When $50 is not worth $50

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– February 15, 2012Posted in: Money

When I checked my President’s Choice (PC) Points balance, I realized I have the equivalent of $50 CAD to spend on anything I want in a President’s Choice Store.

This includes groceries, toiletries, clothing (yes, clothing from Joe Fresh), gift cards and anything else you can imagine.

I considered buying a sweater or something from the store for $40, but then I thought:

Wait.

$40 in groceries is worth a lot more to me than $40 for a sweater.

Reasoning:

First of all, I don’t need a new sweater. I’m just being silly.

(Actually I am not sure it would’ve fit on my frame anyway. I find even their smalls are too large.)

Secondly, I have to eat everyday, but I don’t need to wear different clothes every day.

Such a vital, recurring cost that I have to shell out for each week is worth a lot more to me than a sweater.

(Plus, I love food.)

Of course, if I were to buy candy and junk food with that money, I might as well buy the sweater.

Do you ever think of your spending in such terms?

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About the Author

Just a girl trying to find a balance between being a Shopaholic and a Saver. I cleared $60,000 in 18 months earning $65,000 gross/year. Now I am self-employed, and you can read more about my story here, or visit my other blog: The Everyday Minimalist.

http://www.squidoo.com/lovely-crafts poutine

I always think this way with my money.

I play the game “What if I do this with my dollar vs. or do that”.
Rose

My pc points add up to a big amount every year, about $500 worth. I save it for december, so my groceries are basically free that month. Then I can transfer the grocery cash to booze, gifts for people I forgot, or extra things we seem to spend on that month.
Cdn Gwen

When redeeming any kind of points, I always try to get the best bang for my buck. Recently I redeemed my Airmiles, and was tempted by the Magic Bulllit (yes, I have one and use it every morning for my smoothie breakfast), mine is aging and will need to be replaced “soon”.

Instead, I got grocery gift cards, by the time I coupon and watch for sales etc, I’m sure I’ll get at least $30 from that $20 gift card, and I’ll wait for the blender to come on sale, using the cash I saved to pay for it. Points wise, the blender was 850, and the $20 gift card was 150(?), when the blender comes on sale, it will cost about $25.
AK

As a PC customer, I use it for groceries. I live alone and I probably spend ~$60/week on groceries. So it just feels awesome to swipe that card and get the same amount of food for $10 out of your pocket that week.

I look at it as money in my pocket since I use the points for something that I am always buying on a regular basis anyway.

However, when I lived at home and I worked for Loblaws, I accumulated a high number of points and bought myself the PS3 when it came out with the points. Only cost me $30 out of my pocket for a $600 (2006-7ish) console!
Carly

I do the same Thought Process, and always ask: “would I buy this with MY $$ ??” So, when it’s time to redeem my American Express dollars – I ALWAYS apply the cash to my monthly charges. (And YES, pay it off every month )
LB

I always use my points or gift cards for stuff I need, even through Amazon I find stuff I need like brakes for my car or something lol. Seriously, I buy brakes for my car off Amazon lol. Otherwise, if I absolutely can not find something I need, and the points or cards will expire, then I might get something for fun or something I want.
http://twitter.com/simpleislandliv simple island living

Always. I always think in terms of how much food I can buy. The biggest thing for me is that we love dining out…so a new shirt is always at least 2 meals at a restaurant. I always prefer the meal, so I never buy the shirt.
Daris Ad

I would think of this as “free” money and buy something that is a “treat”. You could buy the nice sweater or something like truffle mushrooms or a fancy bottle of wine.

Knowing me, I would find some sort of recipe calling for a bunch of random ingredients and use that gift card to buy all the ingredients. It would be fun to try out and something nice and out of the ordinary. Or I would just STOCK UP on things that I regularly need (boring laundry detergent or socks) but then know i don’t need to buy socks for a year
The Financial Blogger

When I’m about to use my points to buy something, I usually compare what I can get from different stores. However, I consider the cash value and not what it represent (obviously food is a better spending than clothing). But if I need both, I’ll go for the best cash value. This is how we got our Canon Powershot for “free”
http://www.moneyaftergraduation.com/ Bridget

Actually I would buy the sweater. Because groceries are a “need” I would have already budgeted for them and accepted the cost as a necessary evil, but “free money” seems a-ok to spend on wants!!
Patricia Bolgiano

I am a US reader and I am guessing these points have to do with a credit card? Well is $40 really worth more? What happens if you buy a really nice wool sweater that you wear for several years, several seasons, and it is a classic items that you can use with jeans as well as skirt and shirt type of office wear?

You eat the food maybe twice and it is gone. You have the experience but what do you have to show for it? Hopefully not a couple of pounds! A happy memory, replaced by another happy memory of eating a similar meal?

I vote sweater, it will keep me warm and stylish.

Here where I live eye-glasses are terribly expensive. I hate to spend the money, but I need to read your posts!
Elizabeth

I over-think decisions like this too In the past, I’ve used PC points for things I needed and planned to buy anyway (like food and household items) and then put the money I didn’t spend towards a financial goal.

For instance, if I spent $20 worth of points on groceries, I freed up $20 in my grocery budget that I could use to pay down my student loan (when I had one). Using this kind of thinking, I could turn PC points into a cash-back system.

When $50 is not worth $50

Wait.

$40 in groceries is worth a lot more to me than $40 for a sweater.

Reasoning:

Do you ever think of your spending in such terms?

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