I don't go to Costco primarily to save money. (Most of the time.) Of course, if you're able to plan your meals out enough to use 100% of what you buy from Cos

I don't go to Costco primarily to save money. (Most of the time.) Of course, if you're able to plan your meals out enough to use 100% of what you buy from Costco it's impossible to beat them. (Exception: if you're an extreme couponer who has the time and energy to watch grocery store sales, which are rarely on items I actually want to buy.) I go to Costco because I know I will get something good for a decent price. At the grocery store, it will (probably) cost more and very likely be mediocre if not strikingly bad. For example, the lowest grade of steak Costco stocks is Choice. Until recently, Costco was the only place in my town you could get choice ribeye for under $17/lb (Costco was $8 or 9 at the time.) Recently, the groceries have started stocking that grade - according to the packaging, but the meat is visibly inferior and it's still more expensive. I'm not saying everything there is great, but I can buy a product off the shelf because it looks tasty and it will almost invariably be good.