5 Costco Grocery Tips To Spend Less on the Same Meals
If your weekly food bill gives you nausea, you’re not alone. Food prices keep moving higher in the United States, and in some cases, the price hikes are severe. That’s true even at discount warehouse chains like Costco.
However, you don’t have to pay more than you can afford to. If you’re on a tight budget, there are ways to streamline your grocery picks in order to maintain your lifestyle for less.
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Here are five ways you can cut your Costco bill in half and still make the same meals.
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1. Buy Cheaper Cuts of Meat
You can spend a ton of money on meat alone these days — yet save a ton by avoiding the most expensive cuts.
Prices of beef steaks and ground beef have hit record highs in recent weeks, according to Federal Reserve data. That’s also the case with the broader category of meats, poultry, fish and eggs.
You can easily chop your Costco meat bill in half by choosing cheaper cuts. A blog from Real Simple recommended choosing top round beef over porterhouse, which lets you make many of the same meals at a much cheaper cost.
2. Check the Price Tags Closely
This hack was cited by food writer and restaurant veteran Kris Osborne in a Simply Recipes blog. As she pointed out, if you see a price that ends in .99, that means it’s the standard, non-discounted Costco price.
The discounts occur with the following price tags:
Ends with .97. This means the product is on sale and it’s “safe to assume the price you see is the lowest you’ll ever see for the product,” Osborne noted. “When I spot these discounts on shelf-stable pantry staples like organic broth and marinara sauce, I stock up. I recently scored premium olive oil at 40% off retail.
Ends with .88 or .00. This indicates a manager's special that’s intended to “sell older inventory and/or returned or superficially damaged products fit for sale.”
Asterisks in the upper right corner. These are known as "death stars" to Costco insiders and indicate that the product likely “isn't getting restocked anytime soon,” if ever.
3. Don’t Go Overboard on Bulk Purchases
You can save a lot of money by avoiding bulk purchases of supersized items that could go bad before you have a chance to eat them. This mainly applies to perishable items that can’t be frozen, such as eggs, milk, hummus and yogurt.
Unless you’re certain the items will be consumed before the expiration date, it’s best to buy them in smaller quantities. You can still enjoy the same meals without having to waste money throwing out expired foods.
4. Don’t Load Up on Fresh Produce
Here’s another way to save money by avoiding waste. Large bags and containers of fruit and vegetables are among the most common impulse buys at Costco, according to Consumer Affairs.
This is partly because they “always appear fresh and delicious” at the store. However, that freshness only lasts so long.
“Smaller households often struggle to finish them before they spoil,” Consumer Affairs noted. “This means that the last third of the bag can easily end up in the trash.”
You can cut your bill in half or more by buying smaller quantities and only buying produce in bulk when you have a specific plan for it.
5. Do Load Up on Frozen Produce
Frozen fruits and veggies are often cheaper at Costco than buying the same amount of fresh produce — and you don’t have to worry about frozen produce going bad and being tossed in the trash.
You can enjoy the same meals with frozen produce at a cheaper price, and without sacrificing too many of the health benefits. As Real Simple noted, produce in the freezer aisle was “frozen right after being picked, so their peak quality was preserved.”
Editor’s note: Prices and availability are subject to change.
This article was provided by MoneyLion.com for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal or tax advice.
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