins, Kirkland fast release Ibuprofen, their big bags of tortilla chips, dog food & bully sticks. I agree, you have to watch your prices, but if you’re not buying junky food & can avoid the clothes/housewares/books, I think it’s an awesome place to shop.
Lace Faerie says
After two years of the executive membership not paying for itself in cash back, we changed to the standard membership. When we upgraded 15+ years ago, it saved us on homeowners and auto insurance (not anymore), fresh fruit, meats and cheeses and bottled beverages when we were feeding select teams every weekend during tournaments March-August.
Now we eat mostly Zaycon meats. I’ve been pressure canning chicken breasts and taco meat for instant meals as well as freezing both for recipe uses. We love the chicken breasts and thighs, ground beef, pork roasts, rib steaks and kielbasa.
For veggies tho’ when I want quality and freshness, I love Costco. Budget often requires shopping Winco but their produce is no where near the quality. Sometimes I just get tired of scabby undersized produce. Winco here in Bellingham has the best prices on organic milk, and I have noticed an increase in organic canned and packaged goods. And they have a large bulk foods section.
I usually find the best prices on spiral cut hams at Fred Meyer at Christmas and Easter and have been pleased to find their ham prices has stayed low. I will also go to Freddie’s for large baking potatoes (Costco’s always seem to have that icky brown crack in the centers) and during spring for their flowers for my gardens.
Laura says
You do know that you can get that money back if the Exec membership does not pencil out? I always make it my mission to not cover the exec membership fee. I get the balance back but I get a higher amount back on gas purchases, etc. Just thought I would share in case others did not know.
I am in the camp of “seldom Costco” for good deals. I get much better deals elsewhere on pretty much everything so I keep membership mostly for cheap gas.
Danni says
I rarely see meat in her chart. Am I the only one that has a family with six boys that want meat with every dinner?
LA says
I recently checked out the new Costco in my town to decide if a membership would be worth the money. We are empty-nesters so I don’t really need to stock up or buy bulk quantities like I used to do. I walked around, noting prices of items I buy regularly. While a few items would be cheaper, I decided not to buy the membership since I calculated that I might use it 3-4 times each year and wouldn’t realize enough savings to cover the membership fee. We have Kroger, Meijer and Aldi all close by, plus I find a lot of household non-food items at the various “dollar stores”.