One great way to cut your grocery and consumer packaged goods is to share the cost of a trip to Costco every few months. This is a crafty way to buy large portioned products and split them with a very special friend or loved one. My mom and I have this strategy down pat. We’re like Batman and Robin in there. Knowing exactly how much a regular grocery store portion would cost and then dividing it by two. Conceptually dividing the ketchups, soaps, razors, and chicken breasts so we save a load of money. You and your shopping buddy can be just like your favourite super hero pair too. Shopping savings are calling! Here is the way we do it.
1. First, we split the $50 membership fee so it costs us $25 each. If you go twice a year and shop properly you’ll totally save that $25 back.
2. Many of the Costco products are not that great of a deal if you analyze the price compared to what you can get for a smaller portion at No Frills so only buy the awesome deals. Don’t just do your grocery shopping there.
3. Look for the huge portion products that can be easily split. Like washing detergent, dryer sheets, razors, shampoo, soap, ketchup, etc. That way if you get four huge ketchups you can divide the lot and then have a stock for six months to a year. Razors are a crazy deal. For $14 you can get 52 razors that can be divided amongst my dad, brother and I to last a good year if I can use one razor every few weeks. Compared to buying three for $8 at a drugstore it’s an awesome deal.
4. Buy the huge cheese, chicken breasts, frozen pizzas and burgers at Costco and then split the product physically. Cheese is crazy cheap compared to grocery stores. We just divide it in 1/2 and then re-wrap. If you get two boxes x three frozen pizzas you can get them for $4.33 each when divided by 2. Pizzas are $6-9 at the grocery store and the Costco ones are loaded with toppings and made in Canada.
5. Candies and gum are also a good deal. You can get huge packs of gum that will last you six months that decease the average pack from $1.25 at a convenience store to $0.33. I also get the huge bags of big feet for my office. I have some clients that have a very big sweet tooth. The huge bags are cheaper than the dollar store big feet bags when you add it all up.
5. Furniture is a good deal too. It is hard to divide and re-wrap but I was able to get a cast iron bistro table and two chairs for my balcony that was less than $100! The same styled outdoor set anywhere else is almost twice that.
When you do all of your food and consumer good staples and once every six months it’ll not only save you money but time. Time and money that you can re-allocate to doing something that you love. Win win.
Have an awesome week,
Dave
