A woman has paid $65 a year for a Costco membership for 7 years.
That's $455 in membership fees. Every month, same routine. Walk in, grab paper towels, rotisserie chicken, a case of water, and whatever looked good near the front. Pay. Leave. She told everyone the same thing: "It's okay. I'm not sure I'm saving that much, honestly."
She almost didn't renew this year.
Then at a family barbecue, her cousin, a former Costco warehouse manager, heard her say it and put down his plate.
"Wait. Have you ever used the membership?"
"I shop there every month."
"No. Have you ever USED it. You've never checked if Executive pays for itself. You've never looked at what the 2% reward doesn't cover. You've never bought tires there. You've never used the travel desk. You've never filled up your car on their gas. You've never asked for a refund when something didn't work. You've been paying the entry fee to a store and using it like a regular grocery run, then wondering why the math feels thin."
"The membership wasn't the problem. The way you were using it was."
He pulled out his phone and walked her through 9 things. It took 15 minutes.
She didn't cancel. She upgraded, and then she ran the numbers.
"It's like I've been paying for a gym for 7 years and only using the water fountain."
"That's exactly what it was."
Here's everything she'd been missing 🧵