Club Cards

Shopping gods, please tell me why I must have a club card in order to receive a deal on certain items in any given store.

Not only am I opposed to having a key chain full of tabs to receive discounts, but I'm opposed to every store tracking my purchases. I feel like they're following me around the store, looking over my shoulder as I shop and I don't like it.

I don't think it's fair that in order to get a deal, I have to give the store all my information and swipe my card (or input my phone number) every time I shop. They don't turn away people at the door, so why can't they just give everyone the sale price?

I certainly have the power of the purse, however I can't buy everything I need at Trader Joe's, or the neighborhood grocery store, selection is just limited. I also shop at Costco, which my husband thinks is the ultimate "club card" that I'm rebelling against. But I disagree and here's why: in order to shop there, I must pay the fee to become a member. They don't let anyone walk in the door, load their cart and then say, "Do you have a club card? Oh, sorry, you'll have to leave now." While they probably track my spending, they don't send me coupons tailored to what I buy regularly. Some people see the special coupons as a favor, I see it as Big Brother watching over me, or trying to steer me in certain directions.

My solution . . . every time I shop at a grocery store that offers club savings, I arrive at the register and the checker inevitably asks if I have a club card, to which I respond, "no." They will either swipe one they have at the register, or ask me if I want one. If the latter occurs, I say sure, walk out of the store and promptly dump it in the trash.

I haven't figured out how much money I'm wasting for the huge corporation every time I throw their card away, but I do recognize this as a flaw in my plan. I don't want to waste resources, so maybe next time I'll recycle the card.