More tips for saving money at the pump

Yesterday, I mentioned a few different ways in which you could save money each time you buy gas.  Today, I will examine another which I have discussed in the past, Giant Food Store's Gas Rewards, and build upon it with yesterday's post.

For some time now, Giant grocery store (which is basically East Coast) has had a deal with Shell Oil called Gas Rewards.  The premise is very simple:  register with the program, shop at Giant, and earn points when you shop.  Points are earned at a rate of 1 point/$1 spent.  Once you hit a threshold of 100 points, that's good for $.10 off a gallon.  Shop a lot?  Rack up enough points and you can save up to $2.20/gallon in one visit!  Their website has a very helpful tutorial in case you need more explanation, but once you visit the gas station, pop in your Giant Bonus card and the price per gallon will go down as you redeem points. 

Here is the fun part.  Just as you can double dip using the Exxon/Mobil's Speedpass promotion using a gas rewards credit card, you can do the same with Giant's program.  Again, let's look at another example.  Using the national average of $3.85/gallon, and, assuming you have earned enough points in Giant's program, coupled with 5% cash back, your cost could be as little as $2.09/gallon!  You will feel like you entered a timewarp. 

There are some restrictions, of course.  Points are only good for 30 days, and since it takes 100 points for $.10/gallon savings, and with each point costing $1 in purchases, it would take about $2200 in grocery shopping a month to take full advantage of the program.  A bit challenging even for the largest of families.  Even without realizing the full savings ability, there is still a potential to shave money off each gallon--and, you would be buying the groceries anyway!  You might as well get something for them.

If you read this far, don't get discouraged if you don't have a Giant in your neighborhood.  There are other stores that have similar programs as well.  Just look for them and feel free to report back what you find.  I will list them in a future post.

YouTube videos on saving money

Thought I would try something different for a change.  Since YouTube has videos on just about any topic, I trolled it for consumer-related ones.  I came across this one about saving money with coupons.  There are many more like it, some professional looking, some broadcast news clips, and some more folksy in nature. 

This is short, just over two minutes, but one, which I haven't viewed yet, is over 20 minutes.  I am curious as to how much detail is involved with it. Perhaps they take us on a ride to the actual store, including drive time?

Enjoy

Hitting the Holiday Shopping Sweet Spot

Be on the alert for special, last minute shopping savings that may be offered this season.  Times are tough, but that means you can take advantage of this situation.  I just saw this Macy's Friends and Family discount good until Monday.  You can take advantage of it online and in the store.  Here is the link.  Save 25% off!  If you shop on line and spend more than $99, you get free shipping, too!

Here is my special bonus tip on this one.  I already had bought a present at macy's.com the other day when I saw this promotion this morning.  It just launched on December 2, but I must have missed it.  But, no worry.  I am re-ordering the same gift, not paying any shipping because it was over $99, and still taking advantage of the Friends and Family promotion.  When the first gift arrives at my house, I will simply return it at macy's.com.  This transaction alone saved me about $45!  Thus, if in the future you see another similar type promotion, see if you can return your purchase, re-buy it, and save.  Stores often have "float down" price policies, too, in which if something is offered for less within a certain time frame, you can get a refund of the difference.  A great policy.

Here is another promotion going on, if you are a fan of grocery delivery, as I am, and which I have discussed in the past, Peapod grocery delivery is offering $10 in free groceries for first order, according to the Points Wizard blog.  A small plug for them, it's part of a consortium of travel and related savings blogs.  They are quite excellent reads.  I recommend them, (as well as mine of course), as daily reads.

Grocery Store Shopping Strategy

Other than using grocery store loyalty cards, which I have discussed at length, there are other factors involved, seen, and unseen, that will influence your shopping behavior.  These may either work for or against you.  I recommend carrying a calculator to help you determine unit prices. 

If I had the time, I would conduct an identical survey of my own to back up what the Associated Press found.  Some of the article's focus is on strategies that stores have used for years that you might not be aware of, but others are more recent.  Read them, and how you can counter them, here.

I invite you to share with me your tips, tricks, and hints as well.

How To "Super Coupon"

I came across this article this morning that should help inspire everyone looking to save a few bucks.  I will look forward to using the sites mentioned.

On another note, I already have started to see ads and promotions for Black Friday deals.  If you aren't aware of what Black Friday is, it's when retailers are finally (hopefully) making a profit, and falls on the day after Thanksgiving.  I wouldn't be surprised if there are several "Black Friday" days in the works to get everyone pumped.  My advice, be careful where you go to take advantage of these deals.  There have been several injuries, riots, and even deaths related to people being trampled to get a deal.  They tend to happen at "big-box" type stores, but be on the look out.  I would prefer that you are still able to read the blog after Thanksgiving.

Twitter Updates

I installed a new scrolling application that flashes timely deals that I get all of the time.  Just wait a second and you will see them come through again.

How To Save the Environment and Money Part II

No sooner had I discussed reducing the amount of catalogs and junk mail you receive did I see this article from the Consumerist website about bringing in your own bags and getting Extra Care bucks from CVS.  It's a great promotion: buy their 99 cent green tag bar code, bring in your own bag next time instead of using their ubiquitous plastic ones, and your fourth visit yields you some Extra Care bucks.  Loyal readers know that I love Extra Care bucks.  CVS is a little late on the act, though.  Other stores have been doing this for quite a while, Whole Foods, for example, has been doing this for years.  Since they don't call Whole Foods "Whole Paycheck" for nothing, a little kickback helps there, too.

The next time you are grocery shopping, see if your store offers a similar discount if you bring your own bags.  If they don't, suggest they start a program.

Store Cards Revisited

I have posted about grocery store loyalty cards before, but I wanted to remind you that sometimes stores don't prompt you to use them. Last night, I was at a grocery store and proceeded to check out and knew that one of my items, a loaf of bread, was $1 off with that store's loyalty card. I had o remind the cashier, or ask if you will, to input my telephone number. Voila! $1 savings. I am kind of wondering if stores are a little less apt to promote their cards during these challenging economic times. As you may know, grocery store profits are pretty thin already. That dollar to them represents quite a bit multiplied over and over again.

Grocery Savings

I am quite an avid reader of SmartMoney magazine, from the publishers of the Wall Street Journal. Recently, there was an article that discussed a website called http://www.mygrocerydeals.com/. Basically, it's a site where one registers for emails, etc. on what is on sale at their local grocery store. It's a pretty brilliant concept.

The way it works is advertisers/stores pay the owner of the site to list their circulars that come usually with the Sunday paper or other methods. The site aggregates these and posts them according to one's preferences. It makes it easier to see if Cheerios are on sale at a particular store, like CVS vs. Safeway.

One more tool for the consumer to utilize in the ongoing quest for lower prices.