Mystery of the world #879 – the line up for gas at Costco.

At my local Costco, the line up for the gas station is so long that it would take about 30 minutes to wait for gas. It’s cheaper, no doubt about it. It was $0.07 a litre cheaper than the norm the last time I looked. As I made my way across the massive parking lot with my newly procured oversized cartons, I had time to ponder this. I drive a minivan. (Before you judge me for driving a gas guzzler – I got the van to deal with work – it’s the official Admiral Road moving van!) So if I wanted to take advantage of the Costco deal, I could save about $4.90 (70 litres at $0.07). But I honestly can’t imagine waiting in my car for 30 minutes to save less than $5. Can you? You should know that I also refuse to go shopping on Boxing Day, I don’t line up for sales, and I rarely have the patience for clipping coupons. It’s not that I’ve got piles of money to throw away, or that I don’t love a deal. I just can’t bring myself to go to extraordinary lengths to get one.

Anyone who is self-employed knows that you don’t exactly get an amazing hourly rate – there are a LOT of hours we work that don’t directly generate revenue – and the hourly rate can be a bit – um – paltry. That aside, I’m pretty sure my time is worth more than $9.80 per hour - that's less than minimum wage! For goodness sake, I pay the young teenager down the street to babysit just a little less than that. So what’s the deal with the endless line ups for the cheaper gas?

What about you? Do you think about how much your time is worth or are you all about the deal? What motivates you to go for the deal?

Danielle

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