Some people enjoy travel rewards cards, but I prefer either cash back or points towards free groceries. I even redeem AirMiles for free gas.
I’ve written before about how I maximize my credit card rewards. The way I see it, if I am going to spend the money anyways, I might as well get something in return.
Using The PC MasterCard
My main credit card for monthly purchases is the PC MasterCard, which gives me 10 PC Points for every $1 spent. So far this year I have earned over 180,000 PC Points, which is worth $180. I redeem the points for groceries, diapers, and other baby supplies at our local Superstore.
So how did I maximize my rewards? I started by changing the way I pay my monthly bills and my regular expenses.
In the past, after I got paid I would proceed to pay bills online through my chequing account. I rarely used cash, but would use my debit card for all of our other monthly expenses like groceries, gas, clothes, and entertainment. Now I pay for everything I can with my PC MasterCard:
Automatic Monthly Payments
- Electricity and Gas
- Water and Sewer
- Cell Phone
- Cable/Satellite TV
- Internet
- Auto Insurance
Regular Monthly Expenses
- Groceries, cleaning, baby supplies
- Entertainment
- Gas
How To Get Free Groceries
I end up spending around $2,000/month on my credit card, which gets me 20,000 PC Points, or $20 in free groceries each month. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but it adds up over time. Add in bonus offers for purchasing items at Superstore, and the points accumulate quickly.
I know there are other rewards cards out there that pay 2 percent cash back or higher, but I notice that most have quite a few stipulations about shopping at participating locations, etc. Plus, I don’t spend nearly as much on my credit card as some people who travel for business, and I don’t want to pay an annual fee either.
Using a credit card responsibly is a great way to put a few bucks back in your pocket by spending money that you were going to spend anyways. I don’t really care about the credit card interest rates offered since I don’t plan on paying any interest.
Which is a reminder to pay off your balance in full at the end of every month, or your rewards strategy will backfire quickly.
Do you use a credit card for all of your monthly expenses so you can get free groceries or cashback rewards?
I recently came across a retirement calculator that determines how much you need to save to provide an income after retirement. I was quite horrified to discover that I need to put away approximately $3600 per month in order to have a lump sum large enough to provide me with an annual retirement income of $40,000.
You see, I was a late starter. Like most young people of my generation who listened to song lyrics that stated, “hope I die before I get old” (courtesy of the Who), I didn’t give much thought to saving for retirement. We were too busy dealing with the present.
Retirement Income: How Much Do You Need?
So now, the experts tell me, I’m in danger of outliving my money if I don’t get on board with “super-sizing” my contributions. First of all, I don’t even earn that much at my part-time job and, secondly, I can think of a lot of things I’d rather spend that kind of money on right now if I did have it.
Having a “financial plan” and building a retirement nest egg became popular as mutual funds became more readily available when they started being sold through the banks. The stock market was booming, returns were projected at 8-12% (or even higher) annually and easy regular contributions made that lump sum seem easily achievable for early retirement.
It was a big blow when the market dropped and many people had to decide whether to work longer or reduce their income, or both, when their savings total dropped by almost a third.
In contrast, my parents’ generation purchased GIC’s and Canada Savings Bonds and used the earned interest to supplement their retirement income. The principal was left intact for the most part unless an unexpected expense arose. What is wrong with this model? I say nothing at all. I plan to do the same thing.
My investments are dividend-paying stocks instead of GIC’s, but the principle is still the same. I will supplement my retirement income with dividends and, hopefully, the capital will remain as long as possible.
My parents are well into their 80’s so I hope to enjoy at least another 35 – 40 years without having to worry about running out of money. And if all goes well, my children might even receive somewhat of an inheritance. 🙂
How much retirement income do you plan on needing?
Once a month, CTV Calgary creates a shopping list to compare grocery store prices at major Calgary grocery stores. The chains that are used in this ongoing study include Superstore, Safeway, Sobeys, and Co-op. All coupons and membership programs are included, however some chains vary their prices from store to store.
What I found interesting when comparing grocery store prices was that Superstore consistently came in as the best value for a basket of goods, typically by 20-25 percent over the most expensive grocery store each and every month.
Since my favorite rewards credit card is the PC MasterCard, I find this news exciting and will try and shop at Superstore a little more regularly than I do now to take advantage of the PC Points and cheaper overall grocery store prices.
I typically go shopping at Costco for meat, cleaning supplies, and other food staples, Safeway for mostly fresh foods, as Safeway is right across the street from our house, and Superstore for baby supplies and non-perishables. I do find Safeway to be expensive, so I try to go there on 15% off customer appreciation day on the 1st Tuesday of the month, and try to pick up other items only when they’re on sale.
Compare Grocery Store Prices to Costco
I’d be curious to see how the prices at Costco stack up to the competition, but I’m sure you wouldn’t be comparing apples-to-apples due to the sheer size of most items at Costco. Typically you should save money by purchasing in bulk, so long as you’re not wasting food by not being able to finish it before it goes bad. However for toilet paper, paper towels, laundry detergent, and other cleaning supplies and household items, I’m sure that Costco comes out ahead in price per unit comparisons.
For those of you who are interested to compare grocery store prices here is the article from CTV Calgary’s August report.
Does this study hold true in other parts of the country? Do you shop at one grocery store, or shop around to find the best prices?