Before I move on to my budget saving tips, will you allow me a moment of self promotion? Thanks. As you can see from the image above, I’m having my annual Casserole Party in Kansas City on Monday. So if you’re in the KS or the MO I hope you’ll enter!
Now, onto more expensive things (the Casserole Party is free!), let’s talk about Costco. It’s hard to believe that I don’t have a Costco membership. In fact, my friend who took me to the big box store today (the same generous friend who took me the to the commissary a while back) was in shock over the fact that I hadn’t been to Costco in at least 10 years. I explained to her that living in New York, having a Costco membership is almost pointless if you don’t have a car. What one would save on groceries would be spent on cabs and car services needed to cart bulky items home. But when one moves to Kansas City and has a car (one spent only $600 on) a Costco membership just might be a worthy investment. Especially when you consider what I “discovered” today.
This might be like me telling you the Earth is round, but even if you never buy anything at Costco, a membership is totally worth its weight ($50, to be exact) in free samples! I’m fairly certain I consumed about 1,000 calories (and not all of them were empty) in the hour-and-a-half I spent at Costco this afternoon. I had Pirate’s Booty, some nasty wannabe Powerbar, a gummy vitamin, a chicken quesadilla, sweet & sour chicken and three different flavors of organic Greek yogurt. I even passed over the sparkling cider (grape flavored, ick!) and potato chips.
My parents used to joke that on weekends, they’d just take my sister and me to the grocery store and feed us off of the free samples. There was a time when I was embarrassed by that (around the same time I was embarrassed by the generic products that sat in our kitchen cabinets), but as someone who’s trying to eat on a budget, I have to admit, my parents were pretty damn clever.
I am happy to follow after them with my coupons and Costco membership in tow.
#1 by Diane at November 11th, 2009
| Quote
Mehhh…I’m single and I cannot for the life of me see Costco being worth it in any way. I go once or twice a year with friends to get some TP and paper towels. I hear the gas is cheap. But most of what they have there I don’t want to buy. I cook mostly fresh items, get my staples at Asian marts and bulk aisles, and generally do OK on saving $.
I did have a Costco membership when I first moved to CA, but I found I bought a lot of stuff I didn’t really need. I do better not going.
#2 by Jenny at November 12th, 2009
| Quote
You guys are pretty inspiring. I quit my job to go back to school this upcoming January, and as of today, still have no supplementary income on the horizon (oops). Reading your blog made me go back and figure out how much I’m spending on food ($350-400/mo), and whether $50/wk is a low enough number to bring my costs down (it is). I’m thinking of starting my own Atlanta branch.
Your recipes are refreshing, and not just for the meals that they become, but for the general idea to get up, look in the pantry, and make do with what you have.