Well, Howdy!
Miss me? I'm missing you all, but not enough to put my new baby down for longer than I have to. I'm so in love with my little guy I'm trying to soak up as much squishy, cuddly newborn time as possible. However, I'm going to continue to try to pop in as much as possible to keep giving you guys great fun/cheap/free tips!
Here's a quick one I thought I'd share...
We all know I'm a big fan of Costco...as long as you shop Costco wisely, that is. It's a great way to buy bulk and stock up on quality items that are good to keep on-hand. However, there is an art (if you will) to shopping at Costco!
Here are the ways we get the most out of our Costco membership:
- Choose your membership. My hubby and I have opted for the Executive Membership vs the Gold Star membership. Yes, it costs more ($110/yr vs $55/yr). But with the Executive Membership you get 2% cash-back on most purchases made at Costco. If at the end of the year you don't get your money's worth out of the membership fee in terms of rewards cash earned, they will refund the difference for your Executive Membership and downgrade you back to the $55 membership. I do about 1/2 my shopping at Costco each month, so we definitely get our money's worth.
- Note: Purchases that do NOT pay you 2% cash back include: tobacco products, stamps, gasoline (but AMEX does pay you for gas, see below), cash cards, and food court items. See more about this HERE.
- Anticipate the cash and plan ahead. I love February! I always know that's when my cash is going to arrive. This year it was about $250, well worth the membership fee. Anticipate that the reward is coming, and make a plan for it in advance...so you're not tempted to sprint to the electronics isle and spend your hard-earned rewards on an impulse-buy! Of course, I recommend putting the cash toward debt or savings, but more on that in a few bullets. :)
- *CORRECTION!!!!!* The $250 rebate I got was from my AMEX rebate, NOT the Costco rebate. I just got my Costco rebate today and it was $130. Sorry for the error!
- Cash your reward in full at the membership desk. Did you know you DON'T have to spend your Costco reward at Costco? They would like you to, of course, but you don't have to! Take your reward straight to the membership desk and they'll give you cash for it.
- Use the cash wisely. The ideal situation would be to cash out your reward and stick it directly toward debt, or put it into savings (or your Slush Fund). If you need to use the reward, try to use only part. See how we organize our money into our bank accounts HERE.
- For us, the cash came at a great time this month. I really needed to stock up on a few things that I was running low on (in anticipation of baby coming - diapers and such), but didn't have the budget for. I budgeted $100 of my reward to stock up on a few things at Costco. I purchased the $100 in groceries on my credit card, rather than using the cash, so I could get rewards for the purchase from AMEX (see next bullet). We took all the cash, put it toward my credit card bill, and now we're $150 ahead of budget this month!
- Stack it with AMEX rewards. As you know, I believe in using credit cards. My personal budget is paid for with the Costco American Express card. We chose this card because it's the only card you can use at Costco, and since I do about 1/2 my shopping there each month, it just made sense for us. We get between 1%-3% cash back on all purchases made on my AMEX card. So when I shop at Costco, I get cash from Costco, AND cash from AMEX! Read more about the amex HERE. Or click HERE to find the right card for you.
- So, once again, the $100 I spent on groceries I paid for with my AMEX rather than using my cash, so I could get the rewards from AMEX too. Pretty slick, eh?
- If you aren't satisfied with the membership...return it! Hands-down one of the best things about Costco (aside from the $1.50 hot dog and drink combo...) is the incredible return policy. You can return just about anything, at any time, including your membership. You can use it for 364 days and if on the last day of the year you decide you didn't get your money's worth, they will give you a full refund. Please do NOT abuse their return policy (because it only increases prices for the rest of us), but don't feel guilty using it legitimately!
In terms of actually purchasing things from Costco...
- Plan for buying bulk in your budget. See how I do that HERE.
- Learn what to buy from Costco that will actually save you money (yes, you can LOSE more money than you save if you're not careful!). Click HERE for that info. See how I do all of my grocery shopping HERE.
- Learn the smartest ways to shop at Costco; the tricks and tips. Click HERE for that info.
And, of course, you need to...
- LEARN YOUR PRICES! Hands-down, this is the best way to save you money - in anything you do - always. I carry a Price Notebook around with me to help with this, read about it HERE.
Enjoy your weekend :)
