Month of June , 2010

Last year I saw the first sign of Christmas at Costco on August 20th.

3 years ago, I saw the first sign of Christmas (at Costco) on July 31st.

So... we shall see Christmas stuff at Costco in about 2 months.

Get ready...

Most of us have less money this year (I am so poor), but let's try to have fun.

Most of all. don't get sick.  Good health is the best gift.

God bless.

Christmas Don't Be Late~!

I went to Costco with a friend.  After walking by the pet section, she called her mother in Arizona.  Then she went back to pick up three of those doggie beds.

'Mental note. Get separate carts next time'

I spent $170.00 (back to old habit ).
But I had to get these items, especially the sandals & duffel bag.

Coupon saved about $27.00

It was nice shopping at Costco with a friend, because we bought each other coupon items.  For example, $8.50 Red Bull's coupon had 1 item limit.  So, she bought 1 extra case for me.  And I bought her 2 kitty litters.

We shopped for a long time.  It was fun.
We had a hot dog before start shopping (we saved the soda cups for later).  After shopping I got hungry again, so I had a slice of pizza before going home.  There were a lot of crazy people today at Costco.  We had fun making fun on them.  (It's mean, but no harm done )

I love these Margaritaville Sandals. It was a limited time sales event.
Wheeled duffel bag is very nice and very cheap ($39.99)

I used to have Blockbuster Video account (DVD rental via mail).

There is one trick I came up with, I bet a lot of people came up with the same idea.  Anyway, I thought it's worth of sharing it here.

When your month is up and if they sent your last DVDs of the month? that's when you should cancel your account.

So, you will receive your DVDs, watch them, and return them while your account is not active.  In other words, you are not paying for that few days.

When you receive "DVD received" email from Blockbuster (Netflix), that's when you re-start your membership. If you receive "DVD received" email on Saturday, then you should wait until Monday morning to re-activate your account.

See what I mean?

This way, you get extra few days or up to one week of services for free, every month.

This can easily translates into $20 - $50+ savings every year, depends on your account and speed of delevery.

Some people think Coke products are completely gone from all Costco stores.

I don't know about the other cities.  But Coke products are going strong at Oxnard Costco.  I took these pictures June 12, 2010.

Related Pictures: Costco - Pepsi Taking Over (August 12, 2010)

Finally, I found a hot sauce that meets and exceeds my expectation.

I like spicy food.  When I go to Thai restaurant, I say "Extra, extra hot, please"  Then I say "Remember, I said extra twice".

Sometimes I say "Give me Thai spicy, Not American spicy"

Tabasco, Valentina, Tapatio, and Cholula are cute.  But those are made for general public.  I don't find them remotely spicy.  Spicy food lovers would agree with me.

I accidentally found this, Blair's After Death Sauce, at Cost Plus World Market.  This is really hot.  I am not able to taste this straight.  I have to tone it down by mixing it with some other hot sauce (Tapatio).

Blair's After Death comes with a skull key chain.

I love this stuff.

Don't get  me wrong, I love Costco.

I honestly believe Costco is the best store in history, period.

But, I am here to be realistic.

Costco cannot beat all retail stores and their super sales.  Sometimes some other stores will have better deals than Costco.  So, it's up to us consumers to keep our eyes open and maximize buying power.

Here is one example

Costco sells 35L trash can by Simplehuman.  It also comes with a bonus "mini" trash can.  Costco's price is $79.99

Below is the trash can I bought a few months ago from Bed Bath and Beyond. 

I bought a 30L trash can by Simplehuman, it came with a bonus "mini" trash can.  Retail price was $39.99.  With 20% coupon, my final price was $31.99. (Remember. Bed Bath & Beyond takes expired coupons, so keep collecting those coupons.)

* 18th Costco Shopping this year, 1st time this month.

Nothing special today...

That's a lot of strawberries for one person... I better finish them.

Costco Coupon book is here (June 10, 2010 - July 3, 2010).

I put Red Bull and M&M on my shopping list

(image coming up - I am away from home )