Adrienne's Corner

Saving Money Saturday
and
More on the Pro-life Ad

*****Anyone who has a more than just passing acquaintance with me knows I "heart" Costco. Part of the reason is having worked there for about 9 years, I know what a well-run and employee-friendly company it is.

*****Forbes just listed it as the number one company to work for in Washington state. And in an article in the New Yorker, "Switch Your Supermarket," they showed how a family of four could save $7,339.28 in one year by shopping at Costco.

*****One year while working there, I tracked everything I purchased at Costco and compared it to my local supermarket prices. I did not include any large items such as computers or TV's. I even had the potty paper broken down to the square inch. As one of my co-workers said, "you have waaaaay too much time on your hands." Our savings for that year for just my husband and myself was close to $5000.00. That is HUGE!

*****If a grocery store has a store brand, like Western Family, I will usually purchase an item like soda crackers or potato chips there, rather than the name brand at Costco. Ditto for some canned items. Other than that, the bulk of my shopping is done at Costco.

*****Their brand name, "Kirkland Signature", is a guarantee that you will receive the very best that is available. For instance, Kirkland Signature white tuna in water makes all other name brands seem like cat food in comparison and still costs less.

*****The two biggest arguments against Costco I hear is, "it's just the two of us", and the cost of the membership. I will agree that a giant size bag of potatoes or box of oranges is hard for two people to use up in a timely manner. Might I make the simple suggestion that you split these items with a friend? This is what I have always done and it has worked well. Other items like potty paper don't spoil so I really don't see a problem.

*****The freshness of Costco produce also guarantees a much longer "shelf life" than comparable items purchased at the grocery store. I routinely purchase six packs of Romaine lettuce and rarely have any of it go bad, even though it sometimes takes us weeks to use it all. Try that with lettuce from the grocery store. And for you greenie's, Costco is stocking more and more organic brands.

*****As to the cost of a membership? Even though I am math challenged, I know that the cost of the membership is not a factor when compared against the savings. I always tell people that one trip through Costco usually saves you the cost of the membership plus some.

*****Sam's Club, which is just the warehouse version of WalMart, does not carry the same high-end items that Costco does, and so a comparison of the two would really be like the proverbial apple/orange comparison. Plus their business practices leave much to be desired. I purchase about one or two items from WalMart and always feel guilty (a good Catholic virtue) when I do this.



*****My other favorite place is the Grocery Outlet. There are many treasures to be found at this no frills store. I just purchased my favorite Brie cheese for $3.00 less than the Costco price (which is already low). Will it be there next week? Probably not, but that's part of the fun. It's the grown up version of the treasure hunt.

*****Don't forget about coupons. Motherhen68 over at the Chicken Coop is a coupon hound (chicken?) and saves a tremendous amount of money.

Pro-life Ad and the Super Bowl

*****It appears everyone is happy because EWTN is going to show the pro-life ad that was rejected by whatever network is showing the Super Bowl. In my estimation, that is preaching to the choir. I would think that most of the folks that avail themselves of the programming on EWTN already have a pro-life stance.

*****Turning off your TV and telling them why is the only effective way of getting the attention of the networks. We talk often of the possibility of having to be martyred for our faith, and yet we are unwilling to turn off our TV's and refuse to watch the Super Bowl.

*****I will be the first to admit that it is pretty easy for me to do this, as I could care squat about the game. But for you football lovers, this could be a real way to do a bit of penance. Just imagine if every Catholic turned off the Super Bowl. Pretty powerful statement!