Rising costs and holiday spending are creating a strain on many individuals’ budgets these days, along with the stress of managing time. I have had many conversations over the years about ways to save money without changing your lifestyle. We will talk about several of them again here as a reminder.
I want to highlight first that if you make these attempts to save money feel like a game or a reward, you might be more willing to spend the effort. It may seem odd to get excited about getting a tank full of gas for 25 cents. That excitement makes it worth putting the maximum effort into getting that reward. Being able to stay in a hotel for free because of points earned on a credit card makes the stay a little sweeter. Getting a rebate on a product purchased can make something affordable that otherwise might not be.
To maximize the “good feelings” from your efforts and savings, you may want to consider setting up a special account where you put your savings. Maybe you decide that all this effort and savings will allow you to take a memorable trip. You can accumulate these savings for those high-end golf clubs or designer handbag you usually would never consider purchasing. Dream a little – think of something you want but have been unwilling to spend the money on that would make it worthwhile to put in a little extra effort.
Many absorb the savings into their budget and soon lose sight of what their efforts are achieving. We talk all the time about rewarding our children for a job well done. Please do the same for yourself, and it is more likely to become a habit for you.
Do you see where putting a little extra effort in can generate savings for you?
The commercials for the Get Upside app seem to be all over the radio and TV these days. You download this app from your phone’s app store. When you need to get gasoline, you open the app, and it tells you which gas stations near you are part of the program. The gas station determines what that savings amount is – I see them anywhere from 2 cents to 15 cents per gallon. Have the app open while you are getting gas, and it records the information into their system. A day or two later, you will get the notification that you saved $5, $10, or $12, whatever the amount is. You can transfer the funds out of the Get Upside account into your bank account whenever you want.
If you purchase a tankful of gas a week and use the app regularly, you could easily earn $35 to $50 a month. If you drive a lot, it could be even more than that! Are the few minutes of extra effort to open the app on your phone when you need to get gas worth putting $500, $1000, or more in your pocket a year?
With gas prices escalating, you can also be saving on filling up your tank by using the local Price Chopper or Weis gas savings plans – even if you do not purchase a lot of your groceries at these stores. Go to one of their locations and find the gift card rack in the store. Review the gift cards and see how many of them are for places where you regularly spend money. What restaurants do you eat at? Where are you getting your morning coffee? Are you shopping Amazon, Target, Boscov’s, Kohl’s, or other local department stores? Do you often find yourself in Home Depot or Lowe’s? Do you currently have a subscription to Hulu or Netflix? Do you use Uber, Airbnb, hotels, or airlines? There are so many gift card options.
The key here is to purchase gift cards to use for yourself in addition to whatever you might purchase as a gift for someone else. Those who know my office know that I regularly paint or re-design it – often done with Home Depot gift cards. If I purchase $1000 in Home Depot gift cards, I can save 50 cents per gallon on up to 20 gallons of gas. I pay my Hulu subscription with a gift card and add a few more cents there. I always make sure that I have Amazon gift cards on hand whenever I am ordering something.
Both Weis and Price Chopper have VISA and MasterCard options too. Pay attention to the small print with these cards. Often these cards have a small per-transaction fee or a monthly fee attached to them, negating the savings. I have not found any store, restaurant, or services gift cards that charge these fees.
I listen to individuals talk about the points or cash back they are earning on their credit cards. This is an excellent source of getting extra cash into your pocket. Unfortunately, I also listen to several individuals who do not take the time to determine how they can use those points and let the points expire. Yes, for many credit cards, the points are primarily advertised as available for travel purchases. Some cards restrict their use for travel so extensively they are challenging to use. If you go to the rewards center for most of the credit card sites, you will find other uses for those points. Many have gift cards you can purchase with the points. Some have a cashback option, even if that is not the primary reward. Do not let these points expire without getting some benefit from them.
For those diligent about paying their credit card bill in full every month, using your credit card for all or most of your purchases makes sense. You can get the points and get rewarded with free travel, gift cards, or cashback.
I caution those that carry a balance on their credit cards from doing this. The value of points you get for the charges would generally be much less than the interest you pay on that balance. Getting the points is a good deal if they do not cost you anything to get them.
I know some individuals are concerned about how high their credit card bill would be if they charged everything and only made one monthly payment. And – I would worry about some individuals spending the cash over the month while waiting for their credit card bill. Our recommendation to solve that problem – send a payment to your credit card company more often than once a month. For ease of mind, I automatically have a credit card payment sent once a week for the same dollar amount. When I get my bill at the end of the month, it reflects all those payments, and then I pay any remaining outstanding balance to avoid interest charges.
Again, to really feel the reward for your effort, you need to set the dollar value aside and know that you are getting something special.
There are many more of these programs that can reduce the overall cost of everyday products and services that you use. Coupons are the oldest of these programs. You have sites like e-bates or Rakuten that provide cashback. Offering cash rather than using a credit card can sometimes give you a discounted price. While you might not find all these programs worth spending your time with, pick two or three to really understand. Play the game of figuring out how to maximize your savings for whichever programs you choose to participate in.
I often get asked why, why do businesses do this? I can think of several reasons. One, they hope if you are getting a discount, rebate, or a “deal,” you will spend more which is a win for them. Two, they want to develop loyalty to their brand or company. The company may be choosing to do this to entice somebody new to try their product or service.
Would it not be great if everyone just lowered their prices 10% or 15%, and we did not have to go to the extra effort of coupons, points, rebates, etc.? Companies are willing to reward those who are willing to go to a little extra effort. Your reward may come in the form of discounted prices, cashback, or extras that you usually would not get.
Use it as a game. Maybe have other family members chime in, see who can save the most, or save for one combined item. The savings must be with the caveat that you are only making purchases you need to make – did not spend money simply to get the reward, whatever it is