SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Around half a dozen new Costco locations are opening in Northern California. Shoppers say there’s a lot to love about the wholesale bulk retailer, but is a membership worth it for you?
Locations are opening in Natomas, El Dorado Hills, Loomis, Riverbank, Brentwood and Marysville, which is scheduled to open next month. It’s at least $60 for a membership just to shop, but you could earn back that fee in less than three months just in savings on gas alone.
Costco gas is only available to members and is usually the lowest price around.
AAA says the average price of gas in Sacramento is $5.39 a gallon and GasBuddy reports Costco locations in Sacramento are selling gas for as low as $4.89 a gallon — that’s 50 cents cheaper!
So, let’s crunch the numbers. Assuming Costco prices stay much lower than average, you’d need to buy 120 gallons of gas to see $60 in savings. If you fill up a 12-gallon tank once a week, then it would take you about 10 weeks to hit the break-even point.
“We want to make sure that if we are looking at a Costco membership as if it's worth it to us, we're doing it with our budget in mind and we're not overreaching and overspending on our budget,” said financial coach Maureen Paley.
This is where planned spending vs. impulse spending comes to mind. Be prepared *before* you shop, go in with a planned list of the items you need to avoid overspending.
“When we go to Costco or we go to any other membership store like that, we might be more tempted to buy more than we need,” said Paley. “What is it that's going to work for our budget and go in with that plan for spending according to the budget.”
Click HERE for a breakdown of the Costco locations planning to open in Northern California.
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