Finally, A Hack! ⛽️

Finally, you say — I’m ready for a Hack with Haley! Dear reader, I’m ready to share my wisdom. Reading this and future newsletters may cause you to wonder how I gained the incessant drive to save as much money as possible. The jury is still deliberating, but most signs point to my Grandmothers, Mabs and Marilyn. Mabs’ claim to fame was purchasing only Kroger brand, feverishly clipping coupons, and reusing Ziplocs and aluminum foil. Marilyn once wrote Mondelez to implore them to make Ritz Crackers in smaller containers so they wouldn’t go stale as fast. I just spent about 10 minutes googling when Ritz finally listened, but they did sadly debut after she died. One can only imagine her life could have been extended if she didn’t have to eat stale crackers, but I’m not a Doctor, and Mondelez has bigger fish to fry (get it? It’s Lent!).

The point here is I would have survived the great depression with flying colors and years of playing Oregon Trail prepared me well for #funemployment life and subsequent belt-tightening while I search for a new job. Some highs include a reusable Kroger $10 coupon for getting a flu shot (and my subsequent thrilled call to my Mom to tell her the good news) and attempting to (and often succeeding) in using expired coupons shamelessly. Low points include the time my boyfriend accused me of saving my leftover cereal milk for the next day’s breakfast (guilty) and going out to fill my tank at 11:30 pm because I had a $.30 coupon expiring at midnight.

But nevertheless, she persisted!

This week’s first installment is about saving money on gas. This does involve suspending the psychological disbelief of driving across the street to save $.05 on gas not really mattering in the long run, but we have to have our little treats in this trying economic climate!

Loyalty Programs
My personal gas preference is Shell Fuel Rewards + Kroger Fuel Points. I’ve found Shell occasionally has higher prices (even though this depends on a host of external factors), but the frequent coupons make me stay. Depending on the tier of rewards, you save $0.03 to $0.05. Once a quarter-ish, I get coupons for $0.20 or $0.25, either for filling up 4 times in a row or for a holiday. As a devoted Kroger fan, you can also use Kroger Fuel Points at Shell in lieu of their regular program. Kroger points are which are redeemable for 100 pts / $.10 off per gallon, which isn’t too shabby when you have 200-300 points that need to be used. I’m also notorious for texting my family to go use them if they are about to expire and I don’t need gas. If you don’t have a ton of Shell or Kroger spots in your area, BP, Exxon, 7-11, and others all offer similar programs.

Upside
And here’s where the fun begins! Upside is my favorite gas reward system and what led me to Shell, since they often have the best deals. All you have to do is download the app and claim an offer of $ off per gallon, then fill up within 4 hours. I’ve used the app since August 2019, and since then, they’ve expanded their offerings to more gas stations and restaurants. The restaurants are mostly local, but they are always adding new places, most recently larger chains like Chili’s, Potbelly, Denny’s, and Baskin-Robbins. Since we’re big fans of transparency here, I’ve made $146.19 since August 2019 — not too shabby for a few clicks on my phone.

OnMyWay
And lastly — the real money maker! I have no idea how long I have used OnMyWay but I was referred by my friend Becca, and at first, I didn't have a real use for it. It gives you money for not using your phone while driving and claims to have prevented 31,376 crashes at the time of writing. Considering the amounts of people I see on their phones while driving, and something I am also guilty of (I know, I know), the premise is needed. At first, the product offerings were mostly cheap Amazon gadgets and absurd rewards for 50 referrals. But one day, they had a great product offering — $.50 off gas or $5 off Starbucks, McDonald’s, Taco Bell, or local restaurants. To redeem, you have to record a video, publish on social media, tag them, and submit it. This usually netted me anywhere from $5-8 per submission, and last year I made ~$375 from submitting videos. Again, 60 seconds of work, tagging Mitch McConnell and Joe Biden in a tweet (we here at HWH believe bipartisanship is achievable through tweet tags) and calling it a day. This definitely sounds a little too good to be true, but I can attest it works! The product offerings change from time to time but are still excellent ways to get cash back.

The methods above do take a little planning and work, but if you’re committed to this journey, that will be required. I may embarrass myself tweeting random videos for $5 of Starbucks, but if you’re not here for it, I understand. I would use my low points of money saving above as a good litmus test for how far you’re willing to go.

Soon to come: cashback on shopping, credit card rewards, saving money on books, coupon searching, and more!