nobody really needs to be told how to
shop right but when you shop at Costco
the rules are different as a
card-carrying member you're probably
paying a ton for benefits you might not
even know you get you also might be
making incorrect assumptions when it
comes to the items you select here are
some huge mistakes you could be making
while shopping at Costco Costco has two
options when it comes to personal
memberships Goldstar at $60 and gold
star executive at $120 and if you
haven't upgraded to executive yet you're
missing an opportunity to recoup some or
all of that annual fee while it might
sound a bit counterintuitive to pay
twice as much for the same access into
the warehouse store depending on your
spending habits it could be well worth
it at the executive level you receive 2%
cashback on most purchases according to
Costco's math if you spend $500 a month
or $6,000 a year you're looking at a
rewards check of $120 and in effect
getting your membership totally free the
more you spend the more you get back up
to $1,000 a year even if you don't come
close to that maximum anything over $60
and rewards is money back in your pocket
as a safety net if you take the plunge
and don't spend enough in the first year
to come out ahead
Costco will make up the difference by
ensuring that first check is at least
$60 so what are you waiting for go
upgrade that membership
spoiler alert Costco's layout is
confusing by design they want you to get
lost in their labyrinth of tempting
bargains so you spend all the money
think about it you shopped at the
warehouse store just last week but
somehow the layout is very different
this time around according to one former
employee who posted on Korra this Dipsy
do switcheroo is no coincidence I worked
at Costco for 13 years they purposefully
move products around to different
locations and are constantly rotating a
certain percentage of their inventory to
new products this creates a treasure
hunt experience as you shop and helps
you discover new products that you may
not normally see on your shopping visits
in other words you're much more likely
to impulse buy this way more tricks the
retailer uses the fresh food is all
located at the back of the store so
you're forced to walk past all those
amazing deals and hopefully put them in
your cart Costco also forgoes a me aisle
signage another effort to get you to
brews all the products and buy what you
see if you don't want to spend more than
you planned don't let their layout lead
you astray it always seems to happen at
least one of the items you bought on
your last Costco trip is now on sale and
you're kicking yourself for missing out
on the savings the good news there's a
store policy that works in your favor
here the bad news you have to stand in
the return line to take advantage of it
but thanks to Costco's price adjustment
policy the weight can be well worth it
because the store will refund the
difference between the price you paid
and a sale price of any items within 30
days of purchase when it comes to
whether you need the original receipt
some stores require it while others do
not
your best bet is to stash those slips
away for a month and check out the
prices of your recent purchases next
time you shop you might be in for a
hefty refund if you're not buying gift
cards at Costco you're doing it wrong
plain and simple
these prepaid cards for restaurants
coffee shops movie theaters and other
attractions aren't just a good generic
gift option they're a gift you should be
giving yourself too but why would you
bother to buy a gift card for yourself
why not just pay the restaurant directly
because you're leaving money on the
table that's why see Costco sells $100
gift cards for these establishments at a
sizeable discount typically at 20 to 25%
savings since you were going to spend
$100 on movie tickets eventually anyway
you might as well just buy the gift card
and keep the twenty to twenty-five
dollars in your pocket this system makes
sense on any goods or services that you
use consistently or even a one-off night
out to a nice restaurant
nobody can fault you for saving a few
bucks on date night although it might
seem like a great deal
not every both by ends up being a money
saver in the long run I didn't tell you
a case of mushroom soup for $4.99 ahem
even Costco you've done it again
not all grocery items lasts forever even
those cans dried and bottled take
condiments for example while the six
pack of ketchup bottles might seem like
a bargain you have to remember that the
tomato based product only keeps for six
months once opened and one to two years
unopened similarly you only have a few
months to use up that giant jar of mayo
barbecue sauce only lasts about five
months after opening and some hot sauce
brands recommend finishing a bottle
within six months when it comes to
canned and dried goods you've got a
little more leeway but there's a limit
there to dried pastas give you one to
two years shelf-life while white rice
keeps for up to five years Brown and
wild rice only keeps for up to eight
months in the pantry as for canned goods
acidic products like tomato and citrus
will only keep for about 18 months while
most other products hang in there for up
to five years when it comes to the fresh
items you've got to be even more careful
unless you're feeding a large family
it's probably best to avoid things that
ripen or spoil too quickly like peaches
or a tub of leafy greens my fruits and
vegetables at last
like apples and carrots and take
advantage of produce that can be
refrigerated like avocados this also
means the freezer section is your friend
and so are individually wrapped snacks a
ginormous bag of something will likely
go stale before you get to the bottom
but tiny single serve bags won't for
household items like toilet paper if you
have a place to store the dozens of
rolls go for it but when it comes to
giant bottles of bleach and bulk
disinfectant wipes they actually lose
their effectiveness if stored for too
long so unless you run a cleaning
service that's probably not the best buy
for you the competitive prices on
electronics is probably enough to
convince you to buy your next TV or
laptop from Costco but when you make the
purchase at the warehouse store it comes
with another benefit you might not know
about the Costco concierge service this
service which applies to most major
appliances and electronics comes with
two major perks one free technical
support experts are available seven days
a week to help you with initial setup
and troubleshooting and will definitely
come in handy when you get stumped
- it extends the manufacturer's warranty
of the product - two years from the date
of purchase
since most items typically come with a
one-year warranty this is huge a whole
extra year of protection free of charge
now that savings as you wander up and
down the aisles at Costco it's hard to
miss all the Kirkland brand products and
if you're skipping over them in favor of
their brand-name counterparts you're
making one of the biggest Costco
mistakes of all first things first
no Kirkland doesn't always win when it
comes to product comparisons Consumer
Reports indicated that though less
expensive the private label toilet paper
and facial tissues ranked lower than
national brands when it came to quality
but plenty of other Kirkland products
are cheaper consistently outperform when
it comes to both quality and taste and
in some cases may even be manufactured
in the very same factories as national
brands just a few of the areas where
Kirkland can brag the store brand has
beaten Oscar Mayer in the bacon game is
one of the few imported oils that met
international and US standards and has
even bested Grey Goose vodka more than
once in blind taste tests even Kirkland
batteries though they might not last as
long come out ahead thanks to the value
provided by the low price in other words
don't be a brand snob you could end up
paying more for an inferior product
aside from merely telling you the price
you'll pay for an item
Costco's price signs have a hidden
meaning - you'll need to pay attention
to get the best deals and most
importantly to know if your favorite
item is about to disappear forever
if the price ends in point nine nine or
0.98 this indicates a regular retail
price and probably doesn't translate to
any huge savings compared to other
retailers if the price ends in point
eight nine point seven nine point six
nine point five nine point four 9.3 9.2
9.1 nine or point zero nine this
indicates Costco got a manufacturer's
deal meaning they can offer these items
at a steeper discount than others if the
price ends in point nine seven this
indicates your biggest savings these are
items that need to go in are priced at a
discount if there happens to be an
asterisk in the upper right corner of
the sign act fast and stock up because
this means that the product is likely
going away for good
you just have to keep track of your
numbers if you really want to succeed
you might assume that the prices of
items inside the Costco warehouses are
the same as prices on Costco
but you could be wrong that's why it
pays to sign into the cyberverse and
check the online price before you buy
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password enter every so often in
addition to the monthly coupon book
members will receive another booklet of
sale items but this one is for online
purchases only if you don't get the
mailer you can check the current
offering at the exclusive online only
page of Costco's website while some of
these items are truly only offered
online like bathtubs or sinks you'll
find that others are actually available
in the store but the catch is even if
you can buy the item in the store the
sale price won't apply you never know
what you might save on maybe it's $20
off a set of sheets or $100 off a piece
of jewelry the bottom line is if you can
afford to wait a few days to get the
item shopping online can save you some
serious money here's the greatest Costco
hack of them all don't pay the
membership fee but take advantage of the
member benefits at least some of them as
a non-member you probably don't realize
all the perks you're missing out on have
a prescription to be filled that slip of
paper will get you in the door to get to
the pharmacy no membership card required
while you're there you can also get free
health and wellness screenings and even
flu shots just want to buy some booze in
16 states you can do so without a
membership just tell the employee at the
door that's why you're there same thing
even goes for the food court but if it's
located outside you don't even need to
worry about getting in even a regular
old shopping trip is a possibility as
long as you have a Costco cash card you
can use it to gain entry to the store
and even pay for your items Costco
officially hacked check out one of our
newest videos right here plus even more
mashed videos about your favorite places
to shop are coming soon subscribe to our
YouTube channel and hit the bell so you
don't miss a single one
you
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