Money Management

Costco warehouse stores have been around since 1983, and yet, they’re always evolving. Here are eight insider secrets you may not have heard before. 

Even if you’ve held a Costco membership since 1983 when the first official Costco opened its doors, there may be a few insider secrets you’ve never heard about. While some of these may be old news, you may just find a nugget or two of info to use on your next Costco run.

1. It’s okay to call ahead

Whether you’re planning a party for 10 or 100, you probably know that Costco sells a variety of platters for every occasion. What you may not know is that party platters can sell out fast. In fact, all it takes is one social butterfly swinging by to snap up everything on display. You can save yourself a hassle by calling the deli department a day early to let them know you’ll be coming by and the type of platters you need.

Whether you’re celebrating a birthday or the purchase of a new home, enjoying good food is half the fun.

2. It’s also okay to place a food court order early, too

There’s no need to place the order a day early, but if you’d like to take an 18-inch pizza home to the family, place the order before you begin to shop. Imagine checking out with a full shopping card and the knowledge that dinner is already made.

3. If everything seems oddly out of place, there’s a good reason for it

Costco continually cycles stock around its stores. According to Reader’s Digest, Costco refers to the practice as a “treasure hunt,” but what those sneaky characters are actually trying to do is encourage shoppers to spend more time scanning the aisles.

After all, the more time you spend looking around the store, the more likely you are to find another product you want to add to your cart. The trick is to only pick up what you need and avoid loading your cart down with items that will send your household budget totally off-course.

4. If everything is in exactly the same spot, there’s also a good reason for it

But wait! There’s an exception to the whole “moving things around” rule. If an item sells particularly well in one spot, it’s going to remain in that spot for the foreseeable future. So, if that delicious maple syrup is selling like hot cakes, it’s probably going to be in the same place the next time you’re in the store.

5. That’s the dinner bell you’re hearing

If you happen to hear a bell go off near the back of the store, you might want to head back to the deli. That bell signals that fresh rotisserie chickens have just been put out. These birds are delicious and the cost won’t drain your bank account.

6. If you see it and like it, you probably ought to buy it

Costco is not a place to leave something you need on a shelf. That’s because there is no additional storage, and what you see displayed is all the store has in stock. Additionally, if there’s an asterisk in the upper right corner of a price tag, that means the store will not be reordering the item.

7. If you missed out on a sale price, Costco has your back

If you’re a relatively new Costco member, you may not realize that Costco honors its own sale prices on previous purchases. Okay, here’s how it works:

You purchase matching urns just to give your partner the creeps.Two weeks later, Costco runs a sale on the exact same urns.If you made the purchase on Costco.com, you make an online request for a price adjustment and Costco refunds you the difference between the price you paid and the sale price. The sticky bit here is that the request must be made within 30 days of purchase.If you purchased the (shockingly attractive) urns in-store, you take your original receipt to the customer service desk and request a price adjustment. The catch here is that the adjustment needs to take place at the Costco location where the purchase was made. Don’t worry if you don’t have the receipt. The customer service desk can usually look up the purchase on your account.

8. Wade in, you won’t be sorry

While other retailers are famous for displaying their deepest discounts around the perimeter of the store, Costco does things a little differently. You’re likely to get the best bang for your buck deeper into the heart of the store. Costco employees call it “center court,” and it’s where you’ll find the best prices.

We’re all looking for ways to save money, and it’s nice to know where the bargains can be found. If Costco is your jam, you can count on hearing new insider secrets from time to time as the retailer adapts to customer feedback.

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We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.Dana George has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Costco Wholesale. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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There’s no perfect answer to how much money you need for retirement. But here’s how having a half-million-dollar nest egg could turn out. 

One of the most important concepts when planning for retirement is that it isn’t necessarily about how much money you have in savings — it’s how much income you can create after you retire. Think of it this way — if you have Social Security, pensions, and rental properties that pay you $100,000 per year combined, you could have a very nice lifestyle in retirement regardless of how much you have in the bank.

Having said that, retirement savings can certainly be used to create an income stream. While there’s no perfect rule, one popular guideline says you can withdraw 4% of your savings during your first year of retirement and give yourself cost-of-living increases in subsequent years, without worrying much about running out of money.

So, with a $500,000 nest egg, this means you would be able to sustainably create a $20,000 income stream in retirement. But will this be enough?

Consider your other sources of income

While $20,000 per year might not sound like a ton of income to collect from your investments, your savings isn’t likely to be the only form of income you have. At a minimum, virtually all retired workers collect Social Security benefits, and as of August 2023, the average retired worker’s Social Security benefit is $1,792.37 per month, or approximately $21,500 per year. If you collect this — and especially if you’re married and both spouses get a monthly benefit — it could be enough to live on if you have $500,000 saved.

There are also other potential income sources, such as pensions, annuities, and rental income. But the point is to add all of your income sources together to get the full picture.

Many retirement planners say you’ll need about 80% of your pre-retirement income to sustain your lifestyle after you retire. And while this can certainly vary based on your unique situation, it can help you assess where you stand.

Other things to consider

Now that you’ve considered your retirement income, there are some other things to factor into the equation. Assets are a big one. It’s entirely possible to retire comfortably with very little money in savings if you own a portfolio of rental properties, just to name one possibility. As a personal example, my wife and I own a vacation home that we rent out to others when we aren’t there, and we plan to eventually sell it when we’re ready to retire.

It’s also important to take your debt situation into account. For example, many people make it a priority to pay off their mortgage before they retire, and a retirement without a mortgage payment can require much less income.

Location is also a big factor. In other words, a $500,000 retirement nest egg in rural South Carolina (where I live) is completely different from a $500,000 nest egg in Manhattan. And on a similar note, expenses in general are a big consideration. Are you planning to keep your current home (and all the bills that come with it), or do you plan to downsize? Do you plan to travel extensively or pursue any costly hobbies in retirement? Factors like this should certainly play a role when calculating your retirement income needs.

Is $500,000 enough money to retire on?

The short answer is that it depends on your retirement lifestyle expectations, as well as your other sources of income, assets, and overall financial situation.

The bottom line is that every situation is different, so there is no one-size-fits-all amount of money that is “enough” to retire on. But you can use the concepts discussed here to determine if $500,000 is enough for you to retire comfortably, and if it isn’t, how much you’ll need to save and invest to get to where you want to be.

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We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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