Is this a getting old thing or am I the exception?
 

Not me directly but parents/in-laws.

Weekly shopping...they will quite happily travel an extra mile or two and go to a supermarket that they would not normally use just to save £0.57 pence on an item which has a special offer?

Perhaps they just like that store better as well? Getting some variation in their daily routine? Seems odd to go out of your way to save less than a quid.

No, it`s not a variation thing and they certainly don`t need to save a quid. :)

I'll drive across the Valley passing several markets to get to a certain market because of what they carry. But not to save money, waste that on gas

It's a way to justify spending time. My well to do grandma would drive her new every 2 years Cadillac all over town when she went grocery shopping. She would even have a cooler in the back seat to keep stuff cold while she shopped for cheaper chicken at one place and produce at another. Just something to do or old habits from when she was poor.

Good point. My In-laws for example are very comfortable but they will make a point of going out their way to a specific store who have a buy one, get one free type deal on a particular item. What makes me smile is that they are ultra generous with their money when buying gifts etc. :)

times like these that i'm reminded how convenient it can be to have a farmers market/deli within walking distance to my place..

My grandparents used to do the same thing . Actually when you think about it , it is kinda cool . No worry about time or money . They are lucky to reach that point in their life , lots of people don't . Congrats to them and sounds like you are lucky to have good in-laws .

its normal, I do it too

Agree that it's just a way to spend time and get out of the house and be social.
My Grandmother would have me drive her all over town every other weekend to do the shopping, She would go in say hello to some of the staff, bump into a few people she knew etc..
She also lived a 3 min walk from the mall were should could easily have bought the same things for about the same price but would not have the same little adventure or see the same people.

In the same way my grandfather who was a tinkerer would find an excuse to visit the neighborhood hardware store every other day for a screw, bolt, filter, something small. These were hour long visits that included coffee, shooting the shit with employees, exchanging advise about anything with others, just a way to be social, get out of the house I guess.

There ya go...it's history, friends, familiar place...memories, a certain quality, a loyalty to good customer service. It's old school maybe but we do it as well.

Savings
 

It's not an age thing, however people who went the 1920-1940's have experiences of poverty and want to hoard/save everything.

But I worked with a young guy who would drive 100 miles in his VW and wait hours to save 20¢ on a case of diapers. Thing is he had a decent job so it wasn't the money. It was something else.

You have to figure time & money against return. His return was about a -$300 plus time of his life wasted.

You have to look at yourself and ask what is "my time of his life" what value has it?

Yeah you`re all correct. It`s a cool thing really...traditional old fashioned values and all that. :)

Social Media and the Internet has taken a lot of this activity away from most of the younger generations.

Kids would rather fap to some video on the monitor then go look for a girl/guy to actually have relations with. No STDs that way I guess!

Don't spend more money than you have to. That's one way to become well off.

I'm pretty sure history has misinterpreted the phrase "penny saved is a penny earned". It probably means every penny you save on weekly food sales is a penny you don't need to work hard to earn.

For every 1km i drive to get less expensive product i spent 10 local currency more. So if i go 2km, that is 40local currency spent. So if i can get some product 20local currency cheaper than shop that is 100m from me, i am losing fucking money...

I doubt that anyone takes the cost of travel into consideration when considering their grocery budget. Instead it is probably factored into monthly costs.

i don't know if it will change when i become old and have nothing better to do but i rather spend more money on something than have go to a bunch of difference places to have 20 bucks or whatever.