The Year Without Costco... Kind Of

Just in case you were wondering, all of my crazy ideas originate from npr . The Year Without Costco was no different.

I can't remember when I heard the story or exactly what the point was but somewhere out there, there is a (crazy) couple who only shops once a year. ONCE A YEAR! For everything from toilet paper to birthday presents. Do you hear that sound? It's Me, gasping in shock and horror. It is the same sound I made a year ago when I was closing out our 2007 finances and realized how much money we spent at Costco in '07.

Quite possibly a car payment....

I quickly cross-referenced this catastrophe with my npr files and ran a search on my known resources and came up with a serviceable solution.... the biggest problem with the Costco price tag is not the things we need from Costco, it is the things we pick up when we go to buy the things we need. The artichoke dip that jumps into the cart. The sweat suit that hangs off the side. The vat of nacho cheese.... just kidding, I'm over that phase of my life.

So if we can limit our trips to Costco to ONE, then we can limit our annual Costco bill. And as an added bonus we have a few hundred dollars in Costco rebates to defer the cost of this ONE shopping trip.

I don't have any idea how the people who shop for everything only once per year do it but this is what we had to do in preparation for our one Costco trip.

1. Figure out storage. Luckily we have three refrigerators and a decent amount of storage in the garage. We also cleaned and rearranged the pantry to free up shelf space.
2. Make a list (Stage One). We had to figure out what the shelf stable staples we needed for the year. paper towels, baby wipes, dish soap, garbage bags.....
3. Make a list (Stage Two). Figuring out how many rolls of toilet paper your family uses is the calculation that will make your head spin.
4. Wait for Rebate Check. tick-tock tick-tock
5. Get to shopping!

We spent $261 out of pocket in our Year Without Costco Trip 2008. We also made several mistakes....

1. We took the boys with us, late in the evening. We needed at least two flat beds but instead had one flatbed and one cart. By the end of the trip we were just trying to survive, let alone think about how many whatever's we needed to get through until whenever.
   
2. We underestimated in a number of areas, mostly paper products. We have had to supplement paper towels at least twice.
   
3. Some things just aren't made to stay on the shelf for a year, including condiments.
   

And despite my vow to not step into a Costco in 2008... well, that didn't work out so well. In 2007 we made 12 trips to Costco, in 2008 we made 6. To add insult to injury, most of the six trips were significantly more expensive... almost $100 more each trip on average. Overall, we spent less, but you know, that's not saying much.

This year our Costco rebate is significantly more. I'm voting to use the money to replace the flat screen in our bedroom with a bigger one. Kevin says, "We'll see."

He is the one who wants a new tv, I think he really enjoyed the Year Without Costco Trip and wants a repeat performance. He loves a challenge.

I hearby declare that I am incapable of saving money. I also accept the fact that Costco is a fact of life and as much as I hate the place, I'm an American who needs her big box stores (BAD). And I don't know why I am picking on Costco, the real problem is Target. Love you, hate you, bye.