3 Reasons to Cancel Your Costco Membership in 2025

I’ve been eating Costco rotisserie chicken since I was 10 years old and young enough to demand bananas from my mother. Still, I have gone for extended periods without Costco. It’s an on-and-off affair, which I admit depends on convenience and the size of the refrigerator.

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Even if you’re a Costco fan like me, there are good reasons to cancel your membership. Three of the best reasons to cancel your Costco membership next year include moving kids, membership sharing issues, and cheaper alternatives for individual buyers.

1. Children have moved

One of my favorite Reddit posts is from someone complaining that Costco only sells bananas in bulk. A half-dozen parents stepped up and declared that without on-demand bananas, their toddlers would rebel. Kids eat the same food in large quantities, and Costco delivers it.

Kids moving out of your home is a good reason to reconsider your Costco habits. Membership cancellation is in the cards if you only need to shop for one medium eater or two light eaters. In fact, anything that reduces your household size is grounds for cancellation.

But if you prefer cheaper gas and shopping in bulk for non-perishables, you may want to stick with Costco. You can still save money shopping at Costco in 2025 maximize your Costco rewards with one simple strategy.

2. Membership sharing doesn’t work

My experience with college roommates was mixed. Jobs were mishandled and there was less confidence in the supply than in Costco’s gold bars. I didn’t trust my roommate to do the dishes – why would I trust them to fairly split a Costco membership? It wasn’t worth thinking about.

Sharing memberships, which you can technically do with up to one household member, is more complicated than calling it 50/50. You have to keep going. You must be able to trust that you and your roommate will spend, divide and travel money fairly. It’s a whole thing.

If sharing memberships doesn’t work for you, consider splitting with someone else or canceling your subscription. You can absolutely shop at other stores with similar prices on many items.

3. Cheaper products exist

A colleague of mine at Motley Fool Money researched grocery prices at Costco versus Aldi. She discovered that Aldi was offering items like cucumbers, strawberries and blueberries for less per pound, sometimes more than 25% cheaper.

You can often find cheaper groceries at discount chains such as Aldi. One downside is that you get less brand reliability. Costco has Kirkland, which rarely misses, plus consistent staples from vetted suppliers. Stores like Aldi usually offer a bunch of random brands you’ve never heard of.

However, this is not a problem with products and many popular products. I’m sure you could buy Colgate toothpaste on the dark side of the moon, and it would still taste minty fresh. If you don’t feel comfortable canceling your Costco membership, you may want to mix and match.

Mix and match supermarkets with Gold Star

Let’s say you don’t want to cancel, but you suspect you’re throwing away food. It happens. Executive members can downsize to a Gold Star membership at any time. It reduces the membership fee from $130 to $65 per year. Half the price without losing access to Costco’s discounts and premium return policy.

How much do you need to spend before an Executive Membership is worth it? To earn back the difference between Executive and Gold Star memberships, you’ll need to spend $3,250 in one year. There are other reasons to keep your Costco card, but an Executive membership that pays for itself is the most important.

Consider downgrading to a Gold Star membership if you spend less than $3,250 annually at Costco. It will probably save you money. I like to supplement my Costco spending with shopping at specialty stores like Trader Joe’s, and I make a little extra by swiping credit cards that allow me to earn rewards at Costco.

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3 Reasons to Cancel Your Costco Membership in 2025 was originally published by The Motley Fool