I am an absolute Costco fanatic! But putting personal feelings aside, membership is economically beneficial for me.
I do not have a high income, so I don't have much to spend. However, I pay $100 for an executive membership, which is GUARANTEED to pay for itself, otherwise, Costco will pay me the difference between the executive and gold star membership fees.
I save plenty of money at costco. The cost of membership pays for itself in saving from food purchases alone. I also save money on drugs, gas, water filters... the list goes on and on.
Some things are cheaper elsewhere (Costco is not a good place to buy computer hardware IMHO), so it sometimes pays to shop around and price compare. By in large, however, Costco is significantly cheaper than other stores, even the big discount box stores.
For 15 years my frugal partner has chided me for my spendthrift ways. Basically, this doesn't mean I buy lots of shoes or jewelry or take trips...this means I did not save. I lived paycheck to paycheck and went out with friends and such. I lived the typical American lifestyle. Sadly, I was recently disabled and now we must live on my frugal partner's salary.
He resents this, saying, rightfully, that I wasted my money. However, we always used my car, for example. He never had to buy clothing or shampoo or body wash or toothbrushes all those years because I always had plenty to share with him and bought him clothes for birthdays, anniversaries and holidays. I also provided all of the luxury foods and such for the household...organic fruits and chocolate and such. Now, he says we can have no luxury items. Again, I don't mind. But when I got a small monetary gift from a friend, I purchased some organic apples for myself. Maybe that money should have gone into the household accounts, maybe it's really not mine. But I viewed it as mine and I was resentful when, without asking, my partner started eating the apples. I asked him if it would be okay to replace them with "his" money. He said, no.
Yes, I agree that if I was as frugal as he is...maybe I wouldn't be in financial difficulty now that I can't work. I agree that it is very nice of him to take over the necessities of life and I agree we must be careful. I suppose, I am hurt because for all those years, I shared freely with him...and he begrudges sharing with me...and then...he takes what little I have without even asking, something he's always done, while...sorry...judging me for spending money. I feel bad for getting upset about something as trivial as a few organic apples...but, they were something he decided not to waste money on...therefore...doesn't that mean he shouldn't eat them?
Great roundup! I actually started a new frugal/deals site for travel, shopping, electronics etc. targeted toward the 20 to 30-something. I started it because I'm always finding deals, and now I don't have to email friends/family every time I want to share a deal ;)
We make our membership twice over in savings on milk alone at BJS (.5 miles from our house and it is part of my weekly shopping trip on a weekday morning, not crowded) . 6 gallons a week for 4 growing boys, .50cent average on each gallon.
I pricebook every item I buy and MOST items are more expensive per unit there so only select shopping gets done here. Butter and hamburger/hotdogs buns, which I use alot of, are also a big savings per unit. BJ's, unlike other warehouse clubs, will let you use coupons, If I buy a 4 pack of Scrubbing Bubbles Foam Bathroom Cleaner, I can use a coupon for the same, on EACH on in the pack, plus I can stack it with a BJ's coupon. This dosn't happen alot, but when it does the savings are HUGE. Meat is also high quality and lower in price, I am in a bulk freezer cooking group as well. The butcher cuts up my meat to any poundage I want.
It works for us!!!
Solution 2 only tells you how much you need, not whether or not you're on track. To complete this exercise, you need to do a simple present value/future value calculation that takes into account how much you should have now to be on track to your target retirement portfolio amount. You could come up with a detailed, account-by-account, year-by-year spreadsheet to determine how much you should have in each account and/or in total to hit your goal. Otherwise, you could take the number of years between now and your target retirement date, the amount you contribute each year to your retirement accounts and use the total you came up in solution 2 as the future value to see what the present value needs to be to gauge whether or not you're truly on track. Retirement calculators are okay too, but I prefer the account-by-account, year-by-year approach. Takes 15 minutes or so in MS Excel and you come up with a comprehensive, detailed yardstick for measuring current and future progress toward the promised land (retirement).
The two loans thing is pretty common. Basically you get one worth 80% of the cost, so no PMI, and then another one worth 10 to 20% of the cost. The second one usually has a higher interest rate. If you do an 80/20 that's basically 0% down. A lot of homes purchased during the bubble were purchased this way.
We have been Costco members for years. I will echo what others say about the high quality of their products. Items we purchase regularly (we shop there twice a month).
- Meat. Very high quality for about the same price per pound as sub-par grocery store meat.
- Diapers and wipes. As someone else noted above, it's hard to beat their cost per piece, even with coupons. And I like to buy a lot and not think about it for a while rather than running out for last minute diapers.
- Same with toilet paper. It is really hard to figure out what a good deal on tp is what with the different plys and square footage listed, but I buy a giant pack and don't think about it for a few months.
- Cheese and dairy are a great deal! Butter, milk, cheese, whipping cream.
- Organic veggies for the same price (or less!) than conventional at the grocery store.
- Frozen fruit for smoothies. Frozen chicken. Frozen shrimp.
- Kirkland brand dish detergent and laundry soap. Very good price per load.
I realized recently that for many things in life, its not that we cant do it, we're just too cheap. I could eat all organic, drive a prius (only in the winter) and have all solar energy. But feel ripped off paying 200% for organic groceries, and 300% on a car that is as good as my corolla and 200% on my energy bill.
We all keep waiting for the price to come down and say "we cant fix the environment". I could probably strip most of my polluting ways a year from now, if I were willing to pay the cost.
Similar attitudes are what keep businesses acting as described above. We could have green products for cheap, but companies have invested in coal plants and want to continue to reap profits from sunk costs. Not abandon investments and splurge on Solar panel arrays.
Before buying a Costco membership, we visited and took inventory of things we might buy and compared prices per unit/pound/etc. to what we'd pay at the grocery store. For example, we make pizza all the time and a pound of block mozzarella cheese at the grocery store can easily run us $4-5. At Costco we got a 5 lb. block for about $8. We split it up, froze it, and just pull out a block whenever we need it.
We allocate about 1/4 of our monthly budget to Costco shopping where we go at the beginning of the month to buy lunch meat, cheese, chicken, beef, hummus, crackers, and granola bars (staples we eat all the time). It lowers our weekly bill significantly, and because we know exactly what we're getting at Costco, our trips generally take less than an hour.
Because I am 7 yrs. older than my husband (who plans to wait until full retirement age) & already semi-retired, my husband is urging me to take Soc.Security EARLY at the lesser rate & invest as much as we can in one of his retirement plans. Any thoughts on this?
i think it would be really cool to get the other side of the story
i mean people could anon say what went through there mind after they borrowed large sums of money and ignored the lender and so forth
i am talking more then just not having the money to pay bck
i am talking about the Chutzpah aspec where they just dont really care
fortunatly i dont have a lot of experience but i know of a case where a friend kept on borrowing from another friend and promising "tomorrow" and never ever happend just stoped answering phones it was a bad situation
"Our emergency fund would basically become non-existent, since it's also our down payment fund (horrible idea, I know). So this is the big thing holding me back. We would have a tiny cushion that a broken appliance could eviscerate altogether"
Nooooooooooooooooooooooo! ABSOLUTELY NOT! Do you know how insane this sounds? Not just "horrible", INSANE! Buying a home is NOT an emergency! So, why the heck would you even consider this?!?!?! You need your emergency fund EVEN MORE if you have a house!
Really, you need to stop worrying about missing the boat and start thinking about what is best for you and your family -- and this does NOT sound like it at all. People allow themselves to be seriously conned because they're afraid to miss opportunities. Please be smarter than that!
--------------------------------
But just out of curiousity...
"We would be getting two loans to avoid the PMI"
How does that work? Wouldn't you have to pay extra closing costs? Sounds kind of shady to me.
Absolutely, with Costco purchase, we readily, easily cover the cost of our membership! As with all shopping, it is necessary, prior to one's shopping excursion, to do a bit of research!
Wednesday newspaper reads should include the supermarket commercial "inserts" Shopping excursions should definitely include a shopping list. And, most definitely, if one makes use of a credit card, pay off the balance, in full, in a timely way, i.e. do not incur balances/interest.
And keep a "mental list" of potential purchases, with cost comparisons in mind. Costco is not always the best price, however, for those purchases whereby Costco remains competitive, that membership cost is covered many many times over.
And make note of "expiration dates." Dishwashing detergent has a very long expiration date. As do most vitamin supplements. Cash in on two-for-one coupon savings. I currently have a 3 year supply of Electrasol dishwashing tabs purchased at two-for-one prices ... 5 cents per wash/v. 15 or 20 cents/per wash retail. Large portion fish/salmon/etc., are easily used, in smaller portions, when repackaged in zip lock bags. Speedo swim suit collection was purchased at Costco for a fraction of standard retail prices. Huge collection of cashmere sweaters was purchased, at Costco, over several years, at a fraction of retail price cashmere costs.
As with all consumer purchases, "shopping smart" whether at Costco, the supermarket, or any number of alternative sites, may well result in advantageous savings. In terms of savings anywhere, any time, a little planning goes a long way in delivering advantageous savings.
Costco weekends are a real zoo/circus in terms of shopping. Mornings and late evenings are easy going ....
Here's my story.
I've had childcare issues and my manager was well aware of it. My hours were from 9-3 and than in the summertime it changed from 8:30 -4:00 i was asked to work late one day out of the week to make up hours.I did a few times but i really couldn't afford to pay a sitter.
That's when they started to pick on everything i did, letting other employess get away with things and when it came to me, i was always getting called into the office.
For example one day i took my half hour lunch and went across tha street i did tell everyone in the office i was going out,but when i came back i was told that i had to clock out and that i needed to go home.
Many times i've seen employees go out and not clock out. Also the supervisor got drunk one sat and went into the office to use the bathroom (because he had parked his car in the parking lot) and trashed the place and he is still working.
I was asked to work this sat and i told them that i couldn't because i had no one to watch my daughter so not a minute later my manager says that sat are mandatory. To me it seems they have been setting things up so that i would quit but i won't and so she tells me that because i am not making my 35 hrs that i have to go part time and lose my benefits.
I've had a serious operation in july to have a huge tumor removed from my abdominal wall and i need to follow up on it.
She told me that if the boss gets rid of me that i might not get unemployment so i said to her are you threatening me now?
And she says that i've been late but the time clock is 6 or 7 mins ahead
People are so evil i don't know what to do. I know that they will try and say that i am not a good worker etc but thats not true.
I truly don't deserve to be treated this way.
I went through this. Two people who I considered my best friends took me for about $1000 within the space of a few months. Prior to this experience, I had always been willing to cover dinner or coffee if my friends didn't have the cash on hand with the understanding that they would pay me back. I had a lot of positive experiences with lending to my other friends, and the loan thing was not a big deal for me.
It is my fault for not cutting them off after the first few hundred, though I did attempt to cut them off after the first 3 weeks of them mooching off of me.
Obviously, it tore our friendship apart. One of them I don't speak to at all; last week, he had the gall to ask me to buy him a ticket to a concert after not speaking to me since February (by my choice). I said an unequivocal no.
Now I like to pay for myself and the only flexibility I have in going out with friends is the tip. It makes me feel anxious to have someone else spot me, although boys just seem to like to do it. I always cancel it out by buying them lunch later on.
this is the thing that puts me at the most awkward position with people. it is very hard for a guy to sum up the courage to ask for money. it is particularly awkward for the loaner if the person is asking for the cash for recreational purposes and then defaults on the payment. and then when you need that cash you have to go and ask for it. this is a nice post but i think that is easier said than done. Let me illustrate. A chick that you kinda like just calls you out of nowhere and asks you for certain amount of money that you have at your disposal. Do you think that as a red blooded male, you will be able to start going through each of the questions above before deciding? i am willing to bet you any thing that the answer will be yes and after you are out that cash, you start kicking yourself in the head. this reasonable post is when you are dealing with a good friend in a situation that you can think objectively. thats my piece
It's just a fact that these stores derive most of their operating income and profit from membership fees. I've linked a related article if you are interested. You can also google for things like warehouse club membership profit to see where their profit actually comes from. I mean that if people underutilize their memberships then they are basically giving the whole amount to the club Some of the really good deals really don't make them any money considering that they are charging a few percent above wholesale.
BTW, the Redwood City Costco is currently closed for renovation. A lot of extra people are going to the San Mateo location because of that. It has been extra busy since April when the other store closed.
Warehouse club memberships are useful if one divides up the goods. As a single person this strategy was helpful both to myself and others with similar demographic profiles. Perhaps those that are shut-in or those with limited mobility could benefit from this approach as well.
"...most of these warehouses make their profits through the membership fees, and not through their merchandise. So it would seem that many members may be underutilizing their memberships."
Please expand on your premise that because warehouse club stores derive much of their profit from membership fees, that somehow members are not "fully utilizing" their memberships (I'm not ever sure what you mean by that...does utilizing mean shopping there more often?). I see no causal relationship between membership fee profit and frequency of shops. Do you think that if more members "fully utilized" their memberships across the board, the stores would somehow realize LESS profit? Profits from flat membership fees are realized whether a person shops once a year or 500 times a year. Please explain your implication that somehow shopping more and spending more will result in less profit for the corporation.
I am an absolute Costco fanatic! But putting personal feelings aside, membership is economically beneficial for me.
I do not have a high income, so I don't have much to spend. However, I pay $100 for an executive membership, which is GUARANTEED to pay for itself, otherwise, Costco will pay me the difference between the executive and gold star membership fees.
I save plenty of money at costco. The cost of membership pays for itself in saving from food purchases alone. I also save money on drugs, gas, water filters... the list goes on and on.
Some things are cheaper elsewhere (Costco is not a good place to buy computer hardware IMHO), so it sometimes pays to shop around and price compare. By in large, however, Costco is significantly cheaper than other stores, even the big discount box stores.
For 15 years my frugal partner has chided me for my spendthrift ways. Basically, this doesn't mean I buy lots of shoes or jewelry or take trips...this means I did not save. I lived paycheck to paycheck and went out with friends and such. I lived the typical American lifestyle. Sadly, I was recently disabled and now we must live on my frugal partner's salary.
He resents this, saying, rightfully, that I wasted my money. However, we always used my car, for example. He never had to buy clothing or shampoo or body wash or toothbrushes all those years because I always had plenty to share with him and bought him clothes for birthdays, anniversaries and holidays. I also provided all of the luxury foods and such for the household...organic fruits and chocolate and such. Now, he says we can have no luxury items. Again, I don't mind. But when I got a small monetary gift from a friend, I purchased some organic apples for myself. Maybe that money should have gone into the household accounts, maybe it's really not mine. But I viewed it as mine and I was resentful when, without asking, my partner started eating the apples. I asked him if it would be okay to replace them with "his" money. He said, no.
Yes, I agree that if I was as frugal as he is...maybe I wouldn't be in financial difficulty now that I can't work. I agree that it is very nice of him to take over the necessities of life and I agree we must be careful. I suppose, I am hurt because for all those years, I shared freely with him...and he begrudges sharing with me...and then...he takes what little I have without even asking, something he's always done, while...sorry...judging me for spending money. I feel bad for getting upset about something as trivial as a few organic apples...but, they were something he decided not to waste money on...therefore...doesn't that mean he shouldn't eat them?
and free Seattle's Best coffee...
Great roundup! I actually started a new frugal/deals site for travel, shopping, electronics etc. targeted toward the 20 to 30-something. I started it because I'm always finding deals, and now I don't have to email friends/family every time I want to share a deal ;)
@frugalbonvivant
We make our membership twice over in savings on milk alone at BJS (.5 miles from our house and it is part of my weekly shopping trip on a weekday morning, not crowded) . 6 gallons a week for 4 growing boys, .50cent average on each gallon.
I pricebook every item I buy and MOST items are more expensive per unit there so only select shopping gets done here. Butter and hamburger/hotdogs buns, which I use alot of, are also a big savings per unit. BJ's, unlike other warehouse clubs, will let you use coupons, If I buy a 4 pack of Scrubbing Bubbles Foam Bathroom Cleaner, I can use a coupon for the same, on EACH on in the pack, plus I can stack it with a BJ's coupon. This dosn't happen alot, but when it does the savings are HUGE. Meat is also high quality and lower in price, I am in a bulk freezer cooking group as well. The butcher cuts up my meat to any poundage I want.
It works for us!!!
Solution 2 only tells you how much you need, not whether or not you're on track. To complete this exercise, you need to do a simple present value/future value calculation that takes into account how much you should have now to be on track to your target retirement portfolio amount. You could come up with a detailed, account-by-account, year-by-year spreadsheet to determine how much you should have in each account and/or in total to hit your goal. Otherwise, you could take the number of years between now and your target retirement date, the amount you contribute each year to your retirement accounts and use the total you came up in solution 2 as the future value to see what the present value needs to be to gauge whether or not you're truly on track. Retirement calculators are okay too, but I prefer the account-by-account, year-by-year approach. Takes 15 minutes or so in MS Excel and you come up with a comprehensive, detailed yardstick for measuring current and future progress toward the promised land (retirement).
I'm living @Atlanta ,GA. How I can sell my hair . My hair is layer. The longest is about 20 inches. ( 27 inches from the top ).
The two loans thing is pretty common. Basically you get one worth 80% of the cost, so no PMI, and then another one worth 10 to 20% of the cost. The second one usually has a higher interest rate. If you do an 80/20 that's basically 0% down. A lot of homes purchased during the bubble were purchased this way.
We have been Costco members for years. I will echo what others say about the high quality of their products. Items we purchase regularly (we shop there twice a month).
- Meat. Very high quality for about the same price per pound as sub-par grocery store meat.
- Diapers and wipes. As someone else noted above, it's hard to beat their cost per piece, even with coupons. And I like to buy a lot and not think about it for a while rather than running out for last minute diapers.
- Same with toilet paper. It is really hard to figure out what a good deal on tp is what with the different plys and square footage listed, but I buy a giant pack and don't think about it for a few months.
- Cheese and dairy are a great deal! Butter, milk, cheese, whipping cream.
- Organic veggies for the same price (or less!) than conventional at the grocery store.
- Frozen fruit for smoothies. Frozen chicken. Frozen shrimp.
- Kirkland brand dish detergent and laundry soap. Very good price per load.
I realized recently that for many things in life, its not that we cant do it, we're just too cheap. I could eat all organic, drive a prius (only in the winter) and have all solar energy. But feel ripped off paying 200% for organic groceries, and 300% on a car that is as good as my corolla and 200% on my energy bill.
We all keep waiting for the price to come down and say "we cant fix the environment". I could probably strip most of my polluting ways a year from now, if I were willing to pay the cost.
Similar attitudes are what keep businesses acting as described above. We could have green products for cheap, but companies have invested in coal plants and want to continue to reap profits from sunk costs. Not abandon investments and splurge on Solar panel arrays.
Before buying a Costco membership, we visited and took inventory of things we might buy and compared prices per unit/pound/etc. to what we'd pay at the grocery store. For example, we make pizza all the time and a pound of block mozzarella cheese at the grocery store can easily run us $4-5. At Costco we got a 5 lb. block for about $8. We split it up, froze it, and just pull out a block whenever we need it.
We allocate about 1/4 of our monthly budget to Costco shopping where we go at the beginning of the month to buy lunch meat, cheese, chicken, beef, hummus, crackers, and granola bars (staples we eat all the time). It lowers our weekly bill significantly, and because we know exactly what we're getting at Costco, our trips generally take less than an hour.
You just have to be organized!
Because I am 7 yrs. older than my husband (who plans to wait until full retirement age) & already semi-retired, my husband is urging me to take Soc.Security EARLY at the lesser rate & invest as much as we can in one of his retirement plans. Any thoughts on this?
thanks
i think it would be really cool to get the other side of the story
i mean people could anon say what went through there mind after they borrowed large sums of money and ignored the lender and so forth
i am talking more then just not having the money to pay bck
i am talking about the Chutzpah aspec where they just dont really care
fortunatly i dont have a lot of experience but i know of a case where a friend kept on borrowing from another friend and promising "tomorrow" and never ever happend just stoped answering phones it was a bad situation
check this page:
http://www.reddotcampaign.ca/page/faq
"Our emergency fund would basically become non-existent, since it's also our down payment fund (horrible idea, I know). So this is the big thing holding me back. We would have a tiny cushion that a broken appliance could eviscerate altogether"
Nooooooooooooooooooooooo! ABSOLUTELY NOT! Do you know how insane this sounds? Not just "horrible", INSANE! Buying a home is NOT an emergency! So, why the heck would you even consider this?!?!?! You need your emergency fund EVEN MORE if you have a house!
Really, you need to stop worrying about missing the boat and start thinking about what is best for you and your family -- and this does NOT sound like it at all. People allow themselves to be seriously conned because they're afraid to miss opportunities. Please be smarter than that!
--------------------------------
But just out of curiousity...
"We would be getting two loans to avoid the PMI"
How does that work? Wouldn't you have to pay extra closing costs? Sounds kind of shady to me.
Absolutely, with Costco purchase, we readily, easily cover the cost of our membership! As with all shopping, it is necessary, prior to one's shopping excursion, to do a bit of research!
Wednesday newspaper reads should include the supermarket commercial "inserts" Shopping excursions should definitely include a shopping list. And, most definitely, if one makes use of a credit card, pay off the balance, in full, in a timely way, i.e. do not incur balances/interest.
And keep a "mental list" of potential purchases, with cost comparisons in mind. Costco is not always the best price, however, for those purchases whereby Costco remains competitive, that membership cost is covered many many times over.
And make note of "expiration dates." Dishwashing detergent has a very long expiration date. As do most vitamin supplements. Cash in on two-for-one coupon savings. I currently have a 3 year supply of Electrasol dishwashing tabs purchased at two-for-one prices ... 5 cents per wash/v. 15 or 20 cents/per wash retail. Large portion fish/salmon/etc., are easily used, in smaller portions, when repackaged in zip lock bags. Speedo swim suit collection was purchased at Costco for a fraction of standard retail prices. Huge collection of cashmere sweaters was purchased, at Costco, over several years, at a fraction of retail price cashmere costs.
As with all consumer purchases, "shopping smart" whether at Costco, the supermarket, or any number of alternative sites, may well result in advantageous savings. In terms of savings anywhere, any time, a little planning goes a long way in delivering advantageous savings.
Costco weekends are a real zoo/circus in terms of shopping. Mornings and late evenings are easy going ....
Here's my story.
I've had childcare issues and my manager was well aware of it. My hours were from 9-3 and than in the summertime it changed from 8:30 -4:00 i was asked to work late one day out of the week to make up hours.I did a few times but i really couldn't afford to pay a sitter.
That's when they started to pick on everything i did, letting other employess get away with things and when it came to me, i was always getting called into the office.
For example one day i took my half hour lunch and went across tha street i did tell everyone in the office i was going out,but when i came back i was told that i had to clock out and that i needed to go home.
Many times i've seen employees go out and not clock out. Also the supervisor got drunk one sat and went into the office to use the bathroom (because he had parked his car in the parking lot) and trashed the place and he is still working.
I was asked to work this sat and i told them that i couldn't because i had no one to watch my daughter so not a minute later my manager says that sat are mandatory. To me it seems they have been setting things up so that i would quit but i won't and so she tells me that because i am not making my 35 hrs that i have to go part time and lose my benefits.
I've had a serious operation in july to have a huge tumor removed from my abdominal wall and i need to follow up on it.
She told me that if the boss gets rid of me that i might not get unemployment so i said to her are you threatening me now?
And she says that i've been late but the time clock is 6 or 7 mins ahead
People are so evil i don't know what to do. I know that they will try and say that i am not a good worker etc but thats not true.
I truly don't deserve to be treated this way.
I went through this. Two people who I considered my best friends took me for about $1000 within the space of a few months. Prior to this experience, I had always been willing to cover dinner or coffee if my friends didn't have the cash on hand with the understanding that they would pay me back. I had a lot of positive experiences with lending to my other friends, and the loan thing was not a big deal for me.
It is my fault for not cutting them off after the first few hundred, though I did attempt to cut them off after the first 3 weeks of them mooching off of me.
Obviously, it tore our friendship apart. One of them I don't speak to at all; last week, he had the gall to ask me to buy him a ticket to a concert after not speaking to me since February (by my choice). I said an unequivocal no.
Now I like to pay for myself and the only flexibility I have in going out with friends is the tip. It makes me feel anxious to have someone else spot me, although boys just seem to like to do it. I always cancel it out by buying them lunch later on.
this is the thing that puts me at the most awkward position with people. it is very hard for a guy to sum up the courage to ask for money. it is particularly awkward for the loaner if the person is asking for the cash for recreational purposes and then defaults on the payment. and then when you need that cash you have to go and ask for it. this is a nice post but i think that is easier said than done. Let me illustrate. A chick that you kinda like just calls you out of nowhere and asks you for certain amount of money that you have at your disposal. Do you think that as a red blooded male, you will be able to start going through each of the questions above before deciding? i am willing to bet you any thing that the answer will be yes and after you are out that cash, you start kicking yourself in the head. this reasonable post is when you are dealing with a good friend in a situation that you can think objectively. thats my piece
Guest,
It's just a fact that these stores derive most of their operating income and profit from membership fees. I've linked a related article if you are interested. You can also google for things like warehouse club membership profit to see where their profit actually comes from. I mean that if people underutilize their memberships then they are basically giving the whole amount to the club Some of the really good deals really don't make them any money considering that they are charging a few percent above wholesale.
If you have a 10 percent down payment, most lenders will let you get 2 mortgages (one at a higher rate, admittedly) to avoid PMI.
And if you do have to pay it, it's tax deductible...
BTW, the Redwood City Costco is currently closed for renovation. A lot of extra people are going to the San Mateo location because of that. It has been extra busy since April when the other store closed.
Warehouse club memberships are useful if one divides up the goods. As a single person this strategy was helpful both to myself and others with similar demographic profiles. Perhaps those that are shut-in or those with limited mobility could benefit from this approach as well.
"...most of these warehouses make their profits through the membership fees, and not through their merchandise. So it would seem that many members may be underutilizing their memberships."
Please expand on your premise that because warehouse club stores derive much of their profit from membership fees, that somehow members are not "fully utilizing" their memberships (I'm not ever sure what you mean by that...does utilizing mean shopping there more often?). I see no causal relationship between membership fee profit and frequency of shops. Do you think that if more members "fully utilized" their memberships across the board, the stores would somehow realize LESS profit? Profits from flat membership fees are realized whether a person shops once a year or 500 times a year. Please explain your implication that somehow shopping more and spending more will result in less profit for the corporation.
Crochet items will also be much appreciated from shawls to purses to book jackets.
I meant to say in post above that Costco's price for milk, at $1.95, is over a full dollar cheper than surrounding grocery stores.