Hacks You Should Use At Costco If You're Single
While Costco may be known as a bargain-hunter's paradise, there's no denying that many of those bargains tend to be super-sized. While the Duggar family no doubt goes through those giant-sized jars of mayonnaise in no time flat, smaller families may struggle to use up Costco-sized items before their expiration dates. As for people who live alone – well, many singles may not even consider joining Costco at all, since so many of their items don't really seem to be tailored towards the needs of solo shoppers.
There are, however, a number of singles who do pony up for membership, if only so they can experience those glorious $5 rotisserie chickens (good for several meals if you're cooking for one) as well as all the joys of the food court – hot dogs and pizza and froyo, oh my! Should you be amongst their numbers, you can still take advantage of many other benefits Costco has to offer, even if you're not feeding a small army.
Singles can stock up on frozen and canned goods
A recent Reddit thread was devoted to the subject of single Costco shoppers and how they made the most of their memberships without having to commit to eating three mega-boxes of Cheerios all by themselves. One thing most recommended was stocking up on the sorts of items that don't go bad in a hurry, such as frozen meals (TV dinners, every singleton's go-to), frozen veggies, and canned goods.
Should you have the necessary storage space — something that admittedly singles living in studio or one-bedroom apartments may be short on — a pro tip would be purchasing a chest freezer since a standard top-of-the-fridge freezer unit may not be enough to store your entire Costco haul.
Singles can take advantage of non-food bargains
Many Redditors also noted that Costco carries a wide variety of reasonably-priced, non-food items, most of which are not sold in bulk. Clothing, for example. If you buy leggings or a sweatshirt at Costco, you're just buying the one, not a whole pallet. Electronics are also sold as single units, and some beauty products aren't super-sized, either. Costco tires may or may not be a bargain, but one thing's for sure, they're not going to force you to buy more than four of them. And Costco's Kirkland Signature booze is one of the chain's not-at-all well-kept secrets, as some of its liquors are as good as (or maybe even better than) top-shelf brands at a much lower price — still sold in single units. Though if you do want to buy a case of wine, go right ahead, since one of the best perks of being single is the fact that no one's around judging how many bottles you drink.
Oh, and don't forget all of the services Costco offers its members in addition to its extensive line of goods. Costco can rent you a car, sell you some insurance (home or car), and even help you plan your next vacation.
Singles can try ways to make fresh food last longer
While buying some types of fresh food in bulk is never going to make sense for a single shopper — dairy products, for one, don't tend to age so well — there are other items, such as fresh meats and baked goods, that lend themselves very well to being frozen. It's recommended that you split these into individual serving sizes before doing so, for example, you should probably bag and freeze individual muffins rather than an entire tray. One Redditor said they nuked these for about 45 seconds for a tasty breakfast or snack
You can also choose certain types of fruits and veggies that tend to last for a good long time, such as apples, oranges, and potatoes. There are also tips and tricks you can use to help boost your produce longevity, or at least repurpose it once it starts to go off. If you're a fan of fresh spinach salad, a tip shared on Reddit involved separating Costco's spinach into multiple smaller containers and putting a paper towel in each, although another commenter suggested that a piece of bread would also help spinach stay fresher longer. Plus, even if it does start to wilt, you can always cook it and use it to make dips, quiches, or eggs Florentine.
Singles can share with a neighbor
One of the best Costco shopping hacks, at least if you're a sociable single, is to find a shopping buddy. Costco does allow you to bring one guest along with you each time you shop, or you can even add a member to your "household" (they may have to share a mailing address for their Costco junk mail, but we promise the store's not going to do bed checks). Even if you prefer to shop alone, you can always find a friend, family member, or food pantry to split that six-pack of baked beans
One thing that does not yet seem to exist, at least as far as we can tell, is a Costco buddy-finding app, but somebody should really get on this ASAP. Who knows, if the app matches you with someone else in need of half a case of ramen noodles, you could possibly find yourself sharing more than that — and maybe even wind up leaving the ranks of Costco single shoppers for good.