Another plug for Costco!

In an earlier post, I discussed the advantages of shopping at wholesale megamarts like Costco but avoiding bad practices when buying in bulk. Now I would like to mention a recent phenomenom at Costco. They have been using coupons in recent years to lure customers back week after week with great savings on basic household items. It use to be just the summer months but now it happens pretty much all year long. Are they a good idea? The answer depends on how far your local Costco is and how much are you going to buy there. If your sole purpose is to purchase that one or two coupon item, you should save your energy. The key here is to create a running shopping list, have an adequate amount of items before you make the trip, and time the trips when the coupons are valid. You take advantage of the great coupon savings in an otherwise "typical" Costco trip. You didn't go out of your way just for the coupons. Supermarket and manufacturer's coupons are easier because they have a larger valid time frame.