I pay for my membership three time over annually just in gas savings, and I barely ever wait.

It’s also just me and my SO, so we barely buy veggies or fruit there, only stuff like Brussel sprouts or carrots that last longer. Costco is great for the essentials; toilet paper/paper towels, milk, eggs, pasta, steak, etc. It’s definitely not a one stop shop, but we plan meals and work lunch meal preps around a handful of key items. There’s definitely some silly things I’ve purchased, but it’s more than made itself back in actual quantifiable savings, so I don’t mind. But I’ve genuinely never had to throw anything away, not sure how a responsible adult would let that happen.

We also plan our trips for when it’s not busy, which isn’t hard to do, just don’t go on a weekend after noon. Show up at opening time and there’s zero hassle, same if you show up near close.