These 10 tips to save money on your next trip to Costco, while pretty straight forward, are often difficult to follow because Costco has spending traps set up all over the warehouse. But the good news is after you read this article you’ll know where they are located and the places where they try to get you to spend more of your money. Shop smart and save on your next shopping trip to Costco.

1. Avoid Center of Store

The center aisles of most Costco warehouses are chalked full of stuff you had no idea existed, but clearly cannot live without.

If you let your cart meander into these aisles you will easily end up spending an extra $50-$100 as this stuff is incredibly tempting.

I am speaking from experience on this one as my wife and I now own a lifetime supply of Snickers, a kids playhouse in the backyard that has become a spider habitat, and a darn-near life size nativity set that goes on the front lawn in December and scares away children and possible intruders.

Stay out of this danger zone, and if you end up overspending, don’t be afraid to take advantage of their generous return policy.

2. Buy Kirkland Brand When Possible

The generic Kirkland brand provides an excellent value and offers a very high quality alternative to the more expensive name brands.

Kirkland products that I absolutely swear by include the mac ‘n cheese, dog food (not to be confused with the mac ‘n cheese), batteries, toilet paper, baby wipes, coffee, and beer. Yes, I said beer.

Costco actually has an agreement with a small brewery in the San Francisco bay area to brew beer for them and it’s excellent.

It comes in a variety box of four different brews and it easily stands up to the more expensive imports.

3. Shop at Costco With a Plan

Do NOT walk into Costco looking to shop for dinner. You’ll end up with 12 New York steaks and a 30 pound bag of potatoes that will go to waste.

Or worse yet, you’ll settle for their expensive already prepared meals.

Instead, have a Costco shopping list at home and don’t set foot into the warehouse until you have at least a dozen items on it.

Then when you enter the store maximize your time by only going after the items on your list.

Don’t get distracted by the bright and shiny electronics in the front of the store, or worse yet, the center aisles of doom. (See Tip #1)

See Also: How to Essentially Get a $60 Costco Membership for Free

4. Stock-up on Household Items

Toilet paper, dish washing soap, laundry detergent, paper towels, diapers, batteries, light bulbs. Yes, yes, and yes.

These household items are a great buy at Costco, especially when buying for a family of 4 or more.

The reason? They don’t expire quickly and can be stored fairly easily.

Price per unit is almost always better than a grocery store and typically compares favorably to Walmart.

5. Buy Meat in Bulk

Costco meat is some of the best I have ever tasted. Tender, juicy and thick.

The best value on their meat comes in the bulk packaging.

Buy in bulk and freeze in smaller dinner sized freezer bags and enjoy for several months to come.

My family does this with their tri-tip and boneless chicken breasts and it’s a great way to save money on high quality beef and poultry.

6. Team Shop

Team up with a friend and split bulk items purchased from Costco.

This works great if you have limited storage space as you still get the savings from buying in bulk without the dilemma of where to store the 50 rolls of butt wipe. 25 rolls is a little more manageable.

This is a little harder to do with a 5 pound tub of Best Foods mayonnaise, but with some creative “tupperwaring” it could be done.

See Also: Costco Employees Told Me the BEST Day of the Week to Shop

7. Membership Upgrade

Look into upgrading your Costco membership. Often times this will get you added benefits like cash back.

A few years ago my wife and I upgraded our membership to an ‘Executive Membership’ which gives us 2% back on purchases.

Figure out what you’d need to spend to break even on the cost of the upgraded membership.

A man and wife with a couple rug-rats could easily cover the cost making a membership completely free.

Also, look into other benefits of the executive membership like medical insurance for small business owners and travel discounts.

Plus, your card may get you into the hottest new night club, just flash your ‘exec’ card and watch the bouncers escort you right in. Not.

8. Find Real Value

Sometimes the best values at Costco are right under your noise yet you walk right past them.

Here are a few ‘did you knows’:

• Olive Oil – Did you know the Kirkland brand extra virgin olive oil is half the price of the Bertolli brand and rates much higher according to those in the know?
• Laptops – Did you know that Costco offers a 2-year warranty (manufacturers typically offer 1 year) on all laptops that go out their orange doors? Also, did you know that Costco offers free technical support for members. Includes laptop set-up issues and trouble-shooting.
• Wines – Did you know that Costco has a team of highly competent wine buyers? Neither did I. The end result is only good wines end up on store floors.

The best news? They sell bottles at 15% to 25% less than the competition.

9. Eat A Meal While You’re There

Ever had a Costco hot dog from the food court? Perhaps the best tube steak I have ever put in my pie hole.

Get the hot dog and 20oz. soda combo for a whopping $1.50. Incredibly, this price has been the same since 1985.

What about the pizza? Don’t get me started on the pizza.

You can get a ginormous pie for only $9.99 or a slice bigger than your head for less than $2.

Cheese, pepperoni, or combo are your choices.

Their pizzas are an excellent choice for kid’s birthday parties.

Easily feed an entire backyard full of rug-rats for a 50 spot. Also, don’t forget to fill up on the various tasty food samples around the warehouse. 🙂

See Also: The Costco Food Court Menu: Prices, Selection, and Fun Facts

10. Use Photo Services

The Costco photo department is incredibly efficient and quite cheap.

Try them out this Christmas when you are doing your family holiday card. I think you will find them cheaper than Shutterfly.com or Snapfish.com.

Just login to their online photo department, start uploading your pictures, place your order, and pick them up the next time you visit the warehouse.

Very easy and convenient.

Ask the Reader: Any other tips on how to save money at Costco? Looking forward to your comments.

By Kyle James

Often the key to finding great bargains is timing. As they say “timing is everything”, or is that “location is everything”? In either case, there are some great bargains to be had in the month of May and here are 10 of the best.

Mattresses

New mattresses typically arrive in stores in May. It is no surprise this is when you’ll find a good deal on the previous year’s models.

Let’s be honest, there are not a lot of amazing technological break-through in mattresses from one year to the next, so why pay more for the newest model when last years will do just fine.
Key stores to check: Mattress.com, Mattress Discounters, and Costco.com.

Party & Picnic Supplies

The best time to stock up for summer get-togethers and 4th of July parties is right now.

Don’t wait until the week before as you will end up paying significantly more.

Also, if you have a birthday party to plan this summer check out party supplies now and store them for later. We have some great coupons for party supplies right now on Rather-Be-Shopping.com.

See Also: July Buying Guide: The Stuff to Buy and What to Avoid

Refrigerators

New fridge models start rolling out during the summer months making right now a great time to buy. Also look for excellent financing options on appliances at stores like Lowe’s.

They often offer 18 months, 0% financing if you open a store credit card. This is a great way to keep your money earning interest instead of forking it all over for a new refrigerator.

Snowblowers

This one is fairly obvious, big box stores do not want to store their snow blowers until next year so they will slash prices to get rid of the ones they still have.

Buy now and store in your garage until next winter. Your wallet will thank you. If you have never seen a snow flake in your neck of the woods, then move on to the next product. 🙂

Sneakers (Running Shoes)

As spring fun runs and charity runs are bountiful this month, shoe manufacturers start slashing prices to target the less serious runner.

The month of May is a great time to stock-up for the upcoming months as well as many stores are promoting their BOGO events. (Buy 1, get 1 free or 50% off)

Cruises

Cruise lines are busy moving ships around the world getting ready for their prime season and consequently they are more than willing to book some pretty sweet deals for short-notice travelers. If you have schedule flexibility this is a great time to book your next cruise.

Laptops

Not exactly sure why, but the number of coupons and deals we get on laptops in May is better than any other month of the year.

This would be an excellent time to buy for next school year, especially if you are going away to college. The deals online are really amazing right now.

Car Accessories & Parts

Most cars project take on a life of their own during the summer months making it a prime time to buy car parts.

Get in early this year as many car part sellers are getting rid of last years parts and accessories right now at discounted prices.

Office Furniture

New office furniture models start to come out during the late summer months thus giving retailers a great chance in May to get rid of old inventory.

Their loss is your gain if you shop right now for new office furniture and accessories. Again, if you are heading away to college in the Fall, check out the current deals on desks and bookcases.

Dishware

May is the start of wedding season and stores start offering deals to consumers.

It doesn’t matter if you are registered or not, you can score some great deals on dishes, cups, and glassware. This will continue through the end of June.

By Kyle James

I am looking for some feedback on store coupon policies. A couple weeks ago my wife bought some summer clothes for our 3 kids at our local Old Navy store. She found some nice deals and ended up spend a little under $50. A couple days later we got an Old Navy coupon in the mail that was good for 20% off your order when you use your Old Navy credit card, which we have.

So my wife says, “Bummer, I just bought the kids some clothes from Old Navy a couple days ago.” Which I responded, “Not a bummer, I’m sure they will honor your coupon.” In my head I am reasoning this with a few things.

• First, since we are Old Navy credit card holders, I am sure they will bend over backwards to keep us happy.
• Secondly, it is just good customer service to honor a coupon in this way.
• Thirdly, they would never say “No” because people would just return the merchandise and buy it again with the 20% off coupon.

So my wife agrees with me and the next day she goes back in the store with the coupon and clothes in the original bag. I should also point out that the clothes still have the tags on them and have not been used or washed. She walks up to the register, where she actually got the store manager, and the conversation goes like this:

My Wife: “I was just in here a couple days ago and bought these clothes. Then I got this coupon in the mail for 20% off and I was wondering if you would be kind enough to honor the coupon on this purchase.”

Old Navy Manager: “Sorry, I can’t do that.”

My Wife: “But I just got this coupon in the mail”.

Old Navy Manager: “Sorry, ma’am, that is just our policy. But you still have a couple weeks to use that coupon on another purchase.”

My Wife: “What is to keep me from just returning it and buying it back with the coupon?”

Old Navy Manager: (Glaring at her like she is a cheap, crazy woman.) “Nothing I guess.”

Ticked off, my wife left the store and called me. I had a few choice words for Old Navy customer service.

Not helping the situation, she hung up on me and decided she was just going to return the stuff. Then maybe in a couple days go back in and use the coupon.

She returned the clothes and we have yet to go back into the store. It just left a bad taste in our mouth.

I don’t think we are swindlers or cheap people. Or are we?

Or is Old Navy just acting on a sound business model by not honoring the coupon in this way? What is you opinion?

It reminds me of the whole Apple iPhone thing when they lowered the price $200 overnight and essentially said “tough luck” to those loyal Apple users who bought the phone at the original price.

After taking a heat wave of criticism, Steve Jobs finally offered a $100 store credit to anyone that bought the iPhone at the original price.

In my example, we are the loyal user who is left holding the bag of clothes at full price.

So give me your opinion! Do you agree with the Old Navy coupon policy?

Have you had a similar experience with a different outcome at Old Navy or another store? I look forward to your comments.