I've worked at Costco for 18 years. These 8 perks make a membership worth it.

Tech Insider
A hand holds a black executive Costco membership in front of a gray floor and other bulk products
Costco plans to raise its membership fees, but there are plenty of reasons to keep shopping at the store.

Veronica Thatcher

Even though I'm single, I love shopping in bulk at Costco. Here are 8 items I like to buy.

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Boxes of 200 13-gallon Kirkland Signature scented kitchen trash bags.
When I shop at Costco, I love grabbing household items like Kirkland Signature trash bags.

Quierra Luck

I tried 9 of Aldi's seasonal summer products, and I'd buy most of them again

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A shopping cart containing a wedge of cheese, a red container of salsa, a yellow pasta box, a funnel cake dispenser, a large package of premade chicken skewers, a container of pasta, a canister of wafers, a green pouch of cookies, and a gray and black box of s'mores soufflé
I tried nine summertime foods from Aldi.

Paige Bennett

I was a single mom and learned how to grocery shop on a budget. I meal-plan on the fly based on sales and still afford occasional treats.

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Ashley Archambault and her son standing in front of a wall with frogs on it.
Ashley Archambault was a single mom for seven years and it taught her how to budget.

Courtesy Ashley Archambault

I've worked at Costco for 18 years. Here are 10 of the best things I'm seeing on the shelves this month.

Tech Insider
A hand holds a black box with images of small chocolate- and hazelnut-stuffed churro pieces and two cinnamon sticks on it
Costco has plenty of great items this July.

Veronica Thatcher

I pay for Costco's $120 executive membership even though I only shop for 2. Here are some of my favorite things to get for easy meals.

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Fridges filled with black boxes with images of ramen with chicken and vegetables on packaging
I pick up easy meal items from Costco's frozen and deli sections.

Dominic Bucca

A stranger fat-shamed me while I was grocery shopping. It taught me a valuable lesson about how I'm perceived.

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Melissa Drake in exercise clothes standing on top of a hill
The author was fat-shamed in a grocery store.

Courtesy of Melissa Drake

I'm a former TV chef who spends about $150 a week at Costco. Here are 11 things I always get.

Tech Insider
A hand holds a large piece of Kirkland Signature Pecorino Romano cheese, which has a circular green label on it
I'm a former TV chef who loves shopping at Costco.

Leslie Antonoff

I'm a dietitian and former Trader Joe's employee who shops at the store weekly. Here are 10 of my favorite things to buy in the summer.

Tech Insider
The writer holds three green packages of olives with an illustration of a hand and Trader Joe's logo on it
I grab lots of tasty snacks at Trader Joe's during the summer.

Leah Kern

I tried 27 of Trader Joe's seasonal summer products, and there are only 6 I wouldn't buy again

Tech Insider
A collage of Trader Joe items
I tried nearly 30 summer items from Trader Joe's.

Savanna Swain-Wilson for BI, Abanti Chowdhury/BI

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