Costco in the City

For people who have cars, families, and live near a Costco, I'm sure an outing there isn't too big of a deal. Growing up, I loved Costco. From the hot dogs in the little cafe to the free samples to the giant muffins and treats for our school lunches plus the books and movies- I loved going.

When Costco opened in Manhattan, I was so excited. But I held out on buying a membership thinking it may not be as economical and convenient for a single person living alone in a city apartment.

Yesterday I went with my friend Todd (he has a membership) and we had a blast. We always agreed to be Costco buddies, splitting things like two packs of ketchup or big packages of toilet paper. On the bus on our way, Todd laid our the rules: no being cranky and no rushing. If low blood sugar would lead to crankiness, one must go get a snack at the cafe. I agreed to the rules and we were off.

We knew we were in trouble when we both grabbed the box of gladware containers right inside the entrance (the first section of impulse buying). From there, we cruised the clothes (Todd got socks), the books and DVDs (I got a gift and a new paperback), found toilet paper we wanted to share and worked our way to health and beauty. While Todd checked on conditioner, I was eyeing a big box of tampons that were SO cheap. Todd noticed the eyeing and said, "go for it, there's no judging at Costco" and off we went to look at razor blades for both of us.

He hit the kosher section while I looked for pork tenderloin. We grabbed bags of green bananas and big pieces of salmon. Before we knew it, Costco was 20 minutes away from closing and we had to pick up our pace. At that point, I started to get nervous about how much I was spending and how I'd get it all in my apartment.

All in all, we were very successful - I got some cleaning supplies, my bananas and salmon, some avocados, sunscreen, ziploc bags, lots of hot sauce and ranch dressing for making buffalo chicken dip... To put things in perspective, the salmon was $25 and I estimate it yields 10 servings. I got two bottles of spray-on Neutrogena sunscreen plus a small tube for the face for $13.49- that's less than one bottle of the spray-on at my drugstore! Two giant bottles of hot sauce bundled together - $4.99. That's about what one small bottle costs at my local grocery.

I'm seriously considering getting my own membership, but we'll see. There is something very fun about going with a buddy and having someone to share the cab home with.