What to but at Costco if you live alone? I bought a membership so I could buy a

M

melissa-dallas

Well-known member
cash card to send to my sister for her birthday because we were both curious. She got there before me and said that, unlike Sam's, everything was in large sizes (example-28 oz carton of pesto with expiration date only a month out) that she wouldn't be able to finish alone. She did buy a two pound bag of walnuts, a twenty-eight pack of V-8 and a pound of parmesano reggiano. I think the individually frozen chicken breasts sound good. I guess I'm just trying to revise my expectations of what to plan on buying there that is not too much for one person. Meat is not a problem-I don't mind buying large pieces of meat. Any ideas? She said that even the spices were in large containers.

 
You buy what you want and split it with someone. Most things freeze

so don't discount that idea. The whole thing with Costco, is that you bring the product home, break it down to manageable portions and freeze the rest. It helps to have a Food Saver so you can vacuum seal....it keeps perfectly for long periods of time. Those individual, boneless, skinless chicken breasts are wonderful. So are their fresh lamb chops. I love the marinated salmon that is frozen, along with the panko crusted chicken. These are frozen individually, as well. Cheese can be but into portions and frozen.
Find a friend who wants to shop with you and split what you can both use.

 
I live alone too and here is what I buy....

gas, wine, lamb chops, spec, jalsberg lite cheese and an occasional "other". I use my vacuum sealer to package the lamb chops and cheese in smaller sizes. Freeze the lamb chops, store the cheese in the fridge. The cost of membership pays for itself with wine and gas. If I needed a TV or other such thing I would check their price along with others. I don't buy any of the bulk paper goods etc. since I have no place to store them in my condo. I find that Walmart's prices are as good on much smaller quantities.

 
I buy almost all of my household cleaners and paper products there.

The multi-carton chicken stock is a good one, usually the pull-date is pretty far out. I buy prime steaks and wrap them individually (usually 3 to 4 per pack). Vitamins are a really good buy, and I wait for coupons to replenish. The pharmacy -- usually the best prices (and you don't have to be a member to fill them). Tires! I just had to buy 4 tires for my Civic and they had a $70 coupon. Costco will rotate and balance them for free for the life of the tires. In Austin Costco sells Ruta Maya coffee in 2 pound bags -- if you like whole bean coffee it is really, really good, and much cheaper than you'd think. It is an Austin item, so I don't know if they have it in Dallas.

Also, their return policy is fabulous. I bought Dunkin'Doghnuts coffee and we didn't like it -- I took it back and was credited.

And ink for my inkjet computer. Not much cheaper than other places, but convenient.

 
I go there with a friend with a membership card, don't have one of my own

Not everything at Costco is in huge sizes anymore. Here's what I get there for dining at Chez HAL:

Fresh chicken breast sold 2 per pack, 6 packs total. They freeze great and cooking 2 breasts at a time is about 1/2 a regular recipe. The individually frozen ones aren't as good quality.

Case of 8 oz chopped tomatoes in juice, it's going fast!

Fresh lunchmeats, I repackage 4 slices to a small zippy bag and freeze.

Smoked salmon. Truly I can eat an entire package before it goes off, but I also repackage about 6 slices per small zippy bag, amazing how well smoked salmon is even after thawing.

Bags of peppers. I know they aren't organic but they are good quality and 6 peppers per bag for $5 is awesome. They keep for quite a while but now that I've tried Ina's method to roast them I've been doing that and freezing what I don't use right away.

Small zippy bags are a must! I use the gallon ones too and also to hold my knitting. And tp, one can *never* have too much of that on hand.

Their fresh filet mignon and ribeyes are great, but their fresh fish is usually farmed so I don't buy them. To keep the steaks nice I rub them with a little olive oil, then in foil, then in a zippy bag. Never had freezerburn yet. If you do buy fish, cut it into filets or steaks and put in small zippy bags, then fill the bags with water and then freeze. One of my ex's taught me this trick, he fished a LOT and it was a great trick.

Their cheese prices are excellent and are in a good quantity. They had mimolette wedges for $7, at Molly Stones a 1/4 of the Costco wedge was $9!

Their vodka (Kirkland brand) is in a huge bottle but it is made by Grey Goose!!

I hope this helps you. In, be sure to visit the jewelry counter, one of my ex's always bought me baubles there ( he didn't know I knew where they came from), my local jeweler said the quality was top notch - a diamond I have was valued at 2x what he paid for, of course I haven't kept up with prices lately.... I also bought an external hard drive there 750 gigs for $99, I bought one for work last year through Best Buy for $250 and that was a sale price.

It's best to go regularly and see what they get in and try something new now and again.

 
I too was wondering if I should keep my membership. I think I'll keep it for this year and see how

often I use it. It's nice to use it when out of town too. I have the credit card with them and bought all the food and beverages for the memorial service when down in Seattle. Interesting tidbit about alcohol sales---we have wine and hard liquor up here in Alaska at our Costco, but it is in a seperate area and must be paid for before entering the regular store. In Seattle, the beer/wine is sold right in the store, but no hard liquor at all.

 
Dallas has weird alcohol laws too. Every time you cross a body of water it seems like you go from a

wet to a dry area. They didn't abolish most of the blue laws here until I was an adult. Still can't sell hard liquor at all on Sundays-only beer & wine. It used to aggravate me to have to drive twenty minutes back towards downtown to buy wine but now I'm kind of glad I live in a dry area. Ever notice that nobody is ever "Hungry & Homeless, God Bless" unless they are within walking distance to a liquor store? We don't have the panhandlers in my neighborhood.

 
Or unless you live in SF.

Sadly there are so many homeless here, there's a guy who's been living on the corner across the street for me for years. There are programs to help but many don't want to do them because you have to give up drugs etc. sometimes this guy puts of a clothesline in the trees and I feel like I'm living in some strange non-major-city place. There are many churches around my apartment building who offer help so that's why there are so many here. When it gets dark I just stay home, which makes it boring in the winter. but safer!

 
Melissa, I've heard that a lot of the homeless feel safer on the street as opposed to a shelter.

They claim that they are more apt to get beaten or robbed in the shelters. Also, there's not enough room to handle all of the homeless and a lot of the mentally ill have no where to go but live outside. That's what I've heard about urban Philly and it's such a shame for these people.

I've worked in downtown Philly on and off for some thirteen years and I can still remember some of the regulars including the Duck Lady (I know...) who belonged in a mental institution. Rumor had it that she was well off and eccentric but I didn't think so...

I've read a lot on the homeless and it's interesting that all of these people come from all walks of life and how they got on the streets can happen to anyone.

 
When Reagan closed the state run mental institution in Napa, the numbers of homeless dramatically

increased, a lot of those poor folks ended up in SF on the streets and the city doesn't have enough facilities to handle the mentally ill homeless. There just doesn't seem to be a good answer to any of it - discouraging. I never give out cash but when I can afford it I'll buy someone food or juice. It's like throwing a Kleenex into a flood.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top