I think I've had my head buried in the sand
For years, after I started driving and paying for my own gas, I was constantly monitoring gas prices. When gas prices rose to close to $2.00/gallon, I cut back on driving as much as possible and combined trips and errands as often as I could.However, since being married, my wonderful husband takes care of keeping the car in running order and the gas tank full. And since I don't pump my own gas, I've noticed I don't keep up with gas prices either.
So, a couple nights back when we were out and about town I happened to see a sign with gas prices. I seriously had to look three times to make sure I was seeing it correctly before I gasped loudly, "$3.20 a gallon!!!"
My husband gave me this look like I just emerged from the Dark Ages and said, "Yeah, that's actually not too bad. In some states it's up to $4.00."
I don't know where I've been recently, but I've obviously not been looking at gas prices. $4.00/gallon!!! People, I remember when it was $0.89/gallon or less. And I'm not even that old. Well, I mean, at least in my perspective.
Even though I wasn't aware that gas prices had gotten so high, we haven't had to raise our gas budget by much, which is a good thing. I guess that after a few years of living on a very tight budget, you learn to be frugal as a lifestyle so things like high gas prices don't affect you as much.
Here are a few no-brainer things which work for us to help us save money on gasoline:
1) I am always trying to make sure we drive the most efficient route and hit the closest stores in the best order to save on time and mileage. I've found that if we have a lot of errands to do, planning what order we will do them in ahead of time really helps with this, too.
2) We try to walk to places whenever we can. Not only do you get great exercise and fresh air, but you save a lot of wear and tear on the car. I know this might not be feasible if you live out in the country or in a very unpopulated area, but many of us could walk more than we do, especially those of us in the US. I think we're just about the laziest country around.
3) And my best tip of all to save money on gas: Stay home more. Yep, this one really works. You also save a lot of money in general because you aren't out at stores seeing things you "need" to buy. If you don't need to go somewhere, stay home. A quieter, simpler-paced life would do us all good anyway.
Just for fun: How much is gas in your area? Have you changed your lifestyle at all with these high gas prices? And am I the only woman who rarely pumps her own gasoline and thus has been completely out of the loop with the high gas prices? By the way, what great money-savings tips do you have to add to my little short list? We'd all love to hear!
posted by Crystal Paine at 1:58 PM
62 Comments:
Gas is still only $ 2.99 here. The only thing is that we live so far from any kind of reasonable grocery shopping that it probably ends up costing more in the long run since we have to drive farther. = P
Crystal,
Gas is 2.90 here, but I rarely pump my own. It's actually illegal in NJ. When I do travel out of town, it takes me a moment of sitting still at the pumps before I realize I have to get out and pump it myself. Gee Whiz!
I enjoy your blog,
Dawn
It is $3.15 now here. i love to walk places and ride my bike, but many towns do not make it safe to do so which is why I do not do it as much. I think that instead of spending so much on trying to reduce gas prices, that we should focus on making the towns more bicycle and pedestrian friendly.
I'm in Oklahoma gas here today is $3.07...yikes
it is 3.29 here. last fill up I saved .10 a gallon with Dillons Rewards.
in canada the equivalent of your us gallon costs me 4.20...so i usually drive across the border to the us where it is more like 3.29
and yep its soooo changed how we do things....i dont always go for loss leaders across town unless i'm there for another reason
we no longer enjoy our sunday drives, we love the days on the weekends where the car stays put..
i do try to stay home way more...
celina in canada
Gas is $2.89 here in NC and has actually dropped a couple of cents in the past week or so. I've only pumped gas once in 7 months of marriage, but I'm very conscious of gas prices; I can feel the money draining out of our bank account every time we fill up. One thing we've finally figured out to do is "switch" vehicles, since hubby drives 30 miles each way to work and I am currently "just" keeping house. With him driving our little Altima and me driving the X-Terra, I figure we're saving around $10 a week. That's a lot to us newlyweds!
- Don't run the air conditioner if you can help it (that's a very stiff order here in Texas!). On residential/city streets, keep the windows down, but roll them UP on the highway, as open windows create drag.
- Set car on cruise control whenever possible (I am obsessed with cruise control).
- Eliminate ALL excess weight from your car, including spare tires if you use your car primarily in town (obviously this would be unwise for long road trips).
Uuuugh, gas.
It is 2.89 for regular here in New Orleans, unless you go to Discount Zone or Murphy gas - then it is 2.85.
I wish I could walk everywhere as I love the excercise. However, I live several miles from any store and my job.
Seems to be about the same here, which is about 2.88. I try and get gas on my way somewhere, and I absolutely REFUSE to put in more than $30 and I make it last as long as I can. Which works well for now since my hubby is currently deployed until next week and I dont go a lot of places when he is out of port!
I'm live in northern Canada and gas prices work out to about $5.60/gallon. And that's at the bulk plant. :p
Here on the California Central Coast it's up to $3.64 (as of yesterday, probably hiked up today), and no lower than $3.49. I can't believe it's still under $3.00 some places! I now have yet another reason to move to another state :-)
I had to laugh a little when I read this, or rather after I used Google to convert dollar to swedish kronor and gallons to liter.;) One liter costs approximately 7 kr in your area, where I live it costs around 10 kr. At one time it cost more than 12 kr, it was ridiculoussly expensive. Most of the cost is taxes, and sure, I think one shouldn't drive around polluting the environment just for fun, but in the northern parts of Sweden, a car is a necessity. There are simply no other options. In Stockholm OTOH, it can take longer to drive to work than take the bike.
The gas price has been a very hot topic in Sweden, needless to say.
I had no idea it's illegal to pump your own gas in some states. Interesting how different it can be, here I've never heard of someone doing it for you!
About 2.90 where we live in TX. I really wish I could walk or ride my bike places SO MUCH, but it just isn't very safe :o(
It about $2.95 here in PA. Sadly we live out in the country so anytime we have to do anything we have to drive 14 miles one way. Need milk 14 miles...dry cleaning 14 miles, prescription filled, you get it. Dh is a minister and he goes to hospitals several times a week. 14 miles to the small one 50 one way to the large one, he does get reimbursed by our church but the two of us together spend about $250 a month before reimbursement. He has a "99 taurus and I have a "04 Town & Country van.
I feel really bad for Europeans they pay much more but most everyone has small cars, you rarely see vans and almost never see a pickup truck.
Lela, www.xanga.com/lmcs79
Gas is $3.49 here in Michigan. Ouch! We are already down to one car, and my husband commutes 35 minutes away to work. Doctor's appts can be tricky, but for regular shopping/errand days, the whole family packs up and leaves at 7 a.m. with Daddy for a day of shopping, library, etc. He works in a smaller town than what we live in, so all the stores we frequent are actually closer together in the smaller town, making it better on the gas mileage.
Ouch, ouch. I can't believe that gas is still less than $3 in so many places!
Krista
O.K. I guess we need to move. Just not to Canada or California. I don't put gas in the van often, DH usually does, but I paid $3.43 at the cheap station last week.
Gas is $3.49 + here in the Chicago area.
I do stay home more, as a matter of fact the children rarely go out. However, we cannot afford to drive our 15 passenger van. So, I may have to disagree with you on living frugally and it not affecting your budget. I think it has to do with the area, the size of the family and the distances folks have to travel.
We have to travel 45-50 minutes to church on Sundays. My husband has a 35-40 minute commute to work. Plus if he has a men's meeting once a month or the girls have a piano recital at their teacher's, who usually comes here, like they did this week, that is an extra 45 minute drive and my husband's mother lives a half hour away. So it just all depends. Although, I have to admit, most of the time we are doing well to use the gas budget we have had for the past eight years - four additional children to the two we had back then. It is just extra driving that puts us over the top.
So maybe I didn't disagree with you as much as I thought I was going to, eh? ;-)
Blessings,
Theresa
I would love it if gas were under $3 here! I live in Western Washington and the regular unleaded at the cheap gas stations is about $3.44.
I try to stretch my gas as long as possible. I have ended up staying home more on my days off from work and doing stuff with the kids at home or walking to the park. I run errands/grocery shop on the way home from work so I only add a mile or two to the commute home.
It's even higher in Canada! Here it works out to be about or even more than 4.00 a gallon.
Crystal,
Gas is about $3.45 here in good old Southern California. Another tip I have is to try to take the freeway more often, if it's worth it - better gas mileage; also, don't leave the car idling if you're going to be sitting in one spot for a while - leaving the engine idling for 30 seconds uses as much gas as starting the car again.
I also love the idea of staying home more. Crystal, since I've been reading your blog, I've been staying home a lot more, and realizing how much it calms me. I've also been trying to keep the T.V. and computer off because it adds a lot of unnecessary noise. At first this was disconcerting because I didn't know what to do with myself, but I forced myself to have some peace and quiet, and I lead such a happier lifestyle now. Just another benefit of staying home and spending time with your family. Thank you Crystal. :)
I pump my own gas-hubby works out of town.My daughter and I went to Murphy Gas .We bought the midgrade which was 3.03 a gallon.The lines were backed up and after we drove down the main street in town,we realized why.murphy has the cheapest gas in our little area of Wake Forest,NC.
I stay home on purpose about 2 days a week just to save gas .I also figure if I am at home then I am not tempted to buy on impulse!!
Gas is around $2.87 here in SC. Since the first of the year, we have cut back to one car, so that saves some money. Then our one car died and we got a small car that gets great gas mileage. My husband has about a 20 minute drive to work, away from all the stores and shopping, so I try to plan my errands on his days off or go early in the morning before he leaves, so I don't have to take him to work too often and make two round trips instead of one. As you said, Crystal, planning is key. I try not to make very many runs for just a couple of items if I can help it, but keep my errand days to one day a week most weeks. My husband would like to find me a bike as I could easily bike to some errands, but walking is rather far. We have always been very conservative with our car usage, so with the high prices, it really hasn't changed too much!
Well, here in Alberta, Canada (the province known for how much oil we produce), the price is 112.9 cents/liter. Times four, that would be...$4.52 Canadian.
$3.40 here in Indy. :(
Gas is $2.70 here in Alaska, but we usually pay $2.60 at Costco (our $50 membership has saved us a lot of money in the food and gas department this year!). While gas is generally cheaper here, the overall cost of living is more expensive...
Funny you should be writing about gas prices. I just came home from filling up my tank. I, too, was quite irritated by the high price of gas. I paid $3.18 at the local QuikTrip. For those who don't know, I live in south-central Kansas, BTW.
I am just starting to think about how I might could cut back on driving to save on gas. I only work 2-3 days per week so that helps quite a bit. Unfortunately, I am gone from home at least part of the day every other day I am off work.
The biggest area I have thought of is to take one car as a family to gatherings and meetings. It seems in our family that we end up some place with 2,3, even 4 vehicles sometimes among family members. I guess it comes with our busy, individual schedules. I am going to try making a concerted effort to leave with my family for church on Sunday mornings instead of driving separately later on. The other idea I thought of is to car-pool more with people from groups in which I am a part. I know several women on my side of town in the same BSF group. We could take turns driving each other for meetings. I don't like the idea of car-pooling with work people. It would be super complicated since no one has consistent work schedules with anyone else.
I guess the other idea would be to keep your vehicle in top-working condition so that it gets the best gas mileage. I had my car oil changed today. I would appreciate any other tips people have to share. This is getting ridiculous with gas prices.
One other interesting note I thought about: Did anyone receive that e-mail going around about not buying gas on May 15th to try to force gas prices down? I guess either not many took it to heart or else it was not successful. I thought it was curious how just today (the day after the supposed gas strike) the prices went up nearly $0.10/gal. I don't know if this is a side-effect or a coincidence. I probably need to ask my economist brother. Maybe he could explain the workings of the concept to me. :)
I have a post on my blog about this too... We have $3.49 and its suppossed to go UP tomorrow! Michigan! YIKES! I only but 5,000 miles on my errand car last year (a suburban $140 to fill it up at this price!) and we drive it to church and on weekends as a family. I can get by on a tank of gas about 3 weeks usually...
I use www.gasbuddy.com to check prices sometimes in our area. It does the whole U.S.
I am a divorced single parent and the gas prices are killing me. Near Greensboro, NC , gas is currently $2.99 a gallon. I have a 1991 Honda Accord and it gets about 24 miles a gallon. I have managed to be an at home mom for several years by living on a verrrry small budget, but gas is pushing me over the edge.
gas 3.18 here in Haysville, KS. My heart 'flipped' too.
We live in British Columbia, Canada and our gas is now at $119.9 per litre, which works out to about $5.30 (US) per gallon. I walk whenever I can, my husband rides his bike to and from work in the summer (too much snow in the winter). Usually our gas budget is about $250 (US) per month. We are going to have to get more serious about saving money on gas as it is only going to go up (and up, and up...). We are going to try going with one car in the fall, when our daughter takes one of our vehicles back to University with her. I will probably use the bus to do some of my errands, if needed. Our other daughter wants to buy a car of her own, but I think her wages from her job will all go to upkeep of the car, so am trying to dissuade her from that right now.
Ann
Heh heh. I'm in the same boat. It's usually only when my husband comments on the gas prices that I actually notice how they've gone up again. Having said that, I am very aware of the prices, being rather a frugalist at times, and try not to drive more than I have to. It can be interesting to actually calculate how much a trip costs in gas. And a little shocking.
At present, we live in an area almost over-run with SUVs and even Hummers, believe it or not. Moms, picking up their kids at school, sitting in their big ol' rig, engines running, AC on (though it does get to 110 or even 120* F here sometimes, so can't say that I don't understand using the AC...) But it sure is a waste of gas.
I remember gas prices at 24 cents. Does that make me old??
Here in Germany...on the Army base, I am paying $3.22. I am sure it will go up soon. Now, if I wanted to get gas on the German econoomy (which I don't), it would be about $7 or $8 per gallon with the euro - dollar exchange rate.
I am a homebody and don't drive really anywhere except to church and then to take my husband to work and pick him up and an occassional doctor appointment.
Actually DH could walk to work if he wanted to but he doesn't :(
The in town driving really eats up our gas.
Because of the high price, I haven't filled up our tank 100% in quite a while. I usually put $20 in and make it stretch as long as possible.
Another thing to remember is to check your tire pressure and also make sure your fuel filter and is clean so it helps with the savings.
I remember living in Oklahoma and gas was $1.67 and DH and I complained about that....I would give anything to see that price again...or lower would be good, but I know that's not going to happen.
It's nice to see gas is under $3 in some States.
$3.55 here in Washington state!
I converted gallons into litres and Euros into USD. Accordingly in Germany the prize for a gallon would be 6,70 Dollars!
Now you can decide if that means it will get worse for you or if you suddenly feel more satisfied with the gas prizes in the US :).
The cost for gas is very high in Germany for several reasons, one of them a special tax on gas to protect the environment more (people driving less).
But I think, people walk or ride their bikes to do errands/go out a lot more here than in the US.
We actually have no car and use public transportation. It's convenient enough here. And it saves a LOT of money with the ridiculously high gas prices. :)
Gas prices have definitely affected our budget. I guess after working from home for a couple years, when your husband starts driving 30 minutes to work every day, it seems like a lot. We've considered moving closer to work, but we have a nice house with low rent... We did sell our (only) vehicle and replace it with a car that gets better gas mileage. It was costing us $40 a week for my husband to drive to work (5 days) and for me to make one, 12-mile (roundtrip) outing (to teach music lessons) each week. We save gas money by inviting people over to our house (instead of going out ourselves), which I know isn't really saving in the grand scheme of things... but. :) We basically only very rarely go places, and can't cut down on our driving (besides moving) because it's all for work purposes! But $160 a month is 15% of our monthly budget! That's a lot, when you're only driving to work.
So yes, it has affected us, but on the other hand, people in Europe have been paying a lot more than we have for years, so I can't complain. :)
Here in central NC, it is up to about $3.09...and I have to fill up today, so will see what it is. There are some stations we will NOT buy from...when you get pinging, it is NOT good on the engine...so we go to the ones that sell better gas...in our area, that is usually BP gas.
Gas is $3.17 here in Minnesota. We have a very small car that gets good gas mileage that my husband uses to commute to work. We usually only go out as a family once a week on Sundays, and that is only a couple minutes away since we live on the outskirts. That's the main reason why I don't have a license...no vehicle to drive during the day (we're a one car family) and if I really needed to go somewhere I can load the kids up in the stroller and walk a few miles to get there.
Try searching Mapquest.
http://gasprices.mapquest.com/index.jsp
Isn't it awful how much it costs? And people try to make us feel better by saying, "Sure, but it's still WAY cheaper than in Europe!" Why don't that make me feel any better?? My number 1 tip for better gas mileage is to SLOW DOWN! Most cars get optimal gas mileage around 60 mph, and over that you are just throwing money away. Enjoy the scenery, be safe, and save money - what more could you ask for? :)
- Tiffany (http://www.TiffanyBlitz.com/blog)
Here in central Mississippi the cheapest gas prices we've seen is $2.79. We do the obvious things like combining trips and just staying home more. We've always been very frugal so the higher prices haven't hurt us too much.
Lynn
Hi Crystal!
Reg. Unleaded was at $2.99 and Prem. was at $3.20 last night here in Sunny Florida!
Have a great day!
Sometimes walking isn't feasible if you live in the city, either.
We lived in Germany for 4 years, we walked to the grocery store and restaurants all the time, it was safe and convenient to do so.
When I lived in San Antonio, I was 1/2 a block away from the video store, but it was across a big road and had a lot of entrances into businesses along the way. I walked to the video store once, and almost got killed 3 times in the 2 minutes it took me to get there. I drove from then on, it was much safer...I would have preferred to save the gas and get the exercise, but it just wouldn't have been safe.
For the most part, the United States is just not set up for walking, unfortunately.
Gas today in our area is 3.51 per gallon...and that is really hurting our family. My dh drives about 50 miles to work one way, and this is the closest job he could find (housing closer to where the jobs are is totally unaffordable). For us shopping is also a minimum 15-20 mile trip each way.
We try to keep driving to a minimum, but my dh does need to go to work, and we do need groceries, so at least once a week I go for groceries. We have a few activities we participate in, but we have worked it around so that we multitask when driving to some other activity--taking care of shopping, for example, or going to the library. I think if it were up to me, I'd just stay home, but dh has said it is not an option to pull the kids out of the activities and so we're keeping them. Thankfully church is very close.
Our gas prices jumped to $3.29 the other day. I live in WV
I thought gas prices in southeastern PA were bad, but after viewing a lot of the comments, I realize that I'm one of the fortunate few paying $2.89 for gas! I used to go to Phila. once a week (to babysit my nephew)which killed me with gas, but I stopped that two weeks ago and I'm glad I did:o).
My good ol car gets great gas mileage for being a 20 yr old car. I take really good car of her.
I do want to say one thing nitrogen air in your tires. It makes a huge difference. I get nitrogen in my tires and it has improved my gas mileage drastically. Keep your oil changed, check and change your fuel and air filter regularly add some stp fuel injector and carburator cleaner about every third fill up.
I don't have a/c in my car and frankly don't want it. I am just as happy with rolling down my windows.
And ladies dare I say it but get actively involved in your car maintainance. For those who let their husbands take care of everything what if you were stranded in another town and had to ask someone for a jump would you know what to do to jump your own car? What if you had a flat tire would you know how to change it? If your car over heated would you know where the coolant reservoirs were to add coolant or water to it? Do you carry an extra gallon or two of water or coolant for your car in your trunk or storage compartment in the back of your vehicle? Do you know how to check and add transmission fluid, power steering or when oil needs to be added and how to read the dip stick? Do you know where the air filter is to check it and change it? Do you know when an air filter needs to be changed? What to look for etc,?
Instead of paying someone to do all these things for you, you need to learn how to do these things for yourselves. You also need to make sure your husbands know how to do all of these things I know some men who don't even know what the difference is between an alternator belt and a fan belt, or even what a distributor cap is.
Not trying to sound like a know it all or biotch here but just telling you what works for me I am a single parent and I have made sure I know how to do basic maintainence on my car. When I need to take it in for an oil change then I can talk the talk with my mechanic and tell him what needs to be checked that I know of and I can not fix myself. I don't have a garage or even a driveway or tools. I do carry a tire iron though.
By the way gas here was 3.09 the last time I went for gas. I put 20.00 in every two weeks and it lasts me for a long time.
It's $2.98 here in the Norfolk, VA.
I don't have a car but the station a block from my house is 3.39 a gallon. I am so glad I don't have a car.
Gas is now $3.30 in Minnesota!
I just tallied up what we spent for the first half of this month and it was $90! :(
Now, it was a specially busy month, with multiple trips to the hospital, and midwife (never on the same day, of course!) and dh driving to work 5 days a week. But still, ouch!
Our big problem is that we are situated so that we cannot safely walk anywhere, not even around the block. Not to the grocery store, not to the park. :(
Here in the UK, the average price per litre is 96p ie almost $2 per litre which is just less than $8 a gallon.
We aim always to have vehicles with the smallest possible engine for the purpose e.g. we drive a Zafira with a 1.6 engine to carry 7 people.
Other tips are to combine trips, walk or cycle, and to go buy petrol on trips which go past the cheapest filling stations. We have reduced our mileage by over 2000miles per year over the last 18 months.
Sarah
Earlier this week, ours was at $3.10. It took $60.00 to fill the tank! I have grown accustomed to pumping my own gas, especially with my beloved being in Iraq. I've been trying to just stay home as much as possible to cut back on spending. Part of me thinks it would be grand to just have a horse and buggy!
~ Christina
I paid $2.95 for gas yesterday here in NH. It has been a hit to us but over the past year or so we have adjusted to it. I try to stay home more, and when I do go out I plan my trips to save money. I also stay off the highway, I find it saves money when I dont have to travel at higher speeds. We both have small economy cars that are pretty good on gas. I would love a van having 3 kids and all, but it is just not practical with the high gas prices!
About $3.49 here in Spokane, that's probably not the cheapest it could be found.
Lately, we have been trying to group our errands better and avoid taking multiple cars to the same place as much as possible (I know that sounds strange to some of you, but it happens more when the kids are older and have more responsibilities).
The other big thing I've taken up lately is I've traded shopping at the absolute cheapest place for stopping at the place on the way home more often.
Not only about gas prices!
It's 3.03 at the cheapest place here. The light just came on in our "extra" car... but since hubby now has a work vehicle, he asked me to not bother filling the tank until we get back from our memorial day weekend visit his grandma's. We figure that will cost as $400 in gas alone. Guess we'll be dipping into savings for that trip, but she is our last living grandparent, and misses her great grandchildren greatly.
I guess I'm a little late on commenting on this post, since I've seen a few other Canadians posting prices that are lower than they are now!!!! Yikes!
This weekend, we paid $1.30 per liter in Vancouver, BC, which is $5.20 a gallon! We have never, ever paid that much before!
It was actually a real stretch for us this past pay period to stay within our cash allotment for our gas budget. We bypassed a few non-essential trips out so that we could make it to payday without having to dip into our other money.
Our tips for conserving gas:
1) Drive less, and plan your trips (combining errands whenever possible)! This makes a huge difference!
2) Don't use the air conditioning
3) Keep your tire pressure up to where it should be
4) Use cruise control as much as possible and try to keep your accelerations to a minimum (aka no fast starts)
I must say, although I know the gas prices are pricey for the Americans, we Canadians envy them! There was a joke at church on Sunday that by filling up our tanks just once across the border that we could virtually pay for the cost of our church family conference being held in WA! Not quite, but it sure does feel cheaper! :)
Stephanie
My tips would be to buy more milk, bread , cereal, paper products and medicine than you think you'll need for 2 weeks, then freeze them up.
I typically combine my grocery shopping with our trips to church, so either Sunday afternoon or Wednesday late night we are at the market getting what we need. When my hubby isn't deployed, I email him a list and he picks it up at the commissary on the way home.
Gas is 3.21 here in NC and likely going up more. I ONLY go to church lately, it just isn't worth it. A little trip to the mountains last week cost us 140 in gas alone!
Paige
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