Thursday, August 28, 2008

Good old Costco

(Chief Family Officer has a guest post on the cost of buying items at a warehouse club versus doing the Drugstore Game)

I love Costco. Lots of reasons, but the main one is that there are so few choices. I've talked about choice before. I find having too many options to be stressful. At Costco, if I want powdered dishwasher detergent, I can choose Costco's Kirkland brand in a huge tub or a box of Cascade. That's it. No size options, just choose Kirkland or Cascade. It's easy.

Most items at Costco are like that. You can choose Foster Farms fresh chicken pieces or buy Kirkland Signature (via Foster Farms) frozen. Frozen vegetables? One size/brand package available, that's all. Milk? Kirkland Signature.

For someone like me who is easily overwhelmed by choices, Costco is perfect. I took the kids there this week. Thanks to the huge carts, if the kids get antsy, I can easily corral them. Plus, they get samples. And hot dogs.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

CFO's blog reminded me of earlier years where, as a young mother and wife, there was more time than money, and I also clipped coupons and could easily travel between stores because they were within a 3-mile radius from each other. But don't forget that time is also a commodity to fit into the equation. I have recently read that to save money one can preserve their fruits and vegetables. It's only a true monetary savings if one enjoys doing that activity and gets the raw product "free" or at little cost. There are other reasons, however, to can peaches, make jam, or freeze beans that go way beyond the initial cost; these might include capturing your childhood memories of helping relatives do the same, or teaching your children that these homemade products do taste better than store-bought. I am annoyed that I missed the U-pick raspberries this year!

Momma P