What's Happening
7 minutes ago

Will Meta Platforms Be Worth More Than Alphabet by 2025?

foolfool.com
9 minutes ago

MicroStrategy-Linked ETFs Skyrocket 400% This Year: Is This 'The Michael Saylor Effect'?

benzingabenzinga.com
9 minutes ago

Why Nutanix Shares Are Trading Higher By 9%; Here Are 20 Stocks Moving Premarket

benzingabenzinga.com
10 minutes ago

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Says This Is the "Next Wave of AI" -- and He Singled Out 1 Potential Big Winner Other Than Nvidia

foolfool.com
11 minutes ago

Billionaire Warren Buffett Has Invested $91 Billion (at Cost) in These 2 Unstoppable Stocks

foolfool.com
17 minutes ago

Cryptocurrency Market Surges on Trump Presidency: Here Are 5 Worth Buying Now

foolfool.com
21 minutes ago

MARA Urges Incoming Trump Administration To Boost US Bitcoin Mining Operations To Prevent Manipulation From 'Adversarial' Nations

benzingabenzinga.com
26 minutes ago

Social Security Retirees Just Got Bad News About the 2025 Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA)

foolfool.com
27 minutes ago

The Ultimate Pharmaceutical Stock to Buy With $1,000 Right Now

foolfool.com
32 minutes ago

Walmart Is Up 72% in 2024, but Is the Dow Dividend Stock a Buy at an All-Time High?

foolfool.com
34 minutes ago

The Smartest Growth Stock to Buy With $3,000 Right Now

foolfool.com
36 minutes ago

This Unstoppable ETF Soared 794% Over the Last 10 Years. Here's How It Could Turn $250,000 Into $1 Million Over the Next Decade (or Less).

foolfool.com
37 minutes ago

A Once-in-a-Generation Opportunity: 2 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks That Are Screaming Buys, According to Wall Street

foolfool.com
1 hour ago

SpaceX's Starlink Direct-To-Cell Service Gets Commercial License From FCC: Here's What It Means

benzingabenzinga.com
1 hour ago

Why Amgen's Weight Loss Result Is a Win for Eli Lilly

foolfool.com
1 hour ago

3 Questions All Retirees Should Ask Before Claiming Social Security

foolfool.com
1 hour ago

3 Questions All Retirees Should Ask Before Claiming Social Security

retireretire.ly
1 hour ago

Earnings Scheduled For November 27, 2024

benzingabenzinga.com
2 hours ago

This Nearly 6%-Yielding Stock Is Adding More Power to Drive Dividend Growth in 2027 and Beyond

foolfool.com
2 hours ago

Michael Saylor's MicroStrategy Plunges 23% In 5 Sessions While Bitcoin Slips Under 6%: Gary Black Quips 'Don't Say I Didn't Warn You'

benzingabenzinga.com

3 Signs You’re Wasting Your Money on a Costco Membership

A person picking up grocery bags that have been set in front of their front door.

Image source: Getty Images

A Costco Gold Star membership costs $65 a year, or $130 if you want to upgrade to an Executive membership that gives you 2% cash back on your purchases. And for many people, either fee is more than worth paying. But if these signs apply to you, you may be wasting your money by paying for Costco access.

1. Bulk groceries and supplies don’t work for you

Maybe you’re a household of one. Or maybe you don’t have much physical space at home.

In either situation, buying products in bulk may not make sense or be feasible. And since that’s a big reason to join Costco, you’ll need to ask yourself whether you’re using the store’s other benefits enough for a membership to make sense.

To be clear, it can absolutely pay to be a Costco member even if you rarely buy groceries or 12 rolls of paper towels at a time. Booking a single trip through Costco Travel, for example, could save you more than enough money to recoup your membership fee.

But if you know off the bat that buying in bulk doesn’t make sense, and you’re also not using Costco for the various services it offers, like travel, home improvement, and so forth, then you may be better off canceling your membership.

You also don’t want to force yourself to buy groceries in bulk for the express purpose of feeling like you’re getting your money’s worth from your membership. If you save $12 on a week’s worth of groceries but throw out most of your haul, that’s not really saving anything.

So if you don’t have room for bulk purchases or can’t justify them due to your household size, instead of paying for Costco, cancel and use the money you’re saving at a regular supermarket.

You should also know that swiping the right credit card at the grocery store could help you save more on regular-sized items. Click here for a list of the best credit cards for non-Costco grocery purchases.

2. You don’t have a car

It’s possible to benefit from a Costco membership if you don’t own a car. But without a car, shopping in person is going to be tough. And also, without a car, you miss out on many of the benefits Costco has to offer.

One major perk of joining Costco is saving money on gas. Another big benefit is that Costco sells quality tires that come with free maintenance and a five-year road hazard warranty. But without a car, these aren’t things you can take advantage of.

3. You only order from Costco.com

Maybe you like Costco’s prices but can’t stand going to the store because of the crowds. If you pretty much only make purchases from Costco.com, then you may not need a membership.

Costco does not require a membership for online orders, but what it does is tack on a 5% surcharge for non-members. But if you don’t order all that frequently, or your orders tend to be fairly small, it could make sense to pay that surcharge instead of a membership fee.

It takes $1,300 a year in Costco.com purchases to rack up $65 in surcharges, which is the cost of a Gold Star membership. But if you spend $1,200 a year at Costco.com, you’re only paying $60 extra for your purchases, so you might as well save yourself the $5.

That said, some Costco.com products are member-only. If you don’t pay for the membership, you lose access to those.

Also worth considering is the fact that online prices are generally higher on Costco items (surcharge aside), than what you’d find in store. For example, you might pay $23.49 for Costco’s Kirkland Signature toilet paper online, and just $19.99 in store. And that $23.49 is before the surcharge is tacked on at checkout. That’s already about a 17.5% increase in price you’ll pay for ordering online. So, overall, if you’re primarily shopping online at Costco, member or not, you’re not reaping the kind of savings you could be by shopping in a warehouse store as a paying member.

There are plenty of good reasons to keep paying for Costco access. But if any of these signs apply to you, you may want to consider canceling.

Top credit card to use at Costco (and everywhere else!)

We love versatile credit cards that offer huge rewards everywhere, including Costco! This card is a standout among America’s favorite credit cards because it offers perhaps the easiest $200 cash bonus you could ever earn and an unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases, even when you shop at Costco.

Add on the competitive 0% interest period and it’s no wonder we awarded this card Best No Annual Fee Credit Card.

Click here to read our full review for free and apply before the $200 welcome bonus offer ends!

We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
Motley Fool Money does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from Motley Fool Money is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.Maurie Backman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Costco Wholesale. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Related Posts

There’s a good chance Social Security will play an important role in your retirement. After all, once you start getting benefits, you’re entitled to them

Image source: The Motley Fool/Upsplash Still have presents to buy for the upcoming holidays? There is time to shop for winning gifts. Shopping at retailers

Image source: Getty Images Many people do their holiday shopping on Black Friday and Cyber Monday to take advantage of big sales. Many retailers promote

Image source: Getty Images Flying business class is a fun way to make a trip more special. It almost feels like a different world than