Green Panda Treehouse

Has Our Costco Membership Been Worth it?

Green Panda — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 05:00:35 PDT

I’ve heard from so many people growing up that having a warehouse club automatically meant you save money. My mom has been a Sam’s Club membership for years and she’s saved money, especially when we were growing up in a family of four.

We currently have a Costco membership. We planned ahead before we paid for the membership, but I thought it would be useful to see if we really did save money with the membership.

How is our Costco membership doing? Find out!

Membership Costs

As you’re well aware, there are are fees to become a Costco member. They offer different memberships, each with their own fees and benefits.

Gold Star Member ship ($50/year): This membership allows you to purchase products for personal use at any Costco in the world. You also get an additional card for one member in your household included.
Business Membership ($50/year): In addition to the Gold Star membership benefits, you also purchase business products for use or resale and you can get to add 6 additional cardholders.
Executive Gold Star Membership ($100/year): Executive Members enjoy an annual 2% Reward on most Costco purchases, as well as additional values on member services, such as lower prices on check printing, payroll services and identity protection; an account bonus for money market and online investing accounts; free roadside assistance for vehicles covered through the auto insurance program; and extra travel benefits.

We decided to get the Executive Membership for our family. I’ll review the discounts and savings we have. I’ll also keep a running total of the memembership’s value after each section where I have some numbers.

Costco Savings: -$100

Car Insurance Savings

We found a great discount with our Costco membership on our car insurance. Our previous policy with Progressive was $118/month. I shopped around for car insurance rates, trying to see if we could get something better.

Amerprise through Costco offered auto insurance coverage for $58/month. That saves us $60/month for an annual savings of $720.

I’ve also used their roadside assistance and didn’t have to pay anything.

Costco Savings: $620

Gasoline Discounts

I have noticed that Costco’s gasoline has been 12-15 cents cheaper a gallon then other gas stations around my area, which is a bit more expensive then the city average. If I lived in a different part of town, the savings would drop to around 5-7 cents a gallon.

Since I live relatively near Costco, getting my gasoline there is a c0nvient way to save money. I fill up about every 10-14 days, and my husband fills up just as frequently. We have about 12 gallons for our cars’ gas tanks.

To keep it simple, I’ll calculate we fill up every two weeks and we get to Costco about 75% of the time for a total of 39 fill-ups between the two of us each year. I’ll say we save 13 cents a gallon. The annual savings comes out to $60.84.

Costco Savings: $680.84

Big Purchases and Warranty Savings

My husband purchased a 40″ LCD HDTV from Costco. It was $499 and with shipping, the total was $560. Best Buy has the model listed for $579.99, with a delivery cost of $70, for a total of $649.99.

It has a 2 year warranty with Costco. Best Buy has a 4 year warranty available for $100. To keep it fair, I’m using the deliver price to calculate savings of $89.99 .

Costco Savings: $770.83

Food and Bulk Item Savings

You may be surprised, but we haven’t saved a huge amount as we have in the other categories. We’re a family of two, so some bulk items aren’t good buys for us based on the amount we eat and our limited freezer space.

We have saved money on paper goods like toilet paper and paper towels. We plan most of our purchases, so we don’t inadvertently spend too much.

Run The Numbers Yourself

Even though the Costco membership has saved us almost $800 in a year, you have to figure out for yourself and your family if warehouse membership will pay off.

Your Take

If you’re a warehouse club member (Costco, Sam’s, BJ’s, or something else), what do you get and why? Has the membership paid off?

Photo Credit: greenwenvy08

June 2009 Blog Review

Green Panda — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 11:07:59 PDT

Thank You Readers!

I want to thank all the wonderful readers on this site. If you want get in contact with me send me an email or message me on Twitter. Send me any questions you may have or suggestions.

Reminder To Subscribe:

By subscribing to Green Panda Treehouse you’ll always receive new content. You can also subscribe to the site through your email. I won’t sell your email address or send you any junk. I’m really happy about having new members on the site.

Top 5 Referring Personal Finance Blogs

I want to thank all the bloggers who have helped me with this site, whether it was a guest post, a comment, or challenging me by writing insightful posts.

I’m grateful for the following five blogs for their links and support. If you haven’t already, please check out their blogs!

Weekly Round Up: Messing Around With Video Games

Green Panda — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 05:00:22 PDT

This week has a bit crazy with traveling to meet family and some other things. We’re currently enjoying the new TV and taking turns playing some games on it. I just finished the main storyline on Fable 2 and I’ll go back and play it to handle a few side missions. Right now, though, we’re playing Mass Effect.

I hope you have a great weekend!

Blog Carnivals

I hosted the Carnival of Personal Finance this week. I want to thank everyone who particpated.
Mighty Bargain Hunter hosted the Carnival of Debt Reduction.
The Festival of Frugality was handled by My Frugal Adventures.
Stretchy Dollar hosted Carnival of Money Stories.
Carnival of Twenty Something Finances – was taken care of by Independent Beginnings.
The Canadian Finance Blog organized the Money Hacks Carnival.
Carnival of Pecuniary Delights thanks to Taking Charge.

I really enjoyed the posts below. Being busy this week, I didn’t get to them until Friday, but it was worth the wait.

What would you do? Reader wants to fix their credit report

Green Panda — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 15:26:41 PDT

Sometimes I get questions sent to me through the email. Some questions are very specific and some a bit more universal.

I love when readers write to me!

One question I received through email this week was about credit reports and scores. Here’s the gist of the question:

Should I pay [my] past due credit bills to better my credit?

I told him that paying your past due bills will slowly build up your credit. Past due accounts lower your score and it could look bad if you are thinking of getting a mortgage, car loan, or even rent an apartment down the road.

First off, I’d like to know where I’m starting from. You can do this by checking your credit reports.

Ordering Your Free Credit Reports

If you need to see what’s on your record,the Federal Trade Commission points you to the genuinely free link at annualcreditreport.com.

The three nationwide consumer reporting companies have set up one website, toll-free telephone number, and mailing address through which you can order your free annual report.

If you do not have Internet access, you can also call 1-877-322-8228.

See if there are any mistakes on your credit report and fix them. See what accounts are most delinquent and work on catching up with them.

Catching Up on Your Past Due Bills Helps Your Credit

Miranda Marquit wrote a post on this blog about the effect of debt repayment on your credit score:

The largest consideration in your credit score is your debt payment history (35%). Do you pay on time? Do you always pay at least the minimum? Your credit score will take into account your payment history, and a reported late payment or a missed payment, on your debt obligations can have a big negative impact.

Because the credit score is designed to let lenders and creditors know how reliable you are when it comes to repaying your obligations, it is no surprise that debt is a huge factor. Indeed, the credit score is almost entirely designed around how you handle your debt.

Book Recommendations

If you’re in a lot of debt and need a step by step guide to build up your finances, borrow from your local library or buy Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey or I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi.

I enjoyed reading both books and think they give concrete actions to help you with your personal finances. Read both and see which one fits you better.

What advice do you have?

Photo Credit: stefg