Thrifty Pennies

Wouldn’t it be great if we could save money at the gas station while shopping for everyday items?  This tip is for the Kroger shoppers (other stores around the country may have similar programs).  Many Krogers have gas stations next to their store, how convenient!  If you have the Kroger plus card (free membership card) you can earn 1 point for every dollar spent, sometimes they run specials when you can earn more points.  For every 100 points, you can receive 10 cents off per gallon (up to 35 gallons in a single transaction).

You might be saying, “I already know this” but I’m about to reveal how I accrue thousands of points every month.  If you have ever been in a Kroger, you may notice the slew of gift cards, usually towards the front center aisle.  Typically on any given day you can receive 2X the fuel points on gift card purchases; however, they run specials that offer 4X the fuel points (usually close to holidays).  Why am I telling you this?  Because if you frequently eat lunch at a certain restaurant or if you are a DIYer and always shopping at home improvement stores, then I would highly suggest purchasing gift cards to cover your purchases at other stores, restaurants, or even online stores like Amazon to capitalize on your fuel savings potential.

Let’s do the math…

Here is an example of a recent gift card/fuel savings transaction that I did last week.  I knew that I wanted to purchase an electric lawn mower.  I did my research on which one I wanted and what store sold it.  Next I bought two $400 Lowes gift cards from Kroger during a 4X the fuel points event.  So that gave me 3200 fuel points, which is a savings of $3.20 per gallon.  As stated earlier, Kroger will only allow you to save $1.00 per gallon (1000 points) in a single transaction.  I do a lot of driving so I typically visit the gas station on a weekly basis to fill-up, but the points allowed me to save $1.00 per gallon on three separate visits.  I drive a diesel truck that holds 36 gallons, on an average fill-up I pump 32 gallons.

32 gallons of fuel x $3.20 of savings per gallon = $102.40 overall savings 

That savings is from the purchase of one product!!!!  Imagine how much you could save at the pump if you planned out your purchases by buying gift cards at Kroger (or your local grocery store that has a similar program).