The Ledger: Minding Money - the Kroger Layer

The Basics

Let’s talk basics. When it comes to saving—whether it's at the grocery store, eating out, gas, big purchases, or outings with my boys—I am always looking to pay below MSRP. My boys know my tried-and-true response to a request is usually, "Is it on sale?" or "Can we wait until we're home so we can price shop?"

Throughout grad school, the early days of my marriage, and whenever the dust settled after a busy season of life, I devoted daily (or at least weekly) time to deal-seeking. I plan for large purchases, shop the ads, and buy groceries in-season. I even slot our "eating out" nights for when I have a coupon or a gift card purchased from Kroger. My goal is simple: never pay full cost.

I utilize a variety of tools to make this happen, so this post and the several that follow will focus on one component at a time. Eventually, I’ll show you how to tie them all together to "double or triple dip" your savings.

KROGER: The Fuel Point Strategy

The easiest win, especially with increasing gas prices, is a fuel-point system. Whether it’s your local grocery chain (mine is Kroger) or a gas station favorite (like Weigels), these are gold. I strategize my entire grocery run to squeeze every possible fuel point out of Kroger using these four pillars:

1. The Kroger Boost Membership

I grabbed the Kroger Boost annual membership during a holiday promo (keep an eye out around Black Friday or Christmas). Not only does this give you 2x fuel points on normal purchases, but you also get occasional fuel-point boosts, free delivery, and extra weekly coupons. Plus, it covers my streaming perks like Disney+, Hulu, or ESPN+. This is a game-changer when combined with gift card hopping.

2. The Gift Card "Money Maker"

I buy gift cards for almost everything at Kroger: fast food, teacher gifts, home improvement, streaming services, and large personal purchases.

• The Stack: I buy them on Fridays to get the 4x-5x fuel point bonus.

• The Extra Mile: I pair this with a credit card like Discover (which often offers 5% back at grocery stores in Q1) or my favorite points-earner. I’m essentially making money to buy things I was already going to pay for. (I’ll dive deeper into the credit card component in a later post!)

• Fuel Point Bonuses: The biggest "win" are the gift card coupons for fuel point bonuses. I activate these coupons and only buy gift cards that fit the above criteria and for the lowest amount necessary. While the below images are specific just to my Kroger account, the more you buy gift cards, the more options will be presented to you. By purchasing the minimum amount for each of these retailers (easy dinner pickup or a ride, stock for semi-annual sales and small token gifts, clearance clothing for the boys and I) I'll save 60 cents per gallon of gas at my next fuel up which equates to $12 off my tank since I always live on the edge and fuel on E! Time it right and you can increase savings by having a partner fill up with you; fuel points are good for up to 35 gallons of gas!

3. The Thursday Night Review

In typical "Sam" fashion, I have a reminder set for Thursday night to finalize my pickup order. This is when I review the family calendar—sports schedules, weekends with dad, and meal plans. I check the fridge, freezer, and pantry, then fill in the gaps with fresh produce and dairy.

The Double Dip: I skim the "5x Weekly Deals" and stack them with Kroger Digital Coupons or Kroger Cash Back offers. Kroger Cash Back works just like a coupon and once clipped will apply to that item (example below).

4. The Friday Ritual

I plan and purchase my Kroger items on Friday specifically to hit that double fuel perk bonus. I keep a running "ClickList" throughout the week as we run out of things. This ensures I hit the $35 pickup minimum with "must-haves" rather than "filler" items.

The Tech Layer

If I’m purchasing on my laptop, I always use a browser extension to get additional cashback on the total. It’s "set it and forget it" money. Finally, I pay with the card that gives the best value for online groceries—usually my Chase Sapphire Preferred (3x points), unless a quarterly bonus is running.

Going In-Store? Use the Pro-Guides

I only head in-store when I’ve found a stack of deals too good to pass up or place an item at the "stock-up cost". While I'm there, I do browse sections that are know for "Manager's Specials" or "Manager's Markdowns". These are random finds: produce, meat & seafood, dairy, pantry, bakery, household usually all have a devoted section in most stores. I love scoring deals here, especially if they stack with any of my cashback apps. The perishable items are typically nearing their "best by" dates and will need to be used same or next day or frozen when I get home. Non-perishables are great pantry fillers or more fun items that I may not usually splurge on.

A huge hat-tip to these sites for doing the heavy lifting of consolidating the best offers that guide me to the store:

• Kroger Krazy

• I Heart Kroger

• The Krazy Coupon Lady

My goal is to compliment their work by showing you how to integrate those finds into a weekly meal plan, kid-friendly lunches, or solo protein-packed meals.

What’s Next?

Kroger is just one piece of the puzzle. Layering in cashback apps bolsters the savings even further. In the coming weeks, I’ll be covering:

$ Cashback Apps: Fetch, Ibotta, Checkout51, and Swagbucks.

$ The Digital Toolkit: Browser extensions, Cashback Monitor, and Portals.

$ Credit Card Strategy: Maximizing offers and sign-up bonuses.

$ The Experts: Using sites like Doctor of Credit and FreeStuffFinder.

$ Stack it up: How to stack offers and double or triple dip on your savings efforts

Drop a comment to let me know if a quick video would be helpful to navigate the Kroger coupon and cash back process!