3 Things You Shouldn't Buy at Costco -- Even if the Prices Can't Be Beat

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Even though I shop at Costco almost every week, I'm careful with what I buy there. I don't want to end up throwing my money away on items that aren't useful to me.

You may be tempted to buy certain things at Costco because of the amazingly low prices. But here are three items you should skip -- even if the prices are outstanding.

1. Spices you don't use often

I cook a fair amount, so I'll often pick up spices like pepper, onion, and garlic at Costco when I'm running low. These are items I put in many of my recipes, and they're likely to get used up before they go bad.

But spices don't have an unlimited shelf life. So for those spices you use on a one-off basis, don't buy the Costco version. You don't want to mess up your home-cooked food with spices that have gone bad.

And to be clear, old spices aren't necessarily harmful to your health. Rather, spices tend to lose their flavor, which means they're basically useless to you when you throw them into a pot.

And remember, if you don't cook a lot, there's no shame in that. But then you probably shouldn't be buying any spices at Costco.

You might pay $0.44 per ounce of onion powder online, or less at the store, when you get it from Costco, compared to more than $1 per ounce at a regular grocery store. But if you only need a pinch of it here and there, having a Costco bulk supply doesn't make sense.

2. Over-the-counter medications you need sparingly

In my household, we have a number of allergy sufferers. So it makes sense for us to load up on allergy pills in bulk, since they're something a bunch of us take daily.

But be careful when buying over-the-counter pills at Costco for a non-chronic or recurring issue. Those bulk bottles pack a lot of medication into them, and those pills come with an expiration date.

Although I'm not a doctor, using expired medicine is something I wouldn't recommend. So if you use ibuprofen once every so often, you probably don't want to buy a 1,000-pill supply from Costco.

3. Condiments

Ketchup, mustard, and salad dressing get used regularly in my house. In spite of that, I don't think buying these items from Costco is a good idea.

One thing most condiments have in common is that they tend to sit out -- on the table during dinner, on the deck during a summer barbecue, and so forth. That means they're likely to spoil sooner than expected. Because of this, I don't think it's wise to buy larger containers of them. I'd rather pay more per ounce for a smaller bottle but not throw any away.

Know your own habits

The whole purpose of shopping at Costco is to save money . Buying the items above could mean throwing a portion of your purchases away.

But that said, you need to know your own habits when making shopping decisions. Some people, for example, will tell you not to buy cooking oil at Costco because you risk having it go bad. But that's something I commonly buy there, and it gets used up. This could be due to having a larger household and doing a decent amount of cooking, but it's never been a problem for me.

The point, therefore, is to assess your household needs before deciding what to buy -- and what not to buy.

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