Newsletters
Food
Annabel Rocha
2024-04-15T15:26:27Z
- My partner and I aredual income, no kids, so we shop at Costco for just adults.
- We love going to Costco for great deals on produce and sparkling water.
- Buying Kevin's Natural Foods premade meals saves us money and time each month.
NEW LOOK
Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read preview
Thanks for signing up!
Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go.
Advertisem*nt
I never imagined I'd be shopping at Costco regularly. It seemed like a very "mom" thing to do.
After all, buying in bulk can help families save money — and, as some recent data suggests, more than half of Costco shoppers have children.
But ever since I got a Costco membership for my birthday in October, I haven't looked back.
I'm 30 years old, living with my partner in Chicago. I work from home as a journalist, and he's a service technician for a major beverage-dispensing company. Together, we make about $112,000 a year.
Advertisem*nt
We're unmarried, and have decided not to have children — I guess you could call us DINKs (dual income, no kids). We don't set a strict budget for groceries, but buying food and other household items at Costco has saved us so much money.
Here's what we buy on a typical trip to Costco, which usually costs us about $140.
Advertisem*nt
Duke's Smoked Shorty Sausages are a great snack during a busy week.
Working from home means I have the luxury of controlling my lunch break, but I usually prefer to snack throughout the day instead.
Between meetings and interviews, it's easier to stick to grab-and-go bites like these Duke's Smoked Shorty Sausages. Costco has a large selection of beef jerky and sausage, but I prefer these because they aren't individually wrapped.
This 16-ounce bag cost me $12
Advertisem*nt
Costco's produce section is full of gems.
At $7, the 2-pound Wild Wonders tomato medley is a staple in our house.
I do the majority of the cooking, and it's easy to throw these into a salad or add them to an entrée.
Advertisem*nt
We usually pick up at least one fruit on Costco trips.
The fruit we buy tends to rotate, and I usually go with what's on sale and how fresh it looks.
On this trip, our choices were blueberries or raspberries, and the latter looked much more appetizing. We got just under a pound of raspberries for $9.
Advertisem*nt
If you open our fridge, you're almost always going to find cucumbers.
On this trip, we picked up more One Sweet snacking seedless cucumbers.
These small cucumbers are easy for my partner to pack in his lunch bag and are so versatile. A bag of these cost us $6 at Costco.
Advertisem*nt
We always pick up snacks at Costco — this time, we got a nut mix.
We buy a ton of snacks at Costco, sometimes that includes nuts.
Savanna Orchards Country Club nut mix is great to munch on throughout the day or to serve when friends visit. And the 36-ounce bag was just $11.
Advertisem*nt
We also picked up a pack of Veroni meats for a charcuterie board.
I love to make charcuterie boards, and this variety pack of Italian meats from Veroni is a great way to add multiple meats to a platter in one swoop.
In my experience, buying this 12-ounce pack for $12 is easier and cheaper than picking up a bunch of individual packages of meat.
Advertisem*nt
We were tempted by Costco's bakery this trip.
We always look at Costco's bakery, but we don't often buy anything. The smells and sights are tempting, but a giant cake is just too much for a two-person household.
This trip was my first time seeing these almond-filled danishes, though, and they looked too good to resist. (They ended up being delicious.)
When we were checking out, the cashier told us that these were actually buy one get one free, so we got eight danishes for $12.
Advertisem*nt
Sometimes we pick up a gadget we want but don't exactly need.
One of the benefits of the DINK life is having more disposable income to buy the things you want and not only what you need.
I've wanted a salad spinner for a while, so I threw this one from Faberware in the cart when I saw it.
Since we eat salads several times a week, I figured we'd get enough use out of it to justify spending the $15. It does make it easier to remove excess water after washing fruits and vegetables and the outer bowl is great to serve a big salad in.
Advertisem*nt
We rely on premade meals from Kevin's Natural Foods for quick dinners.
Premade meals from Kevin's Natural Foods have been lifesavers for getting dinner on the table after a long day of writing.
The meals from Kevin's can be pricey at our usual grocery stores, so we buy them from Costco since the multipacks can be a better value.
On this trip, we got 2½ pounds of beef stroganoff for $16. Kevin's version contains coconut milk and cauliflower pasta, making it a lighter option than a traditional beef stroganoff.
Advertisem*nt
I also picked up Amylu's Italian-style chicken meatballs.
Again, I love buying things at Costco that could help us easily and quickly get dinner on the table.
Amylu's Italian-style chicken meatballs are an easy protein to heat up and serve for lunch or dinner.
Advertisem*nt
Costco's sparkling water section is awesome.
My partner is obsessed with sparkling water, and we come home with a new variety almost every time we visit Costco since the retailer's selection is huge.
On this trip, we picked up a Waterloo variety pack with 24 cans of sparkling water for just under $10. I like having a few different flavors so we don't get bored.
Advertisem*nt
And we usually find something new, like a fun tea, to try on our shopping trips.
I prioritize stocking up on our essential grocery needs at Costco, but I also usually find something new to try.
On this trip, I grabbed a pack of two 40-ounce Natural Benefits guava-lemon green-tea bottles for $10. I ended up loving it.
Advertisem*nt
In total, we spent about $140.
On this trip, we spent about $139 picking up essentials and trying some new products.
I felt like we got some great deals and staples, and I look forward to my next Costco visit.
Click to keep reading Costco diaries like this one.
Read next
Advertisem*nt
