Is it Worth the Convenience?

Some people have no clue how much money they are throwing away on a regular basis. By stopping into a convenience store they are submitting themselves to some of the highest prices around, next to hotel and airport convenience prices.

If you notice the gas prices are usually competitive from one convenience store the the next in the general vicinity. Each convenience store has someone who drives around the area and checks the gas prices at other locations to make certain they are competitive. For the most part convenience stores do not make much money, if any at all, on gasoline. And if you choose to pay by credit card they may even be losing money by the time the credit card company takes their cut.

With this said, it is obvious the convenience store is making their profits from in store purchases. Let's use soda as our first example. If you buy a 12 ounce soda at a convenience store, just because it is convenient, you will pay an average of 75 cents. In an average week if you purchase 12 sodas this price you will have paid $9.00. A twelve pack of soda at your local grocery store will normally be in the price range of $3.00. You have paid 3 times the money. In a year this is a total of $312.00.

Another item often purchased at convenience stores that can save you a lot of money annually is coffee. A standard size cup of coffee will average 79 cents at your local convenience store. A can of coffee purchased at you local market or mass merchant chain store will cost an average of $8.00. This can of coffee will make about 120 standard cups of coffee at home. The average cost per year for your coffee to go from home is a mere $24.00. On the other hand, stopping at the convenience store for your coffee every morning would average $288 per year. This is a savings of $264 per year, just by taking the time to make your coffee at home.

Let's move on to snacks. An average 3 ounce bag of chips at a convenience store is priced at 99 cents. A one pound bag of chips at a grocery store is often priced at $2.29. This is a 19 cent difference per ounce, which doesn't seem extremely significant until you consider 1 3 ounce bag 5 days per week for 52 weeks which gives you a total of $148.20 per year.

Some people may eat about 2 snack cakes per day. Some of these snack cakes may cost as little as 25 cents a piece at a convenience store which seems very insignificant. But considering you can buy a pack of 10 of these same cakes for only $1.09 at a grocery store or mass food chain, this is quite a difference. The total annual savings $73.32.

With only the simple savings listed above you could save a total of $797.52 per year. Other things you might consider stocking up on at your local supermarket may include bottled water, chewing gum, mints and snack bars. If you watch your pennies your dollars will take care of themselves.