That $40 Costco membership saved me $600 on groceries last year, but I almost skipped it
I was buying all my meat and pantry stuff at the corner store near my apartment in Tucson and bleeding cash without noticing. My sister kept bugging me to split a Costco card with her, so I finally caved and dropped the $40 for the basic membership back in January. Twelve trips later I ran the numbers and I'm up about $600, mostly from bulk rice, chicken, and freezing half of everything. If you're on the fence, do the math on what you actually eat each week first, because the rotisserie chicken alone isn't worth the trip if you're buying stuff you won't finish.
The freezing half thing is what most people miss. I buy the big pack of chicken thighs, split it into meal size bags the day I get home, and that alone killed my takeout habit because there's always something defrosting. One thing I'd add is watch the unit price instead of the total, because some bulk stuff at Costco is actually more per ounce than the regular store. Rice and beans and frozen veg are where the real savings live, the snack aisles will eat your whole budget if you let them. Splitting the card with your sister was smart too, that's $20 each and you still get two cards.