Gasoline: How To Save Money On The Necessary Evil

Gasoline.  Something the entire country relies on.  I can actually remember a time when it was $0.97 a gallon.  More recently than that, I can remember a time when it topped $5 a gallon.  And I'm not that old, either.  But, regardless of how much it costs, we still have to have it to get from here to there.  

So, how do we save money on gas?  Well, now pretty much as long as you shop at one of the main gas stations (Shell, Chevron/Texaco, Safeway, Fred Meyer), it's pretty easy to save money on fuel.

Shell:
Get $0.02 cents off per gallon every time when you get the Shell Saver Debit Card.  This debit card just links to your own bank account and works just like your regular debit card.  

Fuel Rewards Network.  Get at least $0.03 off per gallon just for using your FRN card at the pump.  It's easy to sign up for online.  You can get a card at your local Shell or they will mail you one.  You can earn more money off per gallon by shopping at certain places.  

Fred Meyer Rewards Card.  Earn 1 point for every dollar you spend at Fred Meyer.  Every 100 points will get you 10 cents off per gallon the next month.  Right now there is a coupon you can load onto your card that will give you double points.  You can use your rewards points at Fred Meyer Gas Stations or at participating Shell stations (I will call ahead and make sure they take the rewards card before filling up).  You cannot use this in conjunction with your FRN Card, but you can use it with your Shell Saver Debit Card.  You can earn points to get up to $1 off per gallon.

Chevron/Texaco:

I recently found out that you can use your Safeway Fuel Rewards at participating Chevron/Texaco Stations!  For us, it's a lot easier to accumulate Safeway Fuel Rewards than Fred Meyer.  Sign up on Safeway's website and always check their coupon center for Just4U coupons.  They frequently have 2x points and even 5x points coupons you can add to your card.  My favorite part about Safeway is as soon as you get 100 points, you can use your $0.10 off per gallon.  You don't have to wait until the next month.  Again, you earn 1 point per $1 spent (unless you have the multiplier coupons on your card).  Qualifying Gift Cards will get you 2 points per $1.  You can earn points to get up to $1 off per gallon.  

What you can get for $3.20

Ok, so obviously I'm super excited to share with you everything I scored for $3.20!  The Nature Valley I bought at Winco last week, the rest I got today at Target, except the Greek Yogurt I got at Safeway.

My husband loves the yogurt, so that's his.  The rest I plan to give away.  Except maybe one of the Kashi Cereals... They just look so good.  I'm going to try and continue to use coupons and sales to get food for cheap/free and give away to those in need.  A couple weeks ago I got several items at Winco for free, plus $0.10 back and will be giving most of that away as well.

I just love couponing and getting stuff for free!

Wanna know the details?

Winco
Nature Valley - $2.99
$0.75/1 Printable Coupon
$3 Cash Back from Ibotta
$0.50 Bonus Cash Back from Ibotta
= $1.25 Money Maker (MM)

Safeway
Greek Yogurt - $1
Just4U Coupon = FREE

Target
Cereal - $2.99 each
Buy 4, get $5 Gift Card back
2 x $1/1 Kashi Cereal Coupons
1 x $1/1 Honey Bunches Target Coupon
1 x $0.75/1 Cherrios Coupon
=$0.80 each

Campbells Soup 2 Go $2 each
4 x $1/1 Target Coupon
4 x $1/1 Manufacturer Coupon
= FREE

Kraft Homestyle $1.93 each
$1/1 Printable Coupon
$0.75 Cash Back from Ibotta
=$0.18 each

Chef Boyardee $0.94 each
$0.50 Cash Back from Ibotta
= $0.44 each

Quick Shopping Trip This Morning to Safeway And Target

Not only did we run out of Almond milk for my son this morning but my husband was out of creamer!  (This is an emergency in our house).  So off I go to use some coupons...

Right now at Target Silk Almond Milk is $2 for $6.  I used a $1/1 Target Coupon and a $1/1 Manufacturer Coupon making them $1 each!  I found the deal on Raining Hot Coupons.

I also got 2 x 32oz Coffee Mate Creamer at Safeway for $4.25 (total) (I had a $0.75/1 Coupon and a Just4U $1/1 Coupon).  Not the best deal in the world, but $2 each beats $3 each.  I haven't been able to get my husband to give up the creamer yet...  Oh, and the Greek Yogurt was free with a Just4U Coupon.

The coffee I bought, well because it was only $4!  And because we supply all the coffee for the company at my husbands work.  The regular price on this stuff is $10.89, so $4 is a steal.  I'm tempted to go back and buy another one...  ~Safeway has it on sale for $5.  Use this coupon for $1/1 and get it for $4~

Day 5 Recap and Shopping Trip

So I did a bit better today on my calories, only 335 left to spare at the end of the day!

For breakfast I had a Green Smoothie, for snacks I had Bananas, Cantaloupe, Cauliflower, Carrots, Apples and a little bit of my son's cereal that he fed me (no, it wasn't a whole foods but it was pretty darn delicious).

I went to Trader Joe's for the first time today to check it out.  Spent $6.32 on more bananas, yams and Quinoa.

Tonight I went to Safeway to use some coupons and take advantage of their Dairy Deal.  My son drinks Almond Milk like it's going out of style, so that is a big expense around here.  Needless to say I was ecstatic when I ended up with this shopping deal...

I had a Just4U Safeway coupon for an additional $0.75 off the Silk, the Rice Dream was 50% off of $2.49 and I had a $2/1 coupon (which ended up giving me $0.76 back), Just4U coupons for the Chobani making them $1.89 then $1/1 coupons for each, making them only $0.89!  The bell peppers were 2/$1.  The dip Greek Yogurt dip is for my husband and was marked 50% off of $3.99, but it also had a $1/1 coupon attached to it!  Basically, I paid for the 4 Almond Breeze milks and the rest was free (the price for those are $2.99 each).  I forgot how much I love couponing :)