Joining Costco - yay or nay?

My Costco membership pays for itself with what I save on contact lenses alone, after my insurance portion! Here are other things I buy there: USDA Prime beef (as a treat), some clothing, contact lens cleaner, cheese (the packages can be sort of large but...yum!), Kirkland uncured bacon, random food discoveries. I recently bought a nice Samsung TV there for $240 on sale.
The gas would be a draw but the Costcos around me don't have gas stations : (

I don't really buy in bulk since I'm a solo household. Many people seem to associate Costco with only bulk purchases but there is plenty of merchandise that isn't bulk.

My husband adores COSTCO for all of the reasons the other people described. I don't. Even though there are just two of us, we frequently have 6 or 8 guests for brunch or dinner, but even with larger groups, the package sizes are way too large. Too much goes stale or spoils before I can use it all. For stuff that doesn't -- the packaging is too big. I can tuck 4 half-gallon milk cartons in various corners of the fridge; the monster-size COSTCO jugs are too bulky. His pre-Thanksgiving trip to COSTCO turned putting groceries away into a physics project. Our pre-Christmas compromise: a second refrigerator.

I would agree with Stephanie. Go with someone and check it out. I will say this. Yes, the quantities are large but look around and assess your needs and be aware of prices. I don’t shop there as much as I once did but when I went the most it was just me and an 8 year old. I had a small chest freezer and I had very specific things I bought. In my opinion their products are much higher quality than Sams and they treat their employees better. I bought these things- avocados, uncured bacon, bulk nuts, Kirkland (their brand) bulk whole bean coffee which was actually Starbucks, wine, some produce, frozen sausage patties, some seasonal items, vanilla, extra virgin olive oil, butterflied leg of lab, rack of lamb, smoked salmon, some clothing, frozen fruit. This web site and HuffPost have also run articles on the superior items sold at Costco. But be aware that bulk is not cheaper in all cases.

I find that membership is worth it mainly because their gas prices are lower than just about everywhere. I get my butter & sugar there for the same reason.
If you sign up for their credit card (Citibank?) There are kickbacks from that.

I have been to Costco with people who have memberships, and I think they have good products for good value. Even so, I don't plan on getting a membership. It's a lot of large quantities/bulk sizes for my household of two. If I had a bigger family it would be a different story. I'd say if you know someone with a membership, join them on a shopping trip and see how you like it.