By Ezale Vongphakdy
The hardest part of becoming a Costco member isn’t spending $65 – it’s convincing yourself that buying two whole barramundi is financially responsible.
I never think of the $65 membership as a yearly expense. It didn’t feel like signing up for Netflix or a gym; it felt like a one-off novelty purchase. Now, I’m the only person in my household and friend group with a Costco card.
As a student, Costco offered me a pretty convenient solution for four days of uni lunches each week. Take my daily sandwich: $9.99 gets me 12 Turkish rolls, $7.99 gets me 500g of ham and an $8.99, 700g bag of Doritos gives me enough to portion into zip-lock bags for a fortnight.
When buying in bulk, some price tags will have your wallet screaming or leave you reaching for the calculator to check the cost per unit. However, there are a few personal favourites I don’t second-guess: 1kg of Kewpie mayonnaise for just $11.99, an addictive eight-pack of cinnamon scrolls for $14.99 and 12 giant muffins for only $12.99 through a two-for-one deal.
Everybody knows about the Costco food court and its roast chooks, but it never gets old.
The $1.99 hot dog and refillable drink combo is the perfect reward after making it through the checkout, or better yet, grab one at the start and let it accompany you through your shop. Then there are the $7.99 rotisserie chickens, tempting you mid-shop with an easy dinner or a ready-made protein for meal prep.
Surprisingly, I never end up spending much. When I’m conveniently nearby, I’ll pop in to grab two to five items, usually my sandwich ingredients. When I bring non-members along, I often end up accounting for less than 30 per cent of the total receipt.
Perhaps the best part is being able to bring two non-members with me. My friends rarely come along to fill their trolleys; we go because Costco is a different kind of shopping experience.
There’s something oddly entertaining about browsing oversized products before ending up at the food court.
So, is Costco worth $65 a year? I’m not sure I’ll ever need two whole barramundi, but between fortnight-long lunches, $1.99 hot dogs and an excuse to bring my friends, I’ve certainly got my money’s worth.
Maybe Costco isn’t about buying more; it’s about making buying in bulk strangely fun.
Featured image: Collage of Costco Australia’s best buys for Gen-Z. Photo: Ezale Vongphakdy