The American retail icon, Costco, recently launched a new store in the Melbourne docklands area, and will soon also open a store in the Sydney suburb of Auburn. While it could be considered similar to your Coles or Woolies in that they sell groceries, the Costco shopping experience differs from the traditional supermarket model.

Consider these two types of shoppers: “hoarders” (like me) who buy up big when things are cheap, and “grazers” (like my wife) who buy what’s needed when it’s needed.

The pro’s of being a hoarder are: convenience – when you run out of toothpaste, you just go to the cupboard and get another one; and not having to go shopping so often (but you spend more time there when you do). Being a hoarder is a good way to earn rewards too, since most schemes have a minimum spend before you receive the benefits – e.g. spend $30 to get a fuel voucher). The con’s are: it has a bigger up front cost (not good if you’re out of food, down to your last few dollars, and desperately waiting for the next payday); and finding room to put everything.

The pro’s of being a grazer are: flexibility – you pop down to the shops and get what you need – in and out – instead of spending hours trawling through every aisle; and being able to buy fresh – there are simply things that you can’t store, like fresh fruit and veg. The con’s include: being more expensive in the long run; and having to go shopping a lot, which can be very inconvenient if you don’t live close to the shops.

The Costco model tips the balance in favour of the hoarders by offering everything in bulk. That’s how they make money while still having lower prices than the supermarkets, by shifting a high volume of goods. You also have to sign up for their annual membership, which costs $60. Therefore Costco will be of most benefit to people who buy in bulk often (if only to get back the cost of membership in savings), particularly non-perishable goods: nappies, canned and/or processed foods (pet food, soft drinks, etc.), confectionery, and things that you can buy to freeze (e.g. meat).

What type of shopper are you, a hoarder, grazer, a combination of the two, or another kind that I’ve missed altogether? Post your thoughts in the comments!

If you thought Frequent Flyer programs were only for travel, think again! Many of the more popular schemes now also include options for spending reward points on everyday products and services, which means that you can redeem your rewards much sooner, and more often.

With Qantas and Woolworths joining forces recently, and Coles and Flybuys looking at ways to reinvigorate their partnership, an epic battle is being fought over our wallets, with free pies and deep discounts on petrol promising to be just the beginning. Here’s a quick overview of the players*:

Woolworths and Qantas
The Woolworths everyday rewards program started out as just a fancy way of doing petrol discount vouchers: instead of having to carry around bits of paper, the vouchers would be stored and accessed electronically on the card.

Then on the 22nd of June, Woolies announced that they’d joined forces with Qantas, and you could get free membership to the Qantas Frequent Flyer (QFF) program and also earn 1 point for every dollar you spend over $30. In other words, the first $30 spend still goes towards getting that petrol voucher, but the rest of it will earn you QFF points.

On their part, Qantas revamped their reward redemption, launching a new online store which focuses on non-flight travel options, household goods, and “experiences” instead of the usual flights and flight upgrades.

Coles and Flybuys
Until recently, Wesfarmers (the owners of both Coles and FlyBuys) had let its reward program become neglected to the point of being pointless (har har). It’s earn rate of 2 points for every $5 was far less competitive than other reward schemes, and the bonus points promotions were becoming few and far between.

But the Woolworths and Qantas deal lit a firecracker under their butts, and Coles kicked off a huge campaign, which also included rebranding and a new slogan: “it all counts”. They also embarked on a recruitment drive for FlyBuys with their gift card giveaway, but it remains to be seen if after this promotion finishes at the end of the month, whether they will improve the earn rate of FlyBuys to match that of the Woolies/QFF alliance.

MyerOne
The MyerOne card is the quiet achiever in this group, created after Myer stopped accepting FlyBuys as a result its being split from the Coles Group. They’re currently offering 2 points per dollar, and they send you a $20 voucher for every 2,000 points earned.

They run regular (usually monthly) promotions, often with some quite compelling offers, which has made them a favourite with the Internet bargain hunters.

So that’s just a quick round-up of the major cards. Which one should you get (or should you even bother at all)? It depends mostly on how much you buy, and where you do most of your shopping, but it’s probably not worth your time if you only pop in for the occasional milk and sugar. If you’re feeding a family, have a couple of cars, and shop regularly (at least once a week) then you’ll probably get a lot more out of it.

It should probably come as no surprise to you to know that I have all three: I find that Woolworths tends to have more of the products that I like, but Coles has better specials. I only signed up for MyerOne to take advantage on a deal on a Dyson Vacuum cleaner.

But really, I’m doing it for you, THRIFTerrific fans! Hee hee…

* I’ve deliberately chosen to exclude schemes that are attached to credit cards, since that’s a whole ‘nother kettle of fish!

I went to refill my car today, while claiming my free pie, it hit home just how complex this one little transaction had become. In the act of paying for the petrol, I:

• Paid with my credit card, accruing reward points with my bank
• Got my FlyBuys card scanned, earning yet more points
• Used a discount voucher from spending over $30 at Coles
• … and of course let’s not forget the pie, which was offered to give people incentive to visit Coles Express (i.e. Shell) instead of their regular petrol station.

This is not unique to Coles either; Woolworths has their Caltex branded petrol stations and Everyday Rewards card program and fuel discount scheme. When you think about the tiny margins involved in petrol retail, the mind boggles.

But of course, it’s not about selling petrol is it? It’s about building brand loyalty, which means that petrol stations are really just big, huge, corner-block advertisements. Oh well. I got my freebie, so can’t complain…

By the way, if you don’t want to miss out on freebies like free pie, follow me on Twitter.

You know how you always hear about how so-and-so got this great bargain on the airfare/movie/perfume/etc. that you’ve had your eye on? Well now you don’t have to be the last to know.

There are a number of Web sites where people post bargains that they find, both online and offline. By checking them regularly, or even subscribing to them, you’ll never miss out again! Here’s a couple of the most popular ones that I use and recommend:

OzBargain – http://www.ozbargain.com.au
Buckscoop – http://www.buckscoop.com.au

Both of these sites also have methods of helping you to get cashback deals on purchases – I’ll be explaining how those work in more detail in a future post, so don’t forget to visit THRIFTerrific regularly, or better still, subscribe!

Have you found yourself eating out less and less as the recession starts to bite? There’s one area which isn’t suffering in this current economic climate: groceries. Supermarkets (and book sellers) are doing a roaring trade as a result of more people cooking and eating more meals at home, so there are definitely bargains to be had!

Here are a couple of shopping tips to help you fill your fridge without emptying your wallet:

• Pick the right time to shop
  If you go to the supermarket in the late evenings just before the shops close, especially before weekends and public holidays, you’ll be able to pick up bargains on items that are due to expire or have entered a discount cycle designed to clear out stock. Back when I first moved to Sydney I used to live directly upstairs from a Woolworths, and by cruising for mark downs, I saved hundreds of dollars and ate like a king (mmm… nothing beats the taste of fresh roast chicken on the cheap).
• Spend less by buying more
  Look out for grower’s markets in your area and buy fruits and vegies by the box. It’s always better than the tasteless supermarket stuff, and is probably healthier too. A word of advice though: try and get a few friends together to share with (about 3 couples is ideal). One time, my Russian housemate Vladimir and I shared a box of tomatoes – bad idea! We ended up eating tomatoes for breakfast (tomato and cheese toast), lunch (sliced tomatoes in sandwiches) and dinner (in curry)!

What are your tricks for picking up supermarket bargains? Share them in the comments, below!