Gas Sure Is Expensive!
Posted by jefferson on Mar 7, 2012 in Saving Money | 19 comments
I was poking around in Mint.com yesterday to check our finances, and noticed that we had $400 left until my next paycheck to cover all expenses. I don’t get paid again until the 16th, so this money would have to cover all gas, food, entertainment, baby supplies, etc. Our pantry and fridge were pretty well stocked, so this didn’t seem entirely unreasonable. At least, until I realized that BOTH of our cars were completely out of gas. I took the family car up to the local gas station, and the meter didn’t stop until it hit $56.59. I then stopped to fill up the smaller car (my work sled) on the way into work this morning, and quickly drained another $55.40 from my bank account.
It happened so fast! Quicker than the time it would take to set up a bounty pool, 30% of our spending money was gone. This certainly isn’t some great revelation or anything, but gas sure is expensive! We live in Missouri, which for a variety of reasons, has some of the cheapest gas in the country. Even still, gas sure does eat a nice chunk out of our budget:
December — $284
January — $254
February — $245
There are a variety of things that we do try to save money on gas. As prices continue to climb, ideas like these become even more important. I am not going to include the obvious, but mostly impractical ideas such as, “drive a Prius” or “walk everywhere.” As nice as they would be, for our family, they are just not viable options. However, the following tips have helped keep our costs down (as much as possible).
Combine Errands
Whenever possible, we try to combine our weekly errands into a single trip. A typical Sunday afternoon might be spent swinging by the library, then heading to the mall to take something back, swinging by Aldi’s to pick up half our groceries, and then finishing up at the other grocery store to get the rest. Combining errands limits the amount of driving that is done, and saves gas.
Lighten Your Load
The more weight that you have in your car, the worse gas mileage it will get. If you are driving around with a trunk full of golf clubs, textbooks, and your bowling ball collection– You are costing yourself. Drag all that junk out of your trunk and your backseat and put it in the basement.
Drive Happy
Slow down, maaaan. It’s not worth it. Just relax and enjoy the ride. Driving fast and aggressively not only endangers your life and that of everyone else on the road, but it also hurts your gas mileage. Getting there a few seconds earlier just isn’t worth it.
Telecommute
If your job lets you, it would be wise to take advantage of their telecommuting policy at least once or twice per week. I know, I know.. When you work from home, you have a wife, kids, and a Playstation that prevent you from getting as much done. If you create a quiet nook for yourself, you can still be productive. As gas prices continue to rise, we can only hope that employers will become more flexible.
Carpool
If you live in the burbs but work in the city like me, carpooling might be a good idea for you. You can even do it part-time; say you’ll drive Tuesdays and your coworker can drive Thursdays. Then, once a week, you are saving on gas. Also, when going out with friends or family, you can offer to drive, but ask that your passengers give a small donation for gas money. Carpooling not only lessens your gas expenses, but also your carbon footprint.
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I don’t carry anything around in my car except my gym clothes, and that’s just because I forgot to take them out. Luckily my commute is only 10 minutes now! But my tank cost $67 to fill up and I drive a Honda Civic! It’s insane how expensive gas is right now.
how much is gas where you live, Daisy? I think I paid 3.74/g yesterday.. hopefully you trade our your old gym clothes for new ones every once in a whilel
Gas is about $3.80/gallon right now where I live. I am spending around $200/month for my Mazda 3 on gas now! It was around $140/month not that long ago. Unfortunately, I don’t really have an option to reduce that expense by much because of my daily commute!
I’ve got about a 30 minute commute, but I do work from home 1-2 days p/week. In my town, most folks (including us) live nowhere near the job centers, so it is really hard to get around driving a bit. We don’t have much in the way of public transportation either.
Those numbers above are for 2 cars, so they aren’t terrible. Michelle is staying home with the baby right now instead of driving all the time, which certainly helps keep costs down.
We budget about $400/month in gas and I’m pretty sure we’re going to have to increase that if things continue as they are.
We’re in the market for a new car and we’re definitely considering buying an “economical” vehicle that gets good gas mileage. We’re hoping this helps the gas bill a little bit.
We get away with about $75 a month for gas. Gas in Canada right now is about $1.08 per litre depending on which city you live in. Just last weekend it was $1.12 a litre. May be more where Daisy lives.
I was reading the other day, gas above $4 can put pressure on the economy and can bring in a double dip. Not in fully agreement but risk is there.
I cannot telecommute unfortunately. My work requires me to be in the office. But I started taking a bus and I am loving it. We see savings of about $120 a month on gas. It is really nice.
I love that you wrote “swing by the mall to take something back”. THAT’S how you know your attitude towards money has changed!
Both the bf and I take the train to work. Right now the subway unlimited card is $104 per month and the Path train is an additional $65 a month. So combined we pay $338 per month, plus about another $60 in gas for weekend travel into the suburbs. It didn’t seem like a lot until I just typed it, yikes.
WSL: Our 2 cars get decent gas mileage.. Both around 25mpg. We have a family of five now, so driving a tiny little car just isn’t an option.
Tackling: $75 p/month is super cheap! You must live very close to where you work and play.
SB: I think high gas prices can have an effect on the economy in many ways. Food prices will also go up, because of the cost to truck the food around.
Aloysa: There is no public transportation by our house. There is a light rail right next to my work, but it goes the opposite direction. Luckily, I am able to telecommute.
Jana: I’m glad you noticed that
Yeah, we’ve made a few trips like that already.
Kari: Even taking the train, your expenses are that high! Wow. At least train prices should be steady and won’t increase with the escalating gas prices.
In my area, gas is about $3.72. I wonder if this is part of the reason why more people in my office are teleworking a great deal now! I wish my husband had the option of telecommuting, seeing as how he has to drive 100 miles (total, not just one way) daily for work. He enjoys his job but man, these rising gas prices are really taking a bite into the budget.
“$56.59. I then stopped to fill up the smaller car (my work sled) on the way into work this morning, and quickly drained another $55.40 from my bank account.” Forgive my smile, but here in the UK we would love to be able to fill our cars up for the equivalent of $55 which is around £34. The cost of filling up an average car here (which is probably a little smaller than yours in the US) is around £70, equivalent to over $110. Much of the reason why our petrol costs twice as much as it does in the US is no doubt due to heavy taxes on fuel here.
I paid $3.92 yesterday. There was a time, not long ago when we could actually afford to fill up our tanks. Now, we simply put enough in to get us from week to week.
Gas is getting VERY expensive! I paid $3.75 last week and I really don’t feel like filling up tomorrow. I can remember when I first got my license and gas was .89 a gallon! The good old days!
Gas is just under $4 in the DC area where we live. I bought a hybrid last year that gets 40+ mpg, and gas still costs us a fortune every month. The crazy thing is that I use to ride the metro to work, but between paying for parking at the metro station and the cost of the train ride, it was just as expensive as driving.
Ah, gas is about $4.25 here in Northern California. I work from home but drives to my warehouse about 10 minutes away each day. I’m almost afraid to complain because I drive a Prius which has awesome gas mileage but man, I’m also feeling the pain!
Let me add some stats from the country having the cheapest gas
I drive Mazda 3 and i max my tank for approx 5$. Max i pay in a month is 25$! So for a shortcut to debt better move to Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Very interesting to hear the variance in gas prices around the world!