I shopped at Costco to save money. Here’s what I learnt

August 28, 2026 — 5:00am

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I’ve been curious about Costco for a while, but it has taken me years since moving out of home – and therefore having to do my own shopping – to get around to the bulk-buy superstore.

For a start, I don’t have a car – or the license to drive it – making the journey out to one of Costco’s warehouses (and, more importantly, the hefty journey back home), a major roadblock.

And while Costco is often painted as a win for big families with hungry mouths to feed, the huge quantities seemed a bit overkill for a single-person household … even if that person does happen to have a rather outsized appetite.

These things have stopped me from shelling out the $65 Costco membership fee. The discounted prices, I figured, couldn’t possibly stack up enough to justify me paying for a privilege I probably wouldn’t end up using.

But earlier this month, two of my friends – both of whom are (unlike me) adult enough to own cars, drivers’ licenses and Costco memberships – generously offered to take me along as a guest.

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So, on a crisp Saturday morning, we made the trip to the Sydney suburb of Lidcombe where we were greeted, first, by giant $3 pizza slices and $2 combined hot dog and unlimited refill soda deals at the Costco food court. Of course, I consumed all of these things.

I watched in awe as people carted around huge trolleys packed with giant portions of everything from milk to meat and pre-packaged snacks. The most common item? A plastic carton of 30 eggs.

As we walked around trying samples and marvelling at snacks we’d never seen before – or at portion sizes we didn’t know could exist – we each picked up bits and pieces that caught our eyes.

For me, this included, among other things: a one........

© The Sydney Morning Herald