Gasoline Games...

[s&wchad]

It pays to play!

I've been buying gas at Kroger for years, because of their fuel points program. Groceries, prescriptions, online surveys and digital coupons give me a $1 discount per gallon for up to 35 gallons just about every month. My truck holds 36.

We live halfway between 2 Kroger stores and they're both within 5 miles of our house. The station to the south had regular priced at $3.65. The one to the north had regular priced at $3.10. It's still priced at $3.65 at the one station as of this morning (gas buddy), but the other is now down to $2.99. Both of these stations have competition at their respective intersections. This past summer gas was approaching $5/gallon.

Points expire at the end of the month and they raise their prices on the last day, so I filled up Tuesday. Unfortunately, I only needed half a tank and Mrs. Chad's tank was full. So were my gas cans for the mower and snowblower.

$2.099 per gallon is the lowest I've seen in several years. I also pay with a CC that gives me cash back and pay it off monthly. I use the same card to pay all our bills.

I did fill up during the covid travel restrictions in Michigan when gas was priced at $1.49 and with the discount I paid $0.49/gallon. It was really nice to fill my tank for under $20!

What are you paying?

 

[moosedog]

I drove east from Romeo yesterday and watched the gas prices change, getting higher as I went. When I got near my house the gas was $3.59 again, which it as it was in Romeo.
No rhyme or reason I can see.

 

[gjgalligan]

Last summer the Kroger CC had a special offer for new card holders.
For 1 year if you used at least 100 pts you would get an extra $0.55 off a gallon.
Even though I already had a Kroger CC I opened a new one then closed the old one.

 

[Bekeart]

More Walmart Stuff it pricing ...

Parallel absurd pricing situation
Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Classic Stuffing, 12 oz. Bag

Benton, KY Walmart = $.50 (YES 50 CENTS)
Murray, KY Walmart = $2.68

I can't make this stuff up. (Intentional PUN!)

Bekeart

 

[s&wchad]

Parallel absurd pricing situation with Pepperidge Farm stuffing mix.
Benton, KY Walmart = $.50 (YES 50 CENTS)
Murray, KY Walmart = $2,68

Nuts, isn't it? It pays to shop around.
I get Panko bread crumbs at a local dollar store. They're half the price of other stores and just as good.

A few months ago, I needed some egg noodles to make a stroganoff. I grabbed a bag of Kroger brand (16oz) that was priced at $2.29. When I got to the markdown section (my favorite part of the store), I found these. Needless to say, I stocked up and put the Kroger brand back on the shelf! The "Best By..." date is 2024, so they must have been discontinuing them.

 

[s&wchad]

I drove east from Romeo yesterday and watched the gas prices change, getting higher as I went. When I got near my house the gas was $3.59 again, which it as it was in Romeo.
No rhyme or reason I can see.

Stations in high population areas that do a lot of volume have lower per gallon overhead than outliers. They can afforded to sell it cheaper. It also helps when you find multiple stations at the same intersection. They either get into price wars or collude on price fixing.

I'm sure the Kroger station to my south colludes with the Speedway and Mobil at the same intersection. They're always priced about the same. It's hard to prove collusion, but you know something's up when they're $0.66 higher than another Kroger just 10 miles away.

 

[mtgianni]

Drove to Salt Lake over Thanksgiving. Dillon MT price $3.69 unleaded, Malad Id $4.01, Salt Lake $3.89 though I did see one area of town at $3.69. It was $3.59 when we got back and $3.49 this morning.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Nearby Smiths, owned by Krogers has Gas for $2.84.
Nearby Lowball Murphy and others are $2.79.
I get my prescription Pills from Smiths, using the DOD Tricare Express Scripts Program.
Starting 1 Jan they ain't supporting that plan no more.
' These Times They Are A Changing.' Senor Zimmerman

 

[Nevada Ed]

No state or other tax's on Gas !!!

How sweet it is.

Yes that is a good deal, made, even better.

 

[Tom S.]

Interesting that you should ask....

I stopped in at a local station the other day. The sign read $3.09 but the pump read $3.14. OK, I'm not going to argue one way or the other. I walked in and handed the guy $60 and told him I wanted a fill on pump 10. He tells me that he is lowering the price on the first 20 gallons of gas $.20 and hands me back one of the 20's. I told him the truck wouldn't take 20 gallons and would probably kick off at 15. He hands me back another 20. OK, I know there is no way $20 is going to fill the truck but figured he would either cut the pump at $20 or just wait for me to come back and pay the difference.

I went out to the pump and put the selector on regular and the price changed from $3.14 to $2.87 - obviously more than the $.20 he said he was knocking off. OK.... The pump stopped at 16 gallons, one more than I thought but I was ball parking it. I went in to pay - 16 gallons x $2.879 = $46.064 - say $46.07 but when I tried to hand him two more 20's, he said, no, he owed me money! I thought he might have confused me with another customer, and explained what pump I was on and how much I had given him. He said I was wrong about the amount of money I had given him and insisted on giving me back $13.93! I tried arguing, but he was insistent. So I left paying $.40 a gallon - something I've not done since 1973. having been to an ATM the day before, I knew how much money I had, and I counted it to verify I wasn't losing my mind. I was right, I had just bought 16 gallons of gas with a $20 bill and gotten almost $14 in change.

While I like getting a good deal, I just can't get over the feeling that I've done something wrong. Rather than keep the money, I'll make an extra donation this Christmas.

 

[gjgalligan]

s&wchad

Care to give me the locations of those 2 Krogers as I will down that way in a few days.
My mind is coming up blank (ols age, crs) on where they are at in Waterford.

 

[s&wchad]

s&wchad

Care to give me the locations of those 2 Krogers as I will down that way in a few days.
My mind is coming up blank (ols age, crs) on where they are at in Waterford.

You want the Kroger fuel center on M59 near Crescent Lake road. It's next to CVS Pharmacy, which is on the south east corner.

There are actually 2 other Kroger fuel centers nearby. There's one on Union Lake road at Commerce road. The other is on M59 near Teggerdine road. Both have substantially higher prices, but the one near Teggerdine does have recreational gas (no ethanol).

 

[gjgalligan]

Thanks!
Much appreciated.

 

[whitestang]

The Kroger station here is about 1/2 mile from my house and the price this afternoon was $3.79. I went to a town about 12 miles to the east and it $3.64 to $3.69 at several different stations.

 

[Rustyt1953]

Nearest me:

 

[coltle6920]

I only put "top tier" gas in my truck. Since the price around here is comparable (and even lower) than every other Mom and Pop station I can afford to be choosy.

Of course it's just my opinion but pennies saved at the pump aren't worth dollars spent down the road. My emissions tests back that up.

 

[biku324]

I seldom buy gas where I live, but instead buy when 30-50 miles out-of-town. Generally, our tourist town is 50 to 90 cents per gallon more than the same gas from the same loading rack in towns a short distance away.

 

[Pocketrocket]

Ouch

Checking in here from the beautiful California foothills. You all know what that means. My local cheap cash gas station is $4.79. I went on a road trip to pick up a rifle. Stopped at a Safeway fuel place, with my rewards discount it was $4.39(.30 off!). Sadly they only let you buy 25 gallons at the discount price so I couldn't fill up my truck.
On a good note I got a 1943 Springfield Garand from a buddy for $750 so it made the 4 hour round trip worthwhile.

 

[ace22]

Interesting that you should ask....

I stopped in at a local station the other day. The sign read $3.09 but the pump read $3.14. OK, I'm not going to argue one way or the other. I walked in and handed the guy $60 and told him I wanted a fill on pump 10. He tells me that he is lowering the price on the first 20 gallons of gas $.20 and hands me back one of the 20's. I told him the truck wouldn't take 20 gallons and would probably kick off at 15. He hands me back another 20. OK, I know there is no way $20 is going to fill the truck but figured he would either cut the pump at $20 or just wait for me to come back and pay the difference.

I went out to the pump and put the selector on regular and the price changed from $3.14 to $2.87 - obviously more than the $.20 he said he was knocking off. OK.... The pump stopped at 16 gallons, one more than I thought but I was ball parking it. I went in to pay - 16 gallons x $2.879 = $46.064 - say $46.07 but when I tried to hand him two more 20's, he said, no, he owed me money! I thought he might have confused me with another customer, and explained what pump I was on and how much I had given him. He said I was wrong about the amount of money I had given him and insisted on giving me back $13.93! I tried arguing, but he was insistent. So I left paying $.40 a gallon - something I've not done since 1973. having been to an ATM the day before, I knew how much money I had, and I counted it to verify I wasn't losing my mind. I was right, I had just bought 16 gallons of gas with a $20 bill and gotten almost $14 in change.

While I like getting a good deal, I just can't get over the feeling that I've done something wrong. Rather than keep the money, I'll make an extra donation this Christmas.

as i was reading this my thoughts were that the employee had a beef with ownership or management and was out to screw them over before he quit or purposely got himself fired.

 

[armadillo]

Still going down in San Antonio. I bought regular at a Valero today for $2.599