Consider Convenience Stores for Savings on Staples

A cardinal rule of frugal living is to avoid entering a convenience store at all costs.  Pay at the pump with a debit card and DO NOT enter the store.  Convenience stores are designed for impulse buys.

It is time to give convenience stores and gas stations a chance.  Just as convenience stores compete to provide the best gas prices, they provide incentives to get you into the store.

Shopping in a convenience store is like going to an expensive grocery store for a loss-leader item.  The trick is to discipline yourself to only purchase what you came in for, as impulse buys can destroy your potential savings.

My Sunday ritual is as follows:

• Go to Casey’s and buy a cup of coffee.  Bring my own mug so I am charged for only a refill at $.75.  Casey’s sells a copy of the Cedar Rapids Gazette for a penny with a cup of coffee.
• Go to Kum & Go and put $20 worth of gas in my tank.  Kum & Go gives a free paper with $20 of gas.  Spencer fills up his tank as well.  I purchase two gallons of milk for $6, which is my best price.  Spencer is a good ol’ farm boy and loves his milk, so this adds up to great savings for us.

This way I can get three Sunday papers.  This week I cut great toothpaste and dishsoap coupons.  I am able to compost one paper each week and I bring the other two to school for the media center.  I find that more than three papers is overkill as stores in my area accept no more than three like coupons.

I do my best to purchase sandwich bread from the discount store and keep it in the freezer.  Otherwise we purchase bread from Kwik Star.  The bread is a very good whole grain quality for $2 per loaf.  I only like to pay $1 per loaf, but $2 is still a considerable savings for whole grain.

Kwik Star also sells bananas for $.39 per pound.  The bananas are small so the value per pound is greater. They discount bananas to $.25 per pound.

So, consider adding convenience stores to your frugal repertoire.  I can get by with a grocery store trip only every two weeks if I take advantage of these great deals for the essential perishable goods.