24 Kirkland Products Retirees Should Buy at Costco

Retirement means taking full advantage of your Costco membership to save money but not cut corners on quality.

Exterior of a Costco store
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Retirement is a time for many to pinch pennies on everyday expenses. This might help explain why retirees are so fond of Costco, the membership-only wholesale club chain based in the Seattle area. Research shows that older shoppers tend to prefer the discount warehouse club over other popular big-box retailers such as Walmart and Target. Further, baby boomers -- there are 76.4 million of them alive today in the U.S. -- are more likely than millennials to renew their Costco memberships, which run $60 to $120 a year.

As a boomer and regular Costco shopper, I've learned over the years that some of the best values can be found in the warehouse club's own Kirkland Signature line of products. In fact, one in five products on Costco's shelves carry the Kirkland brand. Many of these exclusive items hold unique appeal to retirees as well as near-retirees like me. Oh, and don't let an empty nest discourage you from buying in bulk. Check expiration dates, stock up on items with long shelf lives, and remember that a surprising number of foods can be frozen. Take a look at our list of retiree-friendly 24 (and a few more) Kirkland products from Costco.

Bob Niedt
Contributor

Bob was Senior Editor at Kiplinger.com for seven years and is now a contributor to the website. He has more than 40 years of experience in online, print and visual journalism. Bob has worked as an award-winning writer and editor in the Washington, D.C., market as well as at news organizations in New York, Michigan and California. Bob joined Kiplinger in 2016, bringing a wealth of expertise covering retail, entertainment, and money-saving trends and topics. He was one of the first journalists at a daily news organization to aggressively cover retail as a specialty and has been lauded in the retail industry for his expertise. Bob has also been an adjunct and associate professor of print, online and visual journalism at Syracuse University and Ithaca College. He has a master’s degree from Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and a bachelor’s degree in communications and theater from Hope College.