Grocery Store Gas Cards…do they really save you money?
Since purchasing a diesel, we have been feeling the harsh effects of the recent rise in crude oil prices at the gas pump…ouch! Trying to find ways to save money on fuel, I decided to sign up for a gas card at Macey’s since I usually do my grocery shopping there. You can save anywhere from .05 to .35 cents/gallon on gas depending on how much you spend in the store.
I wanted to try out my gas card, so I purchased $66 worth of groceries at Macey’s. I received a .05 cent/gallon savings on gas. If I had purchased just $9 more, I could have saved an additional .05 cents/gallon. I had just above 1/2 tank of gas left, so I could really only add 12.613 gallons of diesel. I excitedly looked at my gas receipt after it printed out to see how much I saved: .63 cents off of $48.17. My excitement deflated.
I started doing math in my head and realized that if I filled my tank with a .05 cent/gallon saving, I would save only $1 on a 20-gallon tank. If I filled my tank once a week, I would save only $4/month, or $48/year.