Strategic Gas Buying!

Currently (10/29/2012) the gas at most of the gas stations around here (in Omaha, NE) are at $3.17 today. The price of gas per gallon is dropping...conveniently around election season...as always. As a bonus I can save .05 cents more per gallon by shopping at the various stores with their gas stations!

First off, I grew up in CA and also lived the past six years in St. Louis, MO. I have seen the gas stations at the Costco and Sams Club Stores where one could get a discount on the gas prices...BUT ONLY FOR MEMBERS! Now I am living in Omaha, NE and there are grocery stores open to Public and non-membership, non-bulk style, WITH discounted gas stations! I love this!

Here is where it gets tricky... First you buy the groceries, to then get a receipt and then buy the gas to fill up. Tonight, I was driving on E, for Empty, on the way home from the gym. I almost slipped up and bought gas and then planned on going food shopping. I'm quick to play the game... and I drove a little further to get to the grocery store, bought my groceries and then the gas. Doing this saved me .05 cents per gallon. This made my price $3.12 vs. the $3.17 = $49.80 vs. $50.60. Every penny counts these days. Thank you to Hy-Vee Grocery! Another local store that does the discount gas is Baker's Grocery...and maybe some other stores, which I am not aware of. But these two stores are great to shop at AND have the discount gas price system.

Hy-Vee has an outdated way of doing their gas discount with having to show your receipt to the gas attendant inside the station; to then adjust the discount off the total gas price. Currently though, Hy-Vee stores are changing over to the plastic cards that go on a key ring and in wallets, to then scan for the discount. This will be up to date starting in November. The last day to use the receipts for the discount is October 31st on Halloween. I guess there may be a small gap in this transition, for people to get the little key card and add the scanners at the pumps...? So filling up tonight on my car, for the discounted gas was perfect timing. Score! I love getting deals and saving money.

The Baker's Grocery is already up to date, and have the plastic key cards to scan at their gas stations. When shopping at a Baker's, one would scan the key card at check out, while buying the groceries and then information is saved and automated on the little, plastic, key card! Then going to the gas station at Baker's, one would then scan the key card and the price of the gas at the pump automatically drops to the discount price, before actually fueling! This allows the customer to pay outside at the pump!

I realize this blog post may be a little on the "Blah blah blah" side, but I am so stoked about finding the gas stations at the local grocery stores; instead of only being available at the Membership grocery stores! This is helping me out big time! I don't have to pay a store (Sam's club) to shop there, I don't have to buy giant portions of food, to get discounted gas! This is not only .05 cents off each time, quite often there are coupons in the mail flyers for 12 cents off even and other ways of saving with these local grocery stores!
I'm a money saving momma, and proud of moments such as these.