So we told you a while back that we are new again members at Costco. We took a year off to see if we could “live without” our Costco membership and needless to say we are now back in the saddle. JUST this afternoon my husband returned our 2nd or 3rd malfunctioning GPS over the past 2-3 years without question. That alone is priceless.
You can read more about Why We Bought a Costco Membership and the Items I would NEVER buy at Costco. You can also read my first post about Items I WILL buy at Costco. Today we’re going to talk about their gift cards.
I love getting gift cards at a discount whenever I can because they ARE like cash and CAN becombined with a coupon or sale! That is the biggest tip I want you to take away from this, your gift card does not fall under the “not valid with any other offer” stipulation that you will see on a lot of restaurant or store sales and coupons. Your gift card is just like cash and in the state of CA it never expires.
Here are a 2 examples of gift card deals I saw at my local Costco yesterday and ways you could maximize the savings.
Jamba Juice: I’m sure you’re well aware of the multitude of coupons that Jamba Juice releases. I’ve posted many if not all of them here. With the gift card deal pictured above at Costco, you are automatically saving 20%. It is a $50 gift card (or 2 $25 gift cards) for $39.99. Here is a deal scenario using a recent Jamba Juice coupon.
Buy (2) Jamba Juice 16 oz Smoothies – $3.95 ea (ouch!)
Use Gift Card and SAVE 20% – $0.80 Savings
Use BOGO Coupon and SAVE – $3.95
Final Price: $3.15 for 2 smoothies VS. $7.90 for 2!
Celia’s Mexican Restaurant: This is local Mexican Food restuarant that we’ve yet to try but have heard raving reviews for! This is a GREAT deal, it’s a $100 gift card(s) that sells at Costco for $75. Once again, you automatically saving 25% off your bill. NOW with this restaurant specifically they are a part of the Restaurant.com program. Here is a deal scenario using a recent Restaurant.com certificate purchased at 80% off:
Fine Print from the Restaurant.com certificate reads:
- Minimum purchase of $45
- Valid Sun-Thur.
- 18% Gratuity added prior to discount.
- Valid for Dinner, Dine In ONLY.
- Present prior to ordering.
Spend $45 on food and drinks at Celia’s
Use Gift Card and SAVE 25% – $11.25
Use Restaurant.com certificate and SAVE $23 (minus the $2 certificate cost)
Final Price: $10.75 for $45 worth of food and drinks, that’s incredible!
*PLEASE remember to tip your server based on the PRE-Discounted Total which in this case at a 20% tip rate would be $9.
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Tagged as: Costco
by Julia on July 19, 2010
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So we’re new again members at Costco, we took a year off and are now back in the saddle. You can read more about Why We Bought a Costco Membership and the Items I would NEVER buy at Costco. The following is a photo series of items I do buy and would suggest you buy at Costco – these items are rarely cheaper even with a good sale or coupon (if they even exist) and as of right now I think you’d be hard pressed to find a better deal. Plus I think the $1.50 hotdog/drink.com/bo alone may be worth the membership 
What are some items you think are consistently the lowest price at Costco?
- At $0.14 cents per ounce the honey at Costco is a no brainer.
- Unlike Peanut Butter, it’s friend Jelly rarely goes on sale for a great price. Since we go through it by the gallon each year I’ve found the price at Costco to be very fair.
- You can find coffee cheaper, but this is GOOD coffee and it’s a great price.
- We love this brand and also appreciate that is contains no corn syrup, at $0.05 per ounce it makes pancake breakfast even more delicious!
- So I’m sure this can me made cheaper at home, but I’m not so sure it can be made as tasty. $1.15 per pound is a good price and a quick ready to go dish for your next BBQ.
- We use a lot of EVOO, I’ve found it free after rebate – but on a regular basis it’s the lowest price at Costco. *Picture above is is the Pure Olive Oil*
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Tagged as: Costco
by Julia on July 14, 2010
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Jenny, a TFF reader, sent me an article that got me thinking about those people in our lives who think couponing is crazy and/or a waste of time & money. This man stocked up on Razors at Costco (100) to be exact, in an attempt to save money in the long run. Remember this post about things I’d NEVER buy at Costco? The above picture was taken just last week at my local Costco, a 14+1 pack for $44.99. At that price this man paid just shy of $300 for something we get FREE almost every week!
Don’t you feel sorry for him? Who is going to break the news to him?
Do you have people in your life like this? You know, the ones that are set in the way they shop and 100% positive they’re getting the best deal out there – like this man above.
This post may contain affiliate links. When you use them, you support The Frugal Find. Thank you! Disclosure policy.Tagged as: Costco
This is a photo series of items I’d NEVER shell out money for at Costco. I’ll be doing several of these as well as posts on what I WOULD buy at Costco. Most of the items I list today I’d never buy at Costco, because we can almost always get them FREE or even as Money Makers. Wouldn’t you agree?
Recently these were close to free at CVS...
My "Buy it Now" price for yogurt is $0.25 ea these are a whopping $0.44 ea!
I'd expect to be PAID to take anymore toothpaste home, let alone pay over $2 per tube!
$4.25 per box of cereal - Ouch! I'd pay up to $1 for Frosted Mini Wheats max.
My mouth dropped when I saw the price over these razors, did yours?
Yes it's true, sadly people still pay for deodorant.
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Tagged as: Costco
by Julia on July 5, 2010
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We had a membership for almost 8 years through my husband’s employer, but when he left his job we lost it. We hadn’t gone there much in the last year we had it, but we did go for a few things. It had been a whole year without it, and we were missing it.
Here are my reasons:
Paisley Farms Four Bean Salad - You can buy 1/2 Gallon of their 4 Bean Salad in a jar for just over $5, I haven’t been able to buy the beans to make my own for anywhere near this price. It’s my absolute favorite too – never tasted a bean salad as good as this one.
Will’s San Francisco Potato Salad – 5lbs worth for only $5.69! We’ve never found another that we like more. You see most of our favorite meals come off the grill, my husband is great out there and if all I have to do is put the sides in a dish, then that’s my favorite meal Sure I could possibly make this cheaper, but I’d NEVER be able to make it as good.
Costco Gas – it’s almost always cheaper.
Electronics – Time and time again we’ve been relieved to know our electronics were covered by the longest warranty around. Knowing that you’re getting the top-of-the-line product at the BEST price too can’t be beat.
Executive Membership – So this was new to us, we had our minds set on getting the cheapest membership at only $50, and when she tried to talk up the Executive membership we had our “car dealership” faces on. BUT then…she said $25 cash card today…and we listened a bit more.
Turns out that with our $100 membership, we’d get 2% cash back and IF we didn’t get the full $50 we paid above the normal Costco membership they’d pay us back the difference. Plus we were already ahead a $25 cash card that day, which we used to buy the above bean & potato salad. So overall it worked out to be a great deal and we’re now proud Costco Card holders.
Walking through the store I’m sure my mouth was wide open in shock at some of the “bulk is better” prices. As I shop there a bit more, I’ll be sharing a few What to Buy and What NOT to Buy scenarios, so stay tuned…
This post may contain affiliate links. When you use them, you support The Frugal Find. Thank you! Disclosure policy.Tagged as: Costco
So we told you a while back that we are new again members at Costco. We took a year off to see if we could “live without” our Costco membership and needless to say we are now back in the saddle. JUST this afternoon my husband returned our 2nd or 3rd malfunctioning GPS over the past 2-3 years without question. That alone is priceless.
