Just wondering

[Cricketlegs]

Our Target is way way way across town but when couponing last week I got $45 worth of free stuff plus I went to the ulta ($30 free stuff)and the petsmart ($24 of free)in the same shopping center so I walked to them. Then I ate lunch at Cheddars which is across the street. No free just expensive!

Next I popped into Sams one block over and into Walmart(can't remember my savings) next door.

Left there and traveled back the way I came towards home and stopped at the feed store for pet food(working on those 2 free bags!) and then across the street to Albertsons(where I had the worst shopping trip blah!)I did save though at Albertsons so I am still debating on them.

Left there still traveling towards home and popped into CVS and Walgreens really fast and did really good there on my savings and then onto home.

One way up and one way back maybe 10 15 miles up and then back but I got well over $200 in free stuff with coupons rewards gift cards and matching sales to ads to coupons.

The grocery store I really like and shop at most is on the way to and from dds school so I am heading that way during the school year for the past year and 3 more.

You just have to plan the trips out before you go.

Now when I go to Krogers there is nothing on the way. It is a one shot deal and so I really have to have a good coupon deal as well as a good sale but the do double and triple and no one else does.

Frankly I don't think I'm going back to Albertsons...blah!

[nuisance26]

~I sure do! In fact, if I can't save enough in loss leaders to cover the cost of gas to the store and still save money, then I won't go to the store. I'll wait another week and shop a better sale.
Yesterday my DH was going to wait to put gas in the family car because it was $.02 a gallon cheaper in town. When I reminded him that I always put in only 5 gallons and that I'd have to travel 1.5 miles to get to the other station to save $.10 he pulled over and paid the $.02 more at the station that was on our route.
It may be only pennies but they do add up!~

[Spirit Deer]

Okay, I've heard this before from people and I'd like know what advantage there is to putting in only five gallons, or more exactly, in not filling. We always just fill our tanks. It's all the same in the end, and sometimes it saves money if gas prices are going up quickly.

[Libby]

99% of everything we need is within a 1 km drive so if I do end up going to cherry pick certain items - its OK. Its usually 'on the way'. We're lucky like that but sometimes I do have to remind dad that just b/c its on sale at a specific store further away, its cheaper to pay a lil more to grab it by home. Now if he wants to go to a specific store just b/c, all he needs to do is say so, don't make excuses for it.

When the time comes for a 'big' grocery shop with specific items available at stores further away from home...I try to make a loop and start at the store the furthest away. Now that its warmer out, I put a cooler with ice packs in the car for perishables.

[krbshappy71]

I grocery shop once a month, at one store that has good sales so that cuts down on gas. I make myself walk the rest of the month for any incidentals that I'm craving, basically making it more difficult to splurge. When I walk I can't carry as much as I could in the car, and I don't spend gas that way. It helps cut down the splurges, also, in the fact that I'm fairly lazy, ha!

[mndtrp]

I factor time in more than gas, but it comes out the same. I don't want to drive for 20 minutes to pick up one item, especially if it is only a minor sale. If the sale is worth my time, then it is most likely worth my gas.

I'm fortunate in having just about everything I need within close proximity, and I'm good about grouping my errands together.

[nuisance26]

Okay, I've heard this before from people and I'd like know what advantage there is to putting in only five gallons, or more exactly, in not filling. We always just fill our tanks. It's all the same in the end, and sometimes it saves money if gas prices are going up quickly.

~There are a couple of reasons that I find it to be an advantage.
1. Our mini-van tank is huge, 17 gallons. It's considered more fuel efficient to keep a tank between 1/4-3/4 full.
A gallon of gas weighs about 6lbs. I put in 30lbs. A full tank would be 102lbs. That's a difference of 72 lbs(a large child!)to haul around which will burn fuel at an even faster rate. That eats up any savings from hypothetical cost increases.
2. I am more mindful of how much I consume. I put gas in the family car 2-3 times a month. The station is not out of the way. The 3 minutes it takes out of my life each time, and even when I'm driving and see the meter at 1/4 tank, does make me reflect on my habits and why I choose to make certain trips. It's just a subtle physiological trick I use on myself like putting clocks forward a few minutes. ~

[mh3rdwheel]

I am fortunate that I live 5 minutes from a Riesbecks Food Store, CVS, Family dollar, and 10 minutes from Krogers and Dollar General.

[janeysaurus]

I do not factor in the cost of gas because I honestly have no idea how much gas costs per gallon. I may take note of how much filling a tank costs and perhaps quickly break down the mileage we're getting per gallon, but I haven't really had to bother with gas prices in years.
Last year we filled the tank maybe four times, and out of that four times, I did it once...and the per gallon price was skewed because I used whatever FuelPerks were available in my Giant Eagle card.

I do shop at multiple places/locations given the plethora of shopping options available to me, especially during the summer when I stop food buying at a grocery store. So if my planned trip requires more than one bus ticket (whether due to actual distance between locations or if I'm pretty sure I'm gonna bus it the three blocks because I'm feeling lazy), I'll take my SO's bus pass (and give him tickets if it's a workday).

So I do take into account transportation and convenience costs enough to make sure it's worth the bother, especially if it's a timed Zipcar run or something.
But convenience is really more key for me. I may know of great deals at some suburban store like WalMart or Shop'n'Save or Aldi, but I'm not about to haul butt out to the burbs just to save on detergent or toilet paper, especially since I know those deals will eventually be replicated at a store near me.

[Syn D]

Hubby gets paid once a month, so on pay day I put $120 on our Walmart gas card (saves $.03 a gal) The $120 is for my car and his truck for the month, no more gets added.. On pay day I fill up my tank as my car is used the most.

[mh3rdwheel]

I didn't know Walmart has a gas card, there are 3 walmarts in a 30 mile radius.

[Momto5RN]

me
drives me batty when on a super couponers board and they go on about all the free stuff they got after going to 20 different walgreens. gas is far from free and most time you still have to pay taxes on the items to.

now if i am passing somewhere in my work or i try to manage a bunch of errands that direction its worth it . but for one store for one thing - nope,
although 15 minutes can be 5 miles and if your car gets 25 mpg thats 1/5 a gallon and if gas is 3.50 a gallon you have only spent 70c to save 2$ so still a 1.30 saving .
i know people that do alot more than drive 15 min to save 1.30 .

if its non perishable a once a month trip rather than once a week would equal 7.20 savings ( 2$x3 for the 3 bought without driving and then the 1.30 from the week of the actual trip ).

also does she always buy just that item ? i love to browse- best deals for my family and for gifting were unplanned unexpecteds i found when getting something else .