51st Costco shopping in 2018 – $165.32 (today) / $4,492.87 (this year)

It was a big Costco shopping day today because: 1) I am trying to fill my new refrigerator.  2) I need to get ready for Thanksgiving dinner, and 3) I was feeling down after what happened to my old refrigerator. I wanted to cheer myself up.

I bought a turkey roasting rack for my friend (an early Christmas gift).

I eat like a vegetarian Monday to Friday. But, during the weekend I eat whatever I want.. a lot of Moo-Moos and Oink-Oink’s.

Honey Roasted Nut Mix is SOOO good.

NOTE: The people who deliver Costco appliances are not Costco employees. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think most, if not all, major retailers hire third-party delivery companies. I think it is possible that one delivery company can work for multiple retailers. When the delivery companies do poor job, customers will direct their complain to the retailers, not the delivery companies.

I bought a refrigerator from Costco. Below is the delivery process.

• When I ordered online – the website asked for my delivery address and phone number.
  • I left them my cell phone number, so I would receive the call when I’m at work.
• 2 days before delivery – I received an email from Costco. The email contained a phone number just in case if I need to change my delivery date. The email said that I would receive a phone call that would tell me about the delivery window.
• 1 day before delivery – they called me around 4:30 PM. It was an automated message informing me that my delivery window is between 7 am – 11 am. It also said that they would call me around 30 minutes before arriving at my house.
• Day of the delivery – They came to my house at 9 am, but without calling me 30 minutes before-hand.
  • They hauled my old refrigerator & installed a new one with a water line in about 30-45 minutes

My delivery process was smooth and painless. People were pleasant. I hope your experience will be as pleasant as mine.

Final note: Appliance delivery can be a nightmare if your delivery people are young and don’t give a dang. I think I was a little lucky.

50th Costco shopping in 2018 – $1,051.04 (today) / $4.327.55 (this year)

My refrigerator died at the worst possible time, while I was on a 7-day vacation.

When I came back from the vacation, inside of my freezer was at room temperature. All my food had to be trashed. I always keep my freezer full with rib-eye steaks, jumbo shrimps, fish, bacon, etc, etc… But it’s OK. It happens. Refrigerator dies. What can I do?

Luckily, before taking the trip, I took out the ice bucket and turned off the ice machine, so I didn’t have any water damage on the kitchen floor.

Shopping for a refrigerator.

My criteria for a new refrigerator:

• Find the cheapest full-size unit. I refuse to buy an expensive refrigerator because refrigerators die. I don’t believe in paying $500 to fix a 10 year old refrigerator. I will pay $500 more and buy a new one with current technology.
• Find a unit with good reviews.
• I like side-by-side refrigerators. I don’t like the freezer on top. I don’t like the freezer on the bottom. But, that’s just my preference.
• I like stainless steel – I understand stainless steel will show fingerprints. But I like the stainless refrigerators. Stainless steel will look the best in my kitchen.

I spent several hours researching refrigerators.

And guess what? Costco had the best price on refrigerators.

Basically, the price of refrigerators is almost universal. You can buy from anywhere and you will pay similar price. But there are distinct advantages to buying from Costco. They are:

• Costco is slightly cheaper.
• You get a Costco cashback reward from your purchase.
• (In my case) I get 2 years warranty, extended by Costco, instead of the usual 1-year warranty from any other stores.
• They haul away my old unit for free – some may charge $20 – $25 for this.
• They will hook up the water line for free – some may charge extra for this.

*If you are in a hurry – relax and just buy from Costco.

I ordered GE 25.4 CuFt Side-By-Side Refrigerator in Stainless Steel. The total price was $1,051.04

I hope the delivery process will be smooth. I will update you.

47th Costco shopping in 2018 – $16.72 (today) / $3194.89 (this year)

AND

48th Costco shopping in 2018 – $6.21 (today) / $3201.1 (this year)

It was fun visiting Costco in different cities. In the Midwestern US, buildings were ready for cold weather. They were selling Winter products such as snow scrapers. I saw a nice jacket at Chicago Costco for $70. They were gentlemen’s long coats that go with dress-shirt and tie. I regret I didn’t buy that jacket. Jackets like that are not available online.

Gas was cheap compared to what I normally pay in California. In California, I pay $4/gallon for the cheapest grade gasoline. In Indiana, a gallon of gasoline was $2.56.

Kalamazoo, Michigan

Merrillville, Indiana

 46th Costco shopping in 2018 – $119.67 (today) / $3178.17 (this year)

Both roses and lint rollers were for a friend who is a pet owner. Both of them were on sale.

I had to buy more frying pans. I bought The Original Green Pans at Costco 2 years ago – those pans quickly became unusable. hope these will perform better.

And candies for Halloween.

 45th Costco shopping in 2018 – $77.39 (today) / $3058.5 (this year)

European Cookies are back. I call them “Christmas Cookies”, and this is my 10-year-old Christmas tradition. I buy these cookies every Christmas season, and I eat them slowly over the next 12 months. I eat these cookies only on Sunday morning with coffee. So, I enjoy a little bit of Christmas every Sunday.

Peanuts were very good.

Memory foam slippers are for my work.