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Sure, $55 a year may not sound like much, but every little bit counts when you’re trying to save money and stick to a budget.
Paying monthly or annual membership fees—whether that’s at the gym or warehouse stores—can be costly. Plus, the more membership programs you belong to, the more money you’re shelling out on the regular—you may even forget what you’re paying for every month.
Embrace your inner mooch—come on, just do it. Chances are, you know someone who’s a Costco member, so cozy up and go shopping with that member. Who pays? At the checkout, you can each pay for your own purchases. (Hint: In terms of credit cards, the warehouse store only takes Visa, so make sure you have the right card on hand. You can always pay in cash.)
That’s right, just have a member get you a Costco Cash Card and you can shop all you want—without a membership. You can get them in various amounts, from $25 to $1,000.
Yep, you don’t even have to leave the couch. You can use Instacart and Google Express to “shop” at Costco without a membership. Of course, you’ll have to pay delivery fees or a membership fee to use either of these services, but it still might make sense depending on your situation.
In addition to Don't Waste Your Money, Natalia is an ongoing writer for Bustle (sex, dating, relationships, and money), HelloGiggles (pop culture and news), Simplemost (lifestyle topics), and The Delite (feel-good stories). You can also find her writing in the L.A. Times, the Chicago Tribune's RedEye, xoJane, Elite Daily, Scary Mommy, Elephant Journal, and Chicken Soup for the Soul anthologies, among other publications. She has a Ph.D. in couch-surfing, having spent four years sleeping on over 200 L.A.-area love seats and sectionals, all in an effort to whittle down her student loan debt. She still loves couch-surfing in other cities, too (hint, hint). More.