While at our new neighborhood Kid's Book Club today, the moms discussed the fun in making a group trip to Costco. (We call them field trips. And there are many others in mind. H&M for cute clothes for baby boys, etc.) We realized that about half of the group had Costco cards and the other half did not. Naturally, if you are in to saving money, the chances that some items (like diapers) will be cheaper elsewhere will be great. However, what we like about Costco is the nice variety of items, especially produce, that we're less likely to find elsewhere.

Which brings me to my problem. We love those mini cucumbers, but have noticed that they go bad quicker than we can eat them (less than a week). We've also been known to buy some great-looking kiwis a week before leaving town, and find that we can't take them with us. But it was so worth having them when we were in town. All this goes to say, a great deal on a great product is only good if you use the product. Losing half of the fruit and vegetables doesn't benefit us at all.

Here's what I do. Share.

Who do you share with? Well, there's two options. I can share with my mom family, and generally do. But if my mom weren't around, I'd share with my friend, Kimberly. We're a lot alike. She's mostly a vegetarian. We both love a great deal. (We already share coupons.) And we live really close to each other making the "share" not so difficult to accomplish. In my mom's case, we've been known to stand in the parking lot and divide our lot. (Note: This only works on mild temp days.)

How do you share? There are two ways to do this, too. My mom buys the carrots, and we split them. I buy the peaches, and we split them. Or you can pull out your calculator and get an exact amount that one person would have to pay another back. (Tip: Leave those cloth bags you take into the other grocery stores in your car for helping you when you transfer items over and don't have containers to put them in. This also saves you from disposing those cardboard boxes you can acquire at checkout once you get home.)

If you don't really have a friend you know well or have one with few of the same tastes you have, simply agree to share certain products. I guarantee you, sharing just onions (if you use a lot of them) will be worth it by themselves.

Additional positives might include an excuse to get together and gab, alternate shopping weeks so you don't have to go regularly, and keeping your fridge stocked with fresh-as-possible cooking supplies.

Do you have great ways of saving money at a big warehouse store? Perhaps you think they're just overrated. We'd love to read your thoughts. Please post them below.