A month has gone by since I resolved to visit Costco once (count it: 1ce) a month and no more! This, in hopes of keeping the spending more or less under control.
The theory was that Costco is a gigantic hole into which to throw money, an effect amplified by the refulgent impulse buys that call out to one the instant one enters the door.
So last month I flew in said door on the first day of the February/March budget cycle, which begins on the 22nd of any given month (the day after the AMEX billing cycle closes). Being out of just about everything, I dropped $350 that day.
Holy mackerel.
But… As a practical matter, over the course of several Costco trips in any given month, I diddle at least that much away. The idea is, if I could make one monthly giga-junket and then fill in the blanks at grocery stores for the rest of the billing cycle, maybe I wouldn’t spend as much. Because I wouldn’t be entering Impulse Buy Paradise more than once a month, over any given budget cycle I would tend to buy mostly things I need, rather than repeatedly and ecstatically grabbing stuff I could live without. Comfortably.
And y’know what? It seems to have worked. American Express says the bill for the period that just closed was a piddling $1145, which is $55 below the amount budgeted for discretionary spending. I had two extraordinary (unplanned) bills last month, one for a plumber and one for a pool dude, and still came in under budget!
It’s a miracle.
Long as we speak of miracles, today when I went in to stock up on a slew of things that had run out — in specific, meat and veggies to make dog food, an expensive proposition — I spent $240, well under last month’s fling. And that included a pair of pink (!) jeans and a cool coordinating shirt.
Well. The jeans apparently are mismarked — they’re say size 8 but fit like size 6. So that return will bring this month’s Costco spend down to about $225, more than a hundred bucks less than I spent last month.
Last month’s relatively modest AMEX bill included a lot of trips to Whole Foods and to AJ’s, a gourmet-style market that’s a lot closer to my house than WF. I spend a lot more money than I need to in those places — obviously if I shopped in places like Fry’s and Albertson’s, my monthly disposable budget could be less than $1200.
However, I can afford that much and think I do without quite enough: never travel, rarely eat in restaurants, buy my clothes at Costco or off the second-hand and surplus racks , drive a 15-year-old junker… There’s a limit already, with the asceticism.
Anyway, whether you live like a monk or not, consider: find the purveyor that consumes the largest part of your monthly budget, cut the number of visits to that retailer, and substitute purchases from other stores. See if that helps to bring down overall expenditures.
I have the same money gobbler as you, the crabgrass in the lawn of life, COSTCO. Husband meets his buddies there several times a week for a cheap lunch, so I give him the grocery list and let him make the purchases. This keeps me somewhat out of harm’s way. Howsomever, we also love to travel and we use Costco as our gas/lunch/restroom stop on our adventures and I simply *must* cruise through the merchandise after each pit stop.
My personal Achilles heel is new clothes and I often find something at each and every store. During this week’s adventure in AZ I bought something at Costco every time we stopped. (She hangs her head in shame.) But, like you, I will have to return some pants as they are way too small.
By the way, we passed twice through Phoenix. I waved at you each time. Did you see me? 😀
Oh, so you were the one on the freeeway the other day! 😉
Now, I’d say that if your hubby can walk into a Costco, go directly to the assigned groceries, grab them, and get out of there without buying a wireless speaker for his smartphone, a set of 1,000 metric wrenches for his shop, and that cool new hoodie with his favorite team’s logo on the front, he is a very, VERY strong man.
MAN…Pretty amazing…Glad Costco works for you….I can never get it to make sense for us. Our biggest problem,that we are attempting to address, is wasting food. Since we are “semi-empty nesters” it’s time to cut back and watch the expiration dates more closely. Hate it when something has to be thrown out because it has went bad. Glad to hear you’re under budget…Is that Amex “breakdown” the best or what? Thought I’d never pay for a CC but I pay for these AMEX guys and starting to think it’s worth every penny. Last time I called, a REAL person picked up on the second ring and handled my problem….quickly ….professionally….Imagine that…
Costco is made infinitely more practical by the purchase of a small chest freezer. Everything that can spoil gets repackaged into meal-sized portions (all the meat, that is) and dropped directly into the beloved freezer.
Otherwise, most of the things I buy there are staples (salt, pepper sugar, the beloved REAL maple syrup, the lifetime supply of Maker’s Mark) and household good. Since at base I dislike shopping at grocery stores, I truly do appreciate the lifetime supplies of paper towels and toilet paper, which seem to last forever, the double packages of Cetaphil, the army-sized box of soap bars, and the gigantic container of laundry detergent that’s been known to last a year.
For me, the drawback is the impulse buy. COSTCO CARRIES TOO DAMN MANY COOL THINGS! The worst of it is, these THINGS create the illusion that they’re practical, useful, yea verily even indispensable. It’s extremely difficult to get out of that place without buying something that you don’t need.
You can get an AMEX card for free through Costco, BTW. The kickback is generous, and even the freebie card comes equipped with live customer service reps.
I don’t know about the Costco/Amex card. My Amex is pretty cool….6% back on groceries….3% gas….and my customer service experience has been stellar. As Costco and Amex are getting a “divorce”… don’t know if service will be what it should be….
I hardly ever go to Costco because DF does most of the shopping. When I do go, I’m always tempted by all the Cool Stuff that you apparently also notice.
Generally I can resist. But not always, which is why I am happy to let DF do the big buying.