Cost U More and Price Dumb -STT

They both have their good pricing moments and u essentially are buying in "Bulk" think of a mini Costco/Price club. Cost U More has no membership fees and Price Dumb is only $10 so yes, I think it's worth it. Enjoy your stay.

Cheers

I have loved my Pricesmart card ever since I got it. Don't make it to Cost U Less that often.

For six weeks? I say don't bother. As mentioned, Cost-U-Less doesn't require a membership, anyway. Everyone is different, but for me, part of being in a new or different place is going to all of the groceries, markets, etc., not to mention eating out. I would probably stock up on soda, water, etc, but not food, and in six weeks, you won't use that much stuff, certainly not enough to warrant shopping at two bulk stores. At these places, you have to buy the large sizes, and you'll probably wind up leaving a lot of it behind or throwing it away. Just another opinion.:-)

I shop at Costuless every other week - and am buying for just myself in a single household and find it to be well worth it over any of the other grocery stores including Price Smart and excluding Fruit Bowl [ which is excellent].
There are many many items that are not sold in bulk - particularly -- fruit and veg -- meats and cheeses - most dairy items - many frozen items -- etc.
In six weeks you would very likely use even the smaller 'bulk' size of some of the things that are packaged like that.
And then there is the $5.99 BBQ Chicken and a loaf of fresh French Bread - A must buy.

Definitely go to Cost U Less. NO membership needed and you can get the items for a lot less than somewhere like Food Center or Gourmet Gallery. Sodas, juices, eggs, butter, bread will all be much cheaper and you won't have to buy so much that you won't be able to use it in 6 weeks.

It all depends on what you like to eat. I cook for just myself and I regularly buy a few things at CostULess. Ground turkey which is so versatile, is less than $2 a pound. The corn tortillas in the 12 pack are definitely the cheapest by far on this island, and I eat them with black beans, cheese, salsa, corn and avocados. The packaged cans of tuna (6?) is an excellent buy. I love the frozen potstickers (Chinese dumplings), and they're about the same price as they are in Chinatown in NY (though probably not as fresh!).

That's my recommended list.

Thanks to everyone on here, everyone is always so helpful!

I am so psyched to stay down there for 6 weeks and can't wait until the time that we can pay off the mortgage on our house there and live there and have some of you as our friends!

We love ground turkey, heck at $2 /lb that is cheaper than stateside! We use it all the time in lieu of ground beef. Love tuna too and cant wait to have the chicken, is it the same as the Costco Rostessire Chix?

Anyway, see ya' all in 2 weeks on the "Rock"!

It all depends on what you like to eat. I cook for just myself and I regularly buy a few things at CostULess. Ground turkey which is so versatile, is less than $2 a pound. The corn tortillas in the 12 pack are definitely the cheapest by far on this island, and I eat them with black beans, cheese, salsa, corn and avocados. The packaged cans of tuna (6?) is an excellent buy. I love the frozen potstickers (Chinese dumplings), and they're about the same price as they are in Chinatown in NY (though probably not as fresh!).

That's my recommended list.

The cost u less chicken is way smaller than the Costco one. but really good. we find that price smart just doesnt have enough variety for us to pay a wopping $10 for! Kmart is still cheaper on certain things like cold cereal, cat food and canned nuts (at least the brands we buy).
I agree with Glynnswife, you should check out all of the stores (Sanitize during and after for Plaza Extra!), who knows what you will like.

I have been reading and have been surprised that everyone is so high on Cost-U-Less, and THEN I remembered that just about the time we were leaving STT to move over to STX, CUL went through a major expansion, including the produce and meat sections, etc., not to mention the rot. chix. Here on STX, we still have the small, not so modern CUL. They do the chickens over here, but not the same presentation. We do have a produce section, but it's about the size of my living room, and sometimes you can't even get ground beef because they are out. I've never seen $2.00 turkey, but I'm going to look a little harder and ask for it.

I still say shopping around is part of the fun. If you do move here, you will find you do that, anyway. There have been several threads about shopping at 3, or more, stores just to make one meal.

Enjoy!

There have been several threads about shopping at 3, or more, stores just to make one meal.

Vacation villa renters sometimes use provisioning services to stock their kitchens before arrival. When the shopping list is really diverse, the provisioning person may have to visit 3 grocery & specialty stores to find everything, which really jacks up the bill! At $25/hour for shopping, there might be a $75 charge, plus the cost of groceries.

My wife loves the roasted chicken at CostULess. It's yummy, and it cuts meal prep time down to a fraction. Arroz con pollo, chicken salad, chicken sandwiches, or just plain chicken.

Vacation villa renters who use http://www.grocerygoddesses.com/ pay 19% of the total $ of the groceries (plus $35 delivery fee). Not hourly rate. Doesn't matter how many places they have to shop to find the item.

The cost u less chicken is way smaller than the Costco one. but really good. we find that price smart just doesnt have enough variety for us to pay a wopping $10 for! Kmart is still cheaper on certain things like cold cereal, cat food and canned nuts (at least the brands we buy).
I agree with Glynnswife, you should check out all of the stores (Sanitize during and after for Plaza Extra!), who knows what you will like.

I was just there in January and got to experience Plaza Extra and Kmart. We loved the speed and efficiency of deli counter, check the expiration dates of most items, as well as they wanted two people to help me to my car! Kmart was also a blast with many things not in stock and how quick the cashier bagged items! We were laughing when we left! I certainly was impressed with Home Depot and how alike that was to stateside, although trying to get keys made was fun, the clerk said that they didn't have the blank key we needed as they just had a sale on that model, wow! I can just imagine the rush of the entire island that ran over there to get THAT key because is it was 10 cents off!

I love the adventure shopping brings there!

Cost U Less:

The best (and cheapest) hamburg on island --- $3.89/lb for 91% lean $3.99/lb for 93% lean.
I buy 8 to 10 pounds and make them into individual burgers to freeze. Quick and easy to thaw, and they fit well in small spaces in the freezer.

Shredded cheese - I get the 5 pound bag of Cheddar/Jack and make individual zip lock bags to freeze. I think the bag is $14.00. Another quick meal, nachos, enchiladas, etc.

Ham shoulder (LEE brand) - $1.39/lb - a great meal and even better leftovers. I cook the ham in beer, on low, all day). I buy the cheapest beer I can find for that, which is usually Old Milwaukee.

Simmons frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts - I don't know how much is in the bag, which costs $24.00 but it is worth it. They thaw quick and are great.

The big teddy bear filled with animal crackers - $7.00 or $8.00) - even vegetarians love animal crackers 🙂

I always look at the 6 or 8 packs of canned stuff there too - veggies, soup broth, beans, etc I get that stuff there or at PS.

Those are the essentials I get from CUL.

For water, the cheapest is at Pueblos, 3 cases for $9.75 (small bottles, Niagra brand)

how many warehouse club stores are there on STX and is there such a thing as a restaurant depot, or a warehouse that restaurant owners go to for supplies from packaging to groceries for their buisness?