7 Things You Must Buy at Costco While on a Student Budget
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Andrew Lisa
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Susan Kim
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If you’re a student, chances are good that money is tight — but if you think it’s bad now, wait until those college loans come due in a few years. Until then, a $60 Costco membership might seem like an unnecessary expenditure, but your economics professor can tell you that any purchase is prudent if it pays for itself and makes campus life cheaper in the long run — which a warehouse club membership can.
Here’s what to buy if you’re a broke college student with a Costco membership.
Also see the perks of a Costco membership.
Ramen
No product on Earth is more synonymous with broke students than ramen. At Costco, you can go big and stock up on the filling, salty bowls of goodness that have been the fuel for countless all-night cramming sessions.
A 48-count box of Nissin Top Ramen — the biggest name in dorm room noodles — costs $16.99 at Costco. That’s about $0.35 per package, or enough for nearly three “meals” for a dollar.
Discover More: I’m a Frugal Shopper — 7 Things I Never Waste Money On
Granola Bars
Students have busy lives and limited means to cook and follow meal plans. That puts a huge premium on healthy but affordable snacks that boost energy to keep droopy eyes open during long classes on limited sleep.
“Bulk-buying snacks like granola bars can save students money in the long run,” said shopping strategist and Costco superfan Alex Zaman, founder of CostcoPickz.com.
A 64-pack of 100-calorie Kirkland Signature Soft & Chewy Granola Bars with no artificial colors or flavors costs just $11.99. That’s less than $0.19 per bar, which is cheap enough for even the brokest students to enjoy five healthy, convenient, whole-grain snacks for a single dollar with a nickel to spare.
Trail Mix
Zaman also mentioned trail mix, which offers many of the same benefits to students as granola bars — a quick, easy, energy-boosting snack that’s healthier than junk food either at home, in class or on the go.
A lot of trail mixes skimp on pricier ingredients. Kirkland Signature’s big bag is packed with not just cheap peanuts but more expensive almonds and cashews — and the obligatory chocolate chunks are real peanut M&M’s. A 4-pound bag costs $15.99, or $4 per pound. A comparable 2-pound container from the highly rated Nut Harvest brand costs $19.17 for less than 2 1/2 pounds on Amazon.
Computers and Electronics
Students who need new tech to get through the academic year but don’t have the budgets to pay full price should check Costco’s computer and electronics deals before they overspend online or at the big-box stores.
Currently listed among its deals are $200 off MacBook Airs, HP touchscreens and Microsoft Surface Pro 9 bundles. You can get a Dell Inspiron laptop for $250 off, and LG Gram Intel Evo laptops are marked down by $400.
TVs, speakers, headphones and many other electronics — including packs of batteries — are all marked down consistently in the Costco Deals section.
Laundry Detergent
Students have a knack for generating mountains of laundry, and Kirkland Ultra Clean HD detergent pods let you knock out 152 loads for $22.99 — $0.15 per load. A 112-pack of Tide Pods goes for $25.88 on Amazon — $0.23 per load.
Non-Solo Solo Cups
Bright red Solo cups are an unmistakable hallmark of college life; while it’s technically possible to drink from other vessels, students just don’t seem to want to. You can get a 50-pack of the Solo brand originals for about $14 on Amazon. Alternatively, you can buy an indistinguishable 240-pack from Kirkland under the imaginative The Big Red Cup label for the same $14.
Most Kirkland Signature Products
Just about every big store has its own in-house brands that offer cheaper versions of many of the brand-name things you buy, and Costco is no different.
“Costco’s Kirkland Signature brand offers excellent value for students,” Zaman said. “From their organic peanut butter to bath tissues, these products offer quality at budget-friendly prices.”
What sets Costco apart is that, unlike many other stores, the company doesn’t just slap a Kirkland sticker on any generic product. The Daily Meal took a deep dive into “why Costco’s Kirkland Signature products are so cheap.” It found out that Costco stocks fewer than 4,000 items at any given time, including a mix of Kirkland and brand-name products — that’s less than half of what you’ll find on the shelves at BJ’s.
That gives the company the capacity to be deliberate about the products it graces with the Kirkland label for bulk sale — and it tries to pick only those that it can sell for less than the competition and still make a profit.
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