How I Plan To Save $304.44 on Petrol This Year
Thanks to AA Smartfuel this month I managed to save $27.45 on my tank of fuel. With a new home and power and water bills coming in, money is on my mind. I'm looking for ways in which I can save money and make the most out of my reward cards. This month I managed to save $27.45 on my tank of fuel thanks to my AA Smartfuel card. Add that up for 12 months, and that is a whopping $304.44 saved. It is taking my $810 yearly petrol spend to $505.56. Roughly.
That is a pretty decent chunk, and thanks to AA Smartfuel I plan to save roughly $300 on fuel this year.
I am going to show you how.
Look closely at your budget, your reward cards, and your priority.
When looking at my spending, my rewards cards, and my habits, I was able to identify best what was going to work. My priority items after my bills were my groceries and petrol.
The AA Smartfuel card was a winner for me.
Countdown is my local supermarket so it makes sense to utilise that as my main grocery provider. Furthermore, as I plan to cut down on takeaways, I should be spending more money on my weekly shop. With my AA Smartfuel card, I could save 3 cents per litre if I spent at least $100 over the week. Add this up over four weeks, and that is 12 cents saved by shopping at Countdown!
Personally, I on average hit the $100 minimum every two weeks. So two big shops a month for the bulk of my groceries. This means I normally save 6 cents a month of my petrol bill thanks to my Countdown shopping trips.
My other key thing I love is Airpoints. Not as important as gas and groceries but with my Airpoints™ Debit Mastercard® from Westpac I earn Airpoints with every swipe. You earn one Airpoints Dollar for every $250 you spend on your card.
I also have a Flybuys card, but I only pull that out if I am at Noel Leeming or they ask for it. I have selected Airpoints are the preferred reward on my Fly Buys card.
With my two key rewards being AA Smartfuel and Flybuys / Airpoints this shaped how the rest of my spending went. A good loyalty scheme should work with your natural shopping behaviour and involve businesses you want to work with.
It is not about shopping harder, only shopping smarter.
The Airpoints™ Debit Mastercard took care of its self, but I could earn more savings with AA Smartfuel. I had to sign up with an electricity partner, and a major consideration was my two priority loyalty schemes. Contact has partnered with AA Smartfuel, and it was what my parents recommended also.
I signed up to the open term Fuel Rewards Freedom Plan has that suited me and thanks to that I save 50 cents per litre on fuel once every month. Plus I get up to 12% off my power bill. It is a win win.
Other loyalty programs will pay you a point based on your spending, but with Contact Energy I am just rewarded for being a customer. I can keep on being conscious about keeping that power bill down!
When shopping online I also like to use coupon sites such as wethrift.com - Wethrift helps shoppers save millions of dollars every month at over 100,000 online stores
.Accumulate points without spending more money unnecessarily
Something a lot of people might not know is that you can collect points in many ways. You can link cards if you are in a household (In my case I just swipe mine when I shop at countdown with the boyfriend) but if you live with others play smart.
Often the AA Smartfuel Facebook page will alert you to special deals. Say a Wicked Wednesday where BP has decided to offer 10c per Litre - That is probably a good day to go and full up and if you can keep it at $40 - each $40 spent at BP or Caltex will get you savings.
Keep track of expiry dates on points, rewards, and discounts using the schemes' websites or apps
AA Smartfuel is excellent at emailing you but did you know they have an app? The app allows you to see your points on the go and when they expire. I usually juggle around pay day to get my petrol tank low, and my points at a high. That way can full up that tank and use the discount on a full tank. I normally get 40 litres in my car. It is always good to be aware of when those points do expire so you can spend them in a way which is smart and not just rushing.
Are you apart of any loyalty scheme?