Some people with a Costco membership visit their local warehouse club store once a month, or only on occasion. But for me, a weekly Costco run is part of my food-shopping schedule.
I love getting my produce at Costco because my family eats a lot of it. And by purchasing it in bulk, we manage to save ourselves a fair amount of money.
Also, amazingly enough, Costco's produce tends to keep pretty well. When I buy a giant sack of broccoli for the week, for the most part, it will still be fresh five or six days later.
And it's not just produce I purchase at Costco. With a bunch of young kids at home, my family goes through a gallon of milk every few days, so that's an item I like to buy at Costco at a discount. (And have you seen Costco's sell-by dates on milk? They're unbelievable. The milk I buy at my local grocery store has half the shelf life.)
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In fact, there are a lot of staple items I rely on Costco for. But one item I didn't always get at Costco was gas.
Even though my local warehouse club has a gas station, usually, my approach to filling up my car would be to wait for my tank to get low and do something about it. But these days, with gas prices being so high, I'm taking steps to try to eke out some savings. And one simple change to the way I do my Costco shopping has made a world of a difference.
It's all about timing
The gas at my local Costco station is considerably cheaper than any other station in town. So now, what I've been doing is coordinating my weekly Costco visits to when my car needs a fill-up. Doing so is saving me a nice chunk of money on gas. And also, in some cases, it's saving me a trip out of my way to another gas station.
Meanwhile, one great thing about Costco gas stations is that they charge the same price for cash versus credit cards. Many of the gas stations in my area have a higher price for credit card fill-ups. That means I get to score some cash back in the course of filling up my car – something I can't always do if I fill up elsewhere and don't use my card due to the higher cost.
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An easy change
All told, shifting the timing of my Costco trips isn't a difficult thing to do. And at a time when gas prices are so high, it makes sense.
I also make sure to use a credit card that gives me extra cash back at the pump. Many credit cards offer that perk, so if yours doesn't, it could pay to apply for a new one.
That said, my credit card also gives me extra cash back on my Costco purchases themselves. And seeing as how frequently I visit my local warehouse club store, that's also an important perk for me to have.
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The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.Maurie Backman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Costco Wholesale. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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