by If you aren’t familiar with Costco, then you are missing out. It is a large warehouse style retailer that sells food, household items, electronics, clothing, and a bunch more. If you don’t have a Costco in your town, perhaps you have a Sam’s Club or BJ’s Wholesale.
The bottom line is that you, as a father of twins, need a membership to Costco. Here’s why:
1. Diapers and Wipes
Your twin babies will go through lots of diapers and baby wipes. You may find yourself going through as many as 100 diapers per week in those initial days of newborns, and as the kids get older, that number will slow down to about 150/month. This means that you’ll be spending a lot of money on these items. We’ve found Costco’s store brand diapers to be superior to other store’s generic brands and that they even rival national name-brand quality. The bonus is that they come in a massive box, perfect for surviving twins’ diaper needs over extended periods of time.
2. Baby Formula
If you chose to bottlefeed instead of breastfeed your twins, you’ll need to find cheap formula. WebMD has a video interview with a doctor reminding us that essentially all formulas are the same, so it’s up to you to decide if you want to be brand loyal or not. Costco has a store brand which is really cheap but they also have Similac that our babies liked. Formula costs can be hefty (between $1500-3800/year) so you need to both find coupons (usually you can get these from the manufacturer) and a cheaper retail price (Costco fills this void).
3. Cheap Food
We’ll make our grocery list and go to Costco first. They don’t always have all the food we need, but if they do, it is generally cheaper than the grocery store. This includes gallons of milk that are usually a dollar or two cheaper than the grocery store.
Bonus: If you like to grill out or BBQ, Costco has the best-looking and best-tasting meat we’ve seen recently. My mouth waters just thinking about it.
4. Freezer Meals
Costco has rows of freezers full of ready-made meals as well as frozen fruits, vegetables, meats, and desserts. These quick-to-prepare foods will be how you survive the busy life that twins bring. Be ready: stock your freezer now. Watch your mail for in-store coupons at Costco, as they often include sale prices on these freezer meals.
5. Electronics Return Policy
OK, your twins probably don’t care about electronics, but you do. Especially once you realize you won’t get out of the house as much as pre-twins. You can buy televisions, computers, phones, and more from Costco at good prices and they come with an amazing return policy. You can return them anytime up to 90 days for a full refund. This is awesome and blows other store’s 15 return policies out of the water. So go buy that new TV or computer, try it out and if you don’t like it, no problem, take it back.
6. Free Samples
Let’s be honest, grocery shopping isn’t in the Top 10 of fun activities for a Dad. Costco will make it up to you: they have free food samples all over the place. This definitely helps make a trip there with the family in tow worth the effort.
7. Big Shopping Carts
Costco is the only place I’ve seen with huge shopping carts that have two seats for kids. Perfect for twins. You don’t have to worry about where to put the kids, as the cart solves that problem for you.
(RELATED: Expecting twins? Avoid these 4 critical mistakes expectant twin parents make.)
Get Your Membership
Yes, Costco has an annual fee for membership. It starts at $50. But listen, the savings you keep from their low costs and your volume twin-style purchases will pay for the membership and more.
If you are concerned about the price of the membership, convince family or friends to get it for you as a baby shower gift or for your birthday.
You can learn more about Costco at costco.com.
Picture by surlygirl
