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Am I the only person who thinks that store savings cards have gotten out of control?
I mean seriously! Have you counted the number of store savings cards on your key chain recently? After I took the photo of my key chain I counted all of those little pieces of plastic. Total number, 22! I don’t even shop at most of them in any given year, so how I ended up with so many I have no idea.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about saving! I was able to live very frugally and pay off a lot of my student debt because I kept a strict budget and saved money using coupons and shopping sales. But holy cow, is it really necessary to have a store savings card for every place you shop?
Curious about the breakdown of my cards?
- 7 Grocery store cards
- 4 Drug Store cards (Duane Reade and Walgreens merged, do I still need both?)
- 2 Pet chain cards
- 2 Craft store chain cards
- 1 Chocolate card (OK it’s a Godiva card, want a free piece of chocolate monthly? sign up for the “club”)
- 1 Bra card (this one expired in 2011, whoops-taking that one off the key chain)
- 1 NYC library card (thanks for being convenient, I appreciate that)
- 1 Qdoba (fast serve Mexican food) card
- 1 Shop your way card (sears, kmart, lands’ end)
- 1 DSW card (gotta get a discount on my shoes)
- 1 ToysRus card
Want to Signup for a Card?
Want a “YourLocalSupermarket” card? No problem just fill out this quick and easy form. Make sure to include your home address, your work address, your home, business and cell phone numbers (in case you lose your card and want to be identified by your telephone number), your birthday, your favorite color and your first borns’ left index finger.
I mean, seriously! it’s nuts how much personal information we give to people and businesses we don’t even know. I don’t feel particularly comfortable or safe giving all of that information to the cashier, do you? Do I still give some of it? Yes (I know that’s crazy, you don’t have to tell me).
Give Your E-mail for Coupons?
Even the stores that don’t have the savings cards have a way of tracking you and your shopping habits. Been to Bath and Body Works recently? “Would you like to give us your e-mail so we can send you coupons?” Why yes I would, please send them to: myjunkmail@hotmail.com.
Yup, I set up an e-mail address specifically for the junk mail offers that I know will infiltrate my regular e-mail inbox. Once your e-mail is given to one chain, they’ll be kind enough to send “additional offers” that you might be interested in from their “friends” at other companies. No thanks spammers.