Chasing discounts

[geekette]

When does it get to be too much?

Just needing gas - I can get .10 off per gallon if I buy a $25 gift card at Kroger (4x points this week!).  Obviously, I'll use my new AA card to get to the minimum spend to get the 60k frequent flyer points.  Or maybe my Freedom card to get 5% back since I know my health care premium will hit the minimum spend in < 3 months...

Oh, wait, checking the gas prices online, the Shell station close to the Kroger has gone up, so it's probably not worth going out of the way.  I'll go to the Shell station nearest me that's cheaper.  When I get there, surprise, it's gone up, too, but if I use my Shell gift card, it's .05 off anyway.  The gas card was bought at Harris Teeter - you get a $50 Shell gas card for $40 when you buy $50 worth of food, but I had to buy $60 because I had a $10 off coupon for food, which took it down to the required $50.  And then I used the Freedom card to get 5% off both the groceries and the gas card.

Confused yet?

[nanu]

Sure, it was confusing to follow your post, but I'm sure it's not nearly as confusing to you, since you know your situation better than anyone, the credit cards you carry, and the discounts they provide.
I think it's "too much" when you feel like it's too much or that it's annoying or bothering you.
Until then, the more money you save, the faster your stash grows. It's up to you to decide if keeping track of all of that is worth it to you or not.

[RootofGood]

That's why I gave up trying to get fuel points at kroger.  So many months I have 85 or 90 fuel points because I only shop there 1x a month or so.

Because once I do get the kroger points, then I have to find a shell station that may not offer the cheapest prices.  And use the pts before they expire.  Since I only use 2-3 gallons per month these days, saving $.10 per gallon is near meaningless, and below my threshold of caring. 

[johnny847]

That's why I gave up trying to get fuel points at kroger.  So many months I have 85 or 90 fuel points because I only shop there 1x a month or so.

Because once I do get the kroger points, then I have to find a shell station that may not offer the cheapest prices.  And use the pts before they expire.  Since I only use 2-3 gallons per month these days, saving $.10 per gallon is near meaningless, and below my threshold of caring.

Same here - on average I only fill up my tank every other month, so it's hardly worth my time.

[kpd905]

I'd buy reload cards for my Virgin Mobile phone plan at Kroger when they had 4x fuel points.  That way I'd get $0.40 off per gallon for $100 in cards, so about $8-10 if we fill up both cars.  I'd also get $6 back from using the Amex Blue Cash Preferred card.

[geekette]

Yeah, with the 4x on the gift cards, it's easy to get the Kroger points, and oddly, around us, the Shell stations are the best price, so it's often worth it.  Usually my Mom and I go on Tuesdays and we buy on her account (5% off senior day), and we'll get enough for each of us to buy a tank a month.  With HT throwing around the $10 off $50 coupons for the last couple months, we haven't been going so often (although I still like their produce the best).

I do end up driving myself nuts sometimes, though, trying to get the best deals.  Don't get me started on pharmacy bonuses for moving prescriptions around! 

[RootofGood]

Yeah, with the 4x on the gift cards, it's easy to get the Kroger points, and oddly, around us, the Shell stations are the best price, so it's often worth it.  Usually my Mom and I go on Tuesdays and we buy on her account (5% off senior day), and we'll get enough for each of us to buy a tank a month.  With HT throwing around the $10 off $50 coupons for the last couple months, we haven't been going so often (although I still like their produce the best).

I do end up driving myself nuts sometimes, though, trying to get the best deals.  Don't get me started on pharmacy bonuses for moving prescriptions around!

I miss those $10/$50 HT coupons.  And they had $10 off 25 and $20 off $50 for a while here when they opened the new North Hills HT.  Buy 2 get 3 jumbo shrimps and another $20 off = one time I "saved" $170 on a $30 purchase and the cashier thought there was an error in her register.  :)

[Spondulix]

I'm guessing you're not just chasing discounts on gas, right? I'm starting to view discounts as a comparison to what my time is worth. Say you work for $30/hr 8 hours a day. That means that for every hour you work, you are gaining 1 hour of free time on a weekday, and about .75 hours of free time on the weekend.

If it takes an hour of your time for a discount and it's saving you $10, you've saved ten bucks but you've lost an hour of free time (that you paid $30/hr to have). Factor in your MENTAL time (researching, mulling it over) and your actual time (do you have to drive across town for the discount?) Is it still worth it?

That doesn't mean only do a discount if you save $30 - it means consider it if you can integrate into other things your are doing (like you're already at the grocery store, or if it's research you can do from work). Would you spend an hour thinking about paying a bill? Or deciding which brand of milk to buy (to save a dollar)? There comes a point where you have to just go on instinct and make a decision. Mental energy can then be spent on things that'll earn you a LOT more money - not just save a few dollars here and there.

[Roots&Wings]

Chasing discounts must be hard-wired into some of us.  Maybe because I don't purchase much, but when I do, I feel compelled to research the decision in order to feel satisfied that I made a good choice (yes, even gas purchases...thanks gasbuddy).

As far as the gas example in OP, if you feel better doing all that research/points gaming, great.  If not, simplify.  Personally use a cash back credit card and go to the nearest cheapest station to refill (which isn't often).

[geekette]

Definitely hard wired.  Even when I was working, I made sure I was getting what I wanted for a good price.  Now that I'm retired, it's intensified.  In some ways this is my entertainment, but some days it's a job. 

We're starting to do more travel hacking, too, which can add another layer of complexity/fun.

[Paul der Krake]

Kroger fuel points: I gave my phone number to a family friend who is an incoming exchange student at Duke this year, who gave it to his other exchange student friends. None of them have cars, but they shop there using my phone number. Booyah, 90 cents off this month.

[CommonCents]

Chasing discounts must be hard-wired into some of us.  Maybe because I don't purchase much, but when I do, I feel compelled to research the decision in order to feel satisfied that I made a good choice (yes, even gas purchases...thanks gasbuddy).

As far as the gas example in OP, if you feel better doing all that research/points gaming, great.  If not, simplify.  Personally use a cash back credit card and go to the nearest cheapest station to refill (which isn't often).

Yep.  I do it when it's fun and a challenge (a "game" to beat).  I don't do it when it's a hassle. 

Case in point: My folks gave me $80 to use towards buying new silverware this Christmas.  I waited, and this weekend I bought them from Kohls when they were on sale, stacking a $15 off $50 coupon with a 15% off coupon, and splitting the purchase into two transactions so I could use two $15 off $50 coupons (giving up an opportunity to have 20% off instead of 15% off though, because I didn't met the $100 spend for the 20% off).  I bought Kohl's egift cards online at a discount of 13.9%, and earned $20 Kohls cash to use with my next purchase.  I had them shipped to my folks house in NH (as they are a gift from them to us anyways) and thus I didn't have to pay sales tax.

Rather than $170 each ($340 total) - or $200 each if you go to the manufacturer page - I got two sets for $99, minus the $20 in Kohl's cash, skimming in at just about the $80 mark.  And I had fun figuring it all out - I was particularly excited when it occurred to me to split it into two transactions.  My mom suggesting I ship it to their house was just icing on the cake.

DH is less excited by deal/discount hunts.  As long as he doesn't have to do any work (running to multiple stores) he is happy enough to give me kudos for it.  He hated it when I did CVS deals (rolling ExtraCare Bucks for free stuff) so I stopped that.

[geekette]

Nice catch!

As much as I (usually) enjoy this, my DH hates all this sort of stuff too, which will make travel hacking slower.