It's definitely a question worth considering. In our old apartment we didn't have enough space to store anything, so our Costco trips were much much more limited. I don't remember the math, but I don't think we were getting our money back when we were there. In our current apartment, we have a ton of storage space, which makes it possible to buy all our toilet paper, paper towels, and other non-perishables from Costco and just store it. (We just broke out the last paper towel roll from a pack that I bought last summer.) Our membership fees are $50 a year, and we are definitely getting that back in our current apartment, especially since we are just two blocks from the nearest Costco, so it's convenient. The Costco AmEx would make things even more worthwhile because their gas really is significantly cheaper, but our Costco location doesn't have gas, and I know I wouldn't drive out to the nearest one that does, so I decided against opening another credit card account.

Also, Dan and I eat vegetables like you won't believe. (For some reason I feel like someone on here could turn that into a dirty comment, but I swear I didn't mean it as one.) We don't buy all the vegetables there because some just don't last long enough, but we've figured out which ones we eat often enough to make it worthwhile - especially bell peppers.

When I was in college and living in a house with a bunch of roommates, there is no question that it was worth the membership cost. We would go shopping in groups and stock up on all sorts of things. haha.