Costco is a popular warehouse club with many devoted shoppers. There are currently 863 warehouse locations around the world, including 593 just in the U.S. With membership approaching 128 million cardholders, there’s a good chance you know someone who shops at Costco.
While many people visit Costco to take advantage of the discounted prices they can find there, it’s worth taking a step back to see what other lessons can be learned by shopping at the mega store. I don’t currently have a Costco membership (as I don’t live especially close to a location), but I used to visit the store back in college. Here are a few life lessons I learned while shopping at Costco that make for great financial lessons as well.
1. A name brand doesn’t automatically make an item better
We all know someone who only purchases items from big-name companies — they likely have a prominent company logo plastered across most of their clothing, and their kitchen cupboards are loaded with products from the most recognizable brands on TV. When I first moved out on my own, I mostly followed this shopping habit, too. The bigger the brand, the better the product should be, right?
Here comes Kirkland to upend that idea. Costco’s signature brand can be found on products all over the store and can lead to major savings compared to other name-brand items. In fact, many Kirkland products are actually made by well-known brands, from Starbucks to Ocean Spray. So what’s in a name, really?
