My husband and I hit up Costco this afternoon with a short shopping list and a goal to stay away from impulse purchases.
We were down to one small bag of cat litter, so I fully stocked up as there was an “instant rebate” and I’d rather get ahead of the cost. (We bought three four-packs.) The most boring purchase, but it can’t be avoided when you have a cat. I checked my photo library to see how the prices have changed and was shocked to see that the cost hasn’t changed since I took this photo in December of 2023! Something that hasn’t gone up in price? Crazy.
The other thing on our list was laundry detergent, specifically the Kirkland Signature brand. This tub-o-detergent lasts my family a full year, specifically because I immediately remove the large scoop and replace it with a tiny scoop leftover from some long forgotten container of Dollar Tree oxyclean. My husband and I are not ditch diggers, so a small amount of laundry soap cleans our clothing/bedding/towels without issue.
I would estimate that I use a tablespoon of soap per load.
Of course no trip to Costco would be complete without a loop around the store for free samples.
Beef sticks:
Hotdog:
Quinoa:
La Croix seltzer:
And chocolate chip cookies for dessert!
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That same litter is $23.89 at the nearest Costco here after the instant rebate. I suspect lack of competition makes stuff more expensive.
I buy cat litter at Ollie’s Outlet, which is largely an overstock retailer, for $6.99 for a 20 pound bag and stock up when I have a 10 or 15 percent off coupon. One day I bought nothing but 160 pounds of cat litter, which is the most we have space to store.
We do the same thing with powdered detergent, using a 2 tablespoon coffee scoop instead of the half-cup measure that comes with the detergent.
We’re still eating “clean out the icebox.” Husband ate the last of the baked beans and 2 hot dogs without bun/bread. (I need to make bread today.) I ate what I call “Lazy Man’s Macaroni & Cheese.” (Cook and drain macaroni, toss in butter, top with shredded x-sharp white cheddar cheese. Comfort food.
Yesterday (Friday), we went back up to my sister’s to retrieve hubby’s wallet that fell out of his pocket at her house on Thursday. She took us to lunch. Hubby ordered a grilled chicken salad, no dressing; and I ordered a chicken parmesan wrap. Both were huge! We brought home enough leftovers for 2 meals each.
Today’s agenda is HOUSEWORK. No plans to go anywhere, so no temptation to spend. Still lots to eat in the house before buying any groceries. Will use up odds and ends of cleaning products I bought and didn’t care for (e.g. Fantastik – which I didn’t think was so “fantastic.”) Using those things up will help get rid of clutter. Recyclables will go in the cardboard box on our porch (paper) or the garbage can on our porch (plastic and tin). We have another garbage can for aluminum, which we take to a scrap yard for $. We rarely have anything glass, but that gets set next to the paper box, then goes on top of that box when we go to the recycling center.
Yesterday’s score: 1 box of Lucky Charms (1/2 price) and a package of Artisan flat bread with 2 long pieces in it (also half price). We will use the flat bread for homemade pizza. I canned pizza sauce last year and we have mozzarella and pepperoni in the freezer; an onion and a red bell pepper in the fridge. It will make us each 2 meals.
I pay $24.99 for the same litter at Wmart in MN – wonder if Costco here has that savings….
We have to pay too much for the special kind of litter for long-haired cats. That said, Trash Kitty then doesn’t walk litter all over the place.
I miss Costco. Haven’t been there in months and I won’t get there until September because traffic is too awful.
Frugal: I found some frozen blueberries and made them into blueberry viniagrette for the rest of the never ending arugula. A little red onion and yummo. (Stop writing yummo.)
Tomorrow’s Son’s birthday, so I have to dig around in my stash for the least appropriate wrapping paper I can find for his gifts. I wonder if we still have any pink Paw Patrol?
Looks like you’re all set for cat litter stuff! And, yes, it is most unusual for a price to remain the same these days. Lucky you! (You must have iron-clad willpower to avoid impulse purchases in that store!)
Rumor has it that Costco will build a store in my area in a couple of years. I hope it’s true! I’ve heard many nice things about Costco, and have read that they treat/pay their employees very well.
Right now, we only have a Sam’s Club and it is ‘way across the county from where I live. A friend once included me on his family membership, but since I live alone, I didn’t really see much of a benefit shopping there.
Someone mentioned Ollie’s Outlet, and they have extended their deal for 15% everything in the store through Sunday June 29 in my city. Check to see if the deal is the same in yours. You might want to stock up for the coming season if it is. They also put their rugs and carpets on 25% off, but not the vinyl flooring planks.
My frugal 5:
1. I bought 5 more boxes of LVP from Ollie’s at 15% off yesterday, and that gives me enough to do the hallway in addition to the computer room. I already bought 11 boxes for the computer room…..$1.61 a square foot when the 15% discount is applied, and the stuff I got is commercial grade.
2. My neighbors are having a block party today, and I was asked to bring ketchup and paper plates. (Figure I got off easy.) Grabbed a bottle of ketchup from the pantry–it’s from a giant two-pack I got at Ollie’s quite a while ago. Shop your closet, folks, shop your closet. The money you save may be your own!
3. After numerous attempts, the redneck handyman I hired STILL has not been able to install the ceiling fan. All the overhead lights in two bathrooms, three closets and my bedroom are not working, either, thanks to him. I give up! A remodeling company, which advertises it also performs handyman services, is going to come by and give me an estimate for fan and flooring installation. Hope they won’t charge an arm and a leg. Meanwhile, I’m having to go into my walk-in closet with a flashlight so I can see which clothes to wear. Last night I showered by Coleman battery-operated camping lantern (bought it as a hurricane emergency supply).
4. Used up a gift card so no money out of my bank account for those expenditures.
5. I did not waste a perfectly good Saturday by going to an over-the-top wedding extravaganza. In Italy, or any other place. I also am not helping to the former shindig bc I do not shop Amazon.
Forgot to mention, the Ollie’s sale no longer requires a coupon. And their beach towels are $3.99 each. I didn’t get any bc I have all the towels I need. I often use beach towels in lieu of large bath towels.