Costco is a good place to do grocery shopping in Hawaii, according to students, because it allows people to buy in bulk, thus lowering the cost of each individual item or its quantity. They also said it offers a good variety of foods. Splitting the cost of food with a friend, getting cashback, and looking for sale items are various ways students suggested to save money.
Oscar Ip, a senior from Hong Kong studying business supply chain, said the prices at Costco are more affordable than Foodland, which is in the Laie Shopping Center, making it the closest and most available grocery store to students.
“Foodland sells individual items. Therefore the price of each item might be higher than buying a big pack of stuff in Costco,” he said.
Truman Tipton, a senior from Arizona studying graphic design, said he believes buying food at Costco helps people to get all the nutrition their bodies need. “Eating well is more important than having a lot of money. Eating well doesn’t mean eating a lot, but rather eating efficiently to get the nutrition your body needs per day so that you can work better, study better, and be healthier and happier.”
Best things to get from Costco
Ip shared there are many things that are cheaper at Costco, and gas is one of them. “It is a big difference.” He said different Costco locations have different prices. The gas price in Honolulu is higher than the other two in Kapolei and Mililani. He said the Kapolei Costco’s gas is the cheapest.
Ip also added how lettuce is always the cheaper at Costco. Pineapple also has the best price at only $2.99, and a rotisserie chicken is only $4.99.
Tipton said the Costco snack bar “is the cheapest meal you can find on the island. A slice of pizza is only $1.99 and everything is lower than $5.”
Split with a friend
Senior Sam Mangakahia, a graphic design major from Australia, said a great way to save up money is to go with a friend and split the price with them. “Spinach is usually $4 per bag and it doesn’t last long too. It is better to split [the price] with a friend so it’s $2 per person to get a cheaper price.”
Mangakahia added peanut butter is another example of something to split the cost of with a friend. He said, “$12 for two jars is a lot cheaper than $9 [a jar] each on campus.”
Agreeing with Mangakahia, Ip shared how dividing a big piece of uncut beef can save money. He said it could cost $80 to buy beef in bulk, but by splitting it with others, each family pays just $40 and they can eat more than the usual three to four steaks. “An uncut beef cut into pieces makes steaks. You get the same portion at a cheaper price by cutting the beef in half and sharing it with another family.”
Get the membership card and get cashback
Another tip Ip suggested is purchasing the cashback reward card with a Costco membership, which is a good way to shop smarter. “At Costco, you have a lot of ways to get cashback. If you get the $120 membership, you [could possibly] qualify for a Costco city credit card, and you will have more [opportunities to get] cashback.”
He said sharing the cost of a membership with friends or other families who don’t have a membership card or car is another way to save money.
He explained if someone has a Costco credit card, they can get 4 percent back on Costco gas, 3 percent on travel, 2 percent on purchases at Costco, and 1 percent of any items you buy, even purchases at Foodland. “As students, you need to find many ways to see which credit card you should apply for to get you the biggest reward,” Ip said.
Similarly, Truman said if someone doesn’t have a Costco card, it is always good to ask someone with a card and a car to either drive you down to Costco when they go, or you can place an order with them and have them buy things for you.
Truman advised students to go to Costco in groups, work out payment methods with each other, and split the cost of a membership. He said the cheapest membership at Costco is $60 a year. “Go [to Costco] in a group. You can split it in however many ways you want and share it.”
Look for items on sale
Ip said Costco updates discounts on its website every month while Foodland updates its specials on Wednesdays. Sometimes Foodland might have better deals than Costco if an item is on sale. “My wife and I will look for the items on sale, and we might decide to make a dish out of it.”
Make a list and overlap food
Tipton said he goes to Costco every month, but at the end of the month, he usually has some chicken or bread from his last bulk buy. That is why he suggests students make a list before they go so they won’t forget what they need to buy and they won’t buy what they already have. “Get an idea of what you want and what you need, and don’t wait for the last minute. Keep a week of overlapping food so you can be flexible before you get the new load.”
Mangakahia said he goes to Costco twice a month and he always plans out meals for that week. “I will buy pasta or fried rice, cook them all at once and separate them into seven days, then store it in the freezer.” He said he uses Ziplock bags to store food in bulk, too.
Other shopping options
Ip, Mangakahia, and Tipton all shared there are also some other good alternatives to get food besides Costco, such as buying a tray of eggs from the Egg Farm next to Hukilau beach. Papayas from Kahuku Farms only cost $1.50 each. They also recommended buying pasta sauce from Walmart for quick meals.