【Epoch 2026 July 29th Edition】Let’s be honest upfront: I love strolling through Costco.
Pushing a cart big enough to fit a family’s dream, circling around the sampling area three times, pretending each time it’s just a casual pass-by.
Finally standing at the checkout, watching the long receipt slowly printing out, with a carefree expression on my face, already starting to calculate how many days until the next paycheck this month.
This whole process has almost become the most important entertainment activity for our family on weekends.
So, this article is by no means trying to convince you to cancel your membership, let alone saying Costco is not good. Quite the opposite, it’s precisely because I enjoy browsing so much that I’ve decided, in my role as a financial editor, to secretly tally up the cost of this “happiness”.
After calculating, I’ve admitted to a harsh reality: Costco has many cheap items, but a trip to Costco is by no means a cheap affair.
Before heading to Costco last month, I specifically made a list: eggs, milk, kitchen paper. Just 3 items. I even swore to myself before entering: “Today will be quick, no impulse buys!”
An hour later, I stood at the checkout with 11 items. Four of them were decided on a whim after sampling at the tasting booths.
In that moment, I finally understood why Costco provides us with such large shopping carts. Because just putting a box of eggs in it would look too lonely.
A slice of pizza, a sausage bite, a cup of juice – they’re free to eat but they could likely add twenty or thirty dollars worth of items into your cart.
Costco’s layout and sampling areas are never just goodwill gestures; they are hooks – it’s just that these hooks are sprinkled with a taste of cheese.
Assuming the unplanned items from sampling only cost an average of $15 each: 8 items x $15 = $120. In other words, a seemingly free round of sampling discreetly takes away $120 from you.
I’ve now set a new rule for myself: I can sample, but I must take a lap after trying. If, after ten minutes, I still want to buy it, then it can go into the cart.
Don’t underestimate those ten minutes. Many times, your mouth may have been convinced, but your fridge back home is still empty.
Last year, I upgraded from a regular member to an Executive Black Card member. An additional $130 per year. My thought process at the time was very simple: “Since I often go, the 2% cashback, why not take it.”
Later, upon serious calculation, I found that many people, including myself, had got this question wrong.
A regular Costco membership costs $65 per year, the Black Card $130. Since you have to buy the regular card no matter what, the additional $65 you truly need to earn back through cashback is crucial.
Based on a 2% cashback calculation, your break-even line is: $65 ÷ 2% = $3,250. In other words, you need to spend $3,250 at Costco annually ($271 per month on average) to truly make the additional $65 for the upgraded card worth it.
If your family regularly buys meat, eggs, milk, paper products, and cleaning supplies at Costco, spending $271 a month is not difficult, and the Black Card does indeed make sense.
However, if you only go once every two or three months, then it’s completely unnecessary to pay an extra $65 for the “premium membership” feeling.
The most dangerous thought is: “Since I have the Black Card, I should go more often.”
The Black Card is not a “savings card”, it’s a self-imposed Key Performance Indicator (KPI) – forcing you to spend $3,250 in a year to make the card worthwhile.
A membership card should match your spending habits, rather than forcing your spending habits to meet the card’s KPI.
What draws many people to Costco is the “unit price.” Buying in bulk seems more cost-effective, the more you buy, the cheaper it appears per 100 grams.
The issue is, what we actually spend is not the “price per 100 grams,” but the total price listed on the receipt.
That 2-liter bottle of olive oil at the back of my pantry has become a prized possession in our “expired food museum” at home. When buying it, I thought I was savvy about handling everyday life: large volume, low unit price, seemed cost-effective. Six months later, when I pulled it out, it quietly expired two months ago.
In finance, there’s a very brutal real cost formula: assuming a normal supermarket sells a small bottle of olive oil for $12, Costco sells a large bottle for $20. Just looking at the volume, Costco is obviously cheaper; but if you end up using only half and toss the rest, then the actual cost becomes: $20 ÷ 50% = $40.
Regardless of how low the unit price is, as long as it leads to waste, all the previous discounts instantly go to waste.
Using it up is called bulk purchasing; wasting it is just bulk waste.
I used to have a firm belief that if I buy from Costco, there’s no need to compare prices elsewhere. However, one time, a regular supermarket offered a discount, and the same laundry detergent was actually two dollars cheaper than at Costco. Though it’s just two dollars, it opened a crack in my consumer faith.
Turns out Costco offers “long-term competitive pricing for most items,” but not “every item, every day is the lowest price in town.”
Especially for categories like the following, items from external supermarkets with promotions, points systems, and closeout prices can completely undercut Costco:
When you see the words “bulk packaging,” don’t automatically translate them in your mind to “lowest price in town.”
I always thought that at Costco, I had to use their co-branded credit card to get cashback, or else I’d be forsaking it.
Later, upon carefully reviewing the terms, I realized the situation was completely different.
Taking Canada as an example, CIBC Costco co-branded card swipes inside a Costco warehouse usually only provide a base 1% cashback (3% cashback is at gas stations and restaurants).
Meanwhile, the other MasterCard credit card I normally use can also get around 1% in points for in-store shopping at Costco.
For Black Card members, enjoying the product’s 2% rebate along with around 1% in points from a regular MasterCard, sums up to 3%.
This outcome surprised me: I hadn’t missed any hidden benefits; I had just been scared by those few words, “co-branded credit card.”
Never just look at the biggest number on the credit card advertisement, but examine the smallest print at the bottom.
The big numbers entice you in, it’s the smallest details that ultimately determine how much money you get.
Even though my financial editor calculator tells me that shopping at Costco can easily lead to overspending, next weekend, there’s a high probability I’ll still end up going.
I’ll still be pushing that massive cart, passing by the sampling areas, and after checking out, I’ll probably grab a $1.50 hot dog with soda.
Of course, I understand that this hot dog, not raising its price for 30 years, is part of Costco’s entire business strategy.
But as adults, after calculating membership fees, cashback rates, unit prices, and food wastage for an hour, we must allow ourselves to have at least one thing without needing to calculate anymore.
Costco has never just been a supermarket.
For many families, it’s also a place for weekend walks, a playground with free samples, and a happy world worth the entrance fee.
Whether it helps you save money depends on what you take out: Costco will surely find a way to fill it up for you.