More tips for saving money at the pump

Yesterday, I mentioned a few different ways in which you could save money each time you buy gas.  Today, I will examine another which I have discussed in the past, Giant Food Store's Gas Rewards, and build upon it with yesterday's post.

For some time now, Giant grocery store (which is basically East Coast) has had a deal with Shell Oil called Gas Rewards.  The premise is very simple:  register with the program, shop at Giant, and earn points when you shop.  Points are earned at a rate of 1 point/$1 spent.  Once you hit a threshold of 100 points, that's good for $.10 off a gallon.  Shop a lot?  Rack up enough points and you can save up to $2.20/gallon in one visit!  Their website has a very helpful tutorial in case you need more explanation, but once you visit the gas station, pop in your Giant Bonus card and the price per gallon will go down as you redeem points. 

Here is the fun part.  Just as you can double dip using the Exxon/Mobil's Speedpass promotion using a gas rewards credit card, you can do the same with Giant's program.  Again, let's look at another example.  Using the national average of $3.85/gallon, and, assuming you have earned enough points in Giant's program, coupled with 5% cash back, your cost could be as little as $2.09/gallon!  You will feel like you entered a timewarp. 

There are some restrictions, of course.  Points are only good for 30 days, and since it takes 100 points for $.10/gallon savings, and with each point costing $1 in purchases, it would take about $2200 in grocery shopping a month to take full advantage of the program.  A bit challenging even for the largest of families.  Even without realizing the full savings ability, there is still a potential to shave money off each gallon--and, you would be buying the groceries anyway!  You might as well get something for them.

If you read this far, don't get discouraged if you don't have a Giant in your neighborhood.  There are other stores that have similar programs as well.  Just look for them and feel free to report back what you find.  I will list them in a future post.

Fight rising gas prices now...

Gas prices seem to be climbing again, with the national average now at $3.85 ($3.50 a year ago), according to AAA.  Besides driving a more fuel efficient car, there are a few things you can do to save money at the pump, temporarily, and long term. 

First, consider a gas-oriented cash back card.  Here are a few examples from CreditCards.com, that will pay you back at every fill.  Second, for a limited time, but only at Exxon/Mobil stations, you can receive a $.15/gallon rebate on gas when you use their SpeedPass key fob, which is free.  If you don't know what this is, it's a small plastic device that fits on your key ring that is linked to your credit card.  Instead of pulling out your card to pay for gas and other purchases, just wave it across the tiger symbol when you see it

Here is an interesting double-dip idea: while the SpeedPass promotion is going on until May 31, you could receive both your regular cash back on your gas purchase at an Exxon/Mobil, plus the $.15/gallon rebate.  

Let's look at an example:

Buy 10 gallons of gas @ $3.85, normally, $38.50.  $.15/gallon rebate would be $1.50. off that, but you would also get 5% cash back on the $38.50.  $38.50 * .05 = $1.92, added to $1.50 means that you are getting back $3.42.  Subtract $3.42 from $38.50 and now your cost is $35.08, or $3.50/gallon.  Not bad!

Stay tuned for another promotion that I will be talking about in a future post where you can save even more money on gas.

More tax tips...

Reminder, taxes are due on April 16, 2012.  Make sure that you are accounting for all of your relevant tax documents when you begin filing your taxes.  It seems like every couple of days I am still getting long overdue 1099-INTs and DIVs forms when they were supposed to be mailed out in January.  Thus, it's easy to forget them if you aren't tracking carefully.  In a previous post, I have discussed using an aggregation site, such as Yodlee, in order to keep track of all of your accounts. A new(er) site, called HelloWallet, is another such tool.

Can't wait for the mail?  Check your brokerage, bank, mutual fund, or other financial institution's web site to see if they have posted documents online.  Firms such as Etrade are pushing customers towards online delivery of forms, and for good reason. Online documents save them money, can be delivered faster than U.S. Mail, and can be retrieved any time.  This is especially helpful for previous year's forms, which you may need on occasion.

Bottom line: a little careful planning now will help prevent having to perform a re-filing of your taxes if you forget about your accounts.  You don't want that refund to now turn into an unexpected tax bill.

It's Valentine's Day....!

Romeos,

It's that time of year again to appreciate your favorite loved ones and significant others.  But, relax, it doesn't have to be a big stress.  Let the many flower services do the hard work for you.  While you are at it, get some miles, points, or cash back, too!

If you have a favorite provider like 1-800-Flowers, or FTD, check to see what promotions are running before you plunk your cash down.  Among many other deals, eBates is offering 20% cash back on FTD purchases.  That's awesome.  Given that flowers can run $35-50 with delivery/service fees, that definitely helps.  Don't want cash back, your favorite airline is definitely having a miles earning bonus, too.  Visit their site before buying and you might be awarded with not only a big kiss from your sweetie, but a bounty of miles.  Definitely see if there is a coupon, too, to save even more.

Bonus tip: depending on when you order your flowers for delivery, you might save a few bucks on the delivery/service fee.  Obviously, February 14 is preferable, but if she's flexible, you might save a few bucks by delivering them a day earlier, with a promise of dinner next day.

Happy Valentine's shopping.

Tax Time Tips

Income tax documents are probably already available to you to start completing your taxes.  One excellent source for tax records is your credit card statement--specifically the year end one.  I just got a notification from Chase that my 2011 year ends are available.

Here is why they are good to have:

1-Purchases are categorized, such as charity, travel, dining, and entertainment.  If you engaged in any of those activities on a volunteer/non-profit basis, and itemize your taxes, they are a good back up to your receipts.  Be sure to verify that the organization is in fact a registered non-profit.

2-In a pinch, you can reference these documents while filing your taxes.  Receipts are cumbersome and clutter your filing records.  Year end statements, saved to a computer, are much more efficient.

3-In an audit situation, handing an auditor a print out of neatly categorized purchases is much better for appearances than a stack of paper, odd-shaped receipts.  Think about it.

I am sure there are other good reasons to keep your year end statements for tax purposes and I would like to hear from you on them.  In general, they also help with tracking where you spent money and for what purpose.

In closing, a good strategy for filing taxes painlessly, and at little expense, is to use a service such as Tax Act Online.  I have been using it for years and there is a lot of basic functionality that is available for free that will help you on your way.  Helpful functions include instant calculation of the refund or taxes due, filing tips, simplified language describing complex tax topics.