Saving Money at Kroger

I split my grocery shopping between Publix and Kroger. Both have things the other doesn't and I prefer some things from one store over the other. Just a matter of preference, I suppose.

But there is one thing that still chaps my butt every time --- my Kroger Plus Card.

In their infinite wisdom and grace, Kroger will give "discounts" for some purchases if you use your Kroger Plus Card when you go to the check out. The discounts can be large or small depending on the item. You can even get a few pennies knocked off your gas purchases at the Kroger gas station too.

Use the Kroger Plus Card. Get discounts. Wonderful idea.

Bullcheese.

Today I did the second of my bi-monthly generic Diet Mtn. Dew run. (Kroger brand is called Big K Diet Citrus Drop. Here is a review that compares the two.) Of course, I also refilled by scripts while there and a few other things.

Go to the check out. Not the self service line either. If there is no discount for doing the work myself, I'm standing in line and their employee is going to ring my items up for me.

The young clerk rings up my items and then gives me this sort of you should be so happy sorta expression and says: You saved $6.04 today by using your Kroger Plus Card.

Uh, no. I didn't. I didn't save anything. Kroger has marketed that Plus Card as a savings vehicle but we all know that it is only a means of tallying my purchases so they can market to me. After all, they have my address and phone and email and shoe size, and I'm guessing my medical and educational history, too, on some huge computer they have stashed away in some third world nation. Every time I buy the Big K Diet Cirtus Drop, the Excel spread sheet gets another tick in that column and they then have to decide whether to send me an email reminding me how the aspartame is turning my brain to mush, or just sell all my grocery shopping history to Nigel in Nigeria so he can gladly tell me I can shave off $2 million Euros from a $10 million transaction due to the unfortunate passing of Sir David Bramlett in an oil exploration accident, if I would just give him my banking info so he can bestow God's great windfall blessings on me.

Sheesh.

Come on, Kroger. I didn't save $6.04 on my purchase today. I simply allowed you to not overcharge me like you do everyone else for the same product, in exchange for my shopping pattern and loss of privacy.

And yet I do it every time to save 25 cents off that 12 pack of Big K Diet Citrus Drop. Maybe I'm the bigger fool here.