In case you haven’t already heard on the news, the website GasBuddy.com is predicting a $.05-$.20 cent rise in gasoline costs by this weekend across the US. They cite a refinery fire in Washington state and the trouble with Iraq as causes for the projected increase.
I admit it–I’m not a particularly political animal (I leave that up to Yankee Bill) but I do have my opinions on how we’ve gotten where we are and what could have been done differently. I’m not going to go into that here because the fact is we ARE here-and we can’t go back in time and change how we got here.
I’m not saying that you shouldn’t pay attention to politics or vote your conscience in the elections–rather I’m saying that Frugal Upstate isn’t about those issues-it’s about taking action NOW. In your own life.
We as families, people, home managers, individuals–regardless of how we got here–have to DEAL with the situation the best we can. Since we can’t force them to lower the price of gas we really have only two choices that I can see:
1. We can save money elsewhere to have more money to spend on gas-which is pretty much the entire topic of Frugal Upstate!
-or-
2. We can change our habits to use less gas.
I wrote a couple of weeks ago about 6 ways to save money by using less gas. A lot of those techniques like carpooling and using alternate transportation are a a pain.
You have to plan more.
You have to coordinate with other folks.
You have to take more time to get where you are going and back.
You probably will be inconvenienced.
We are a society that has been used to total independence-we just hop into our cars and go wherever we need to, on our own schedule, without having to consider others much at all. Because of that we can cram a lot of things into a single day-because the only schedule we have to consider is our own. That’s not something we are going to give up as a nation easily-but as the price goes up more and more that inconvenience will seem less and less.
I think each individual has a tipping point-a number at which the money saved is worth more than the inconvenience. I know that mine is different depending on the weather. I admit to still driving the block to go pick the kids up from after school care when it’s pouring rain or freezing out just because I don’t want to walk in the weather.
But my tipping point is coming soon-there will be a point where that little jaunt around the block won’t happen any more.
What about you? Have you reached a tipping point? What are you willing or able to do to change your lifestyle as the prices increase?
The kids and I (homeschoolers) used to go out every single day – somewhere, anywhere, just to get out. But last fall I decided to park the van. That’s what I call it, parking the van. That things leaves our driveway only when I *have* to go somewhere. We were spending $500-600 a month on gasoline – my husband has a long commute to work and can’t cut that out, so it fell to me to shoulder the responsibility of lowering our gas bill. I was glad to do it, I love a money challenge. The other thing I did was this: I used to always fill my tank – but no more. I’ll put $20 in it and play the game of seeing how long I can make it last. It can last a long time if you don’t drive 🙂 Thanks for keeping me inspired and encouraged. Hugs ~ Mary
Three huge things that we have done to help with our gas bills:
1 – After I had my baby, I was doing a small part time work at home job for some extra money to put in our savings account. Well, to do this, we had to shuffle the baby up to my mother in law’s 3x per week for 5 hours a time. That was 30 miles round trip 3x per week. After crunching the numbers of what I made, how many hours I worked and how much we were really netting – counting in my stress levels, not coping well, not wanting to cook and do my other frugal activities since I was working, I decided not to work anymore. We’re lucky that is an option for us, I know that, but that decision alone is saving us money.
2 – I consolidate my trips. Wednesday is my shopping day. My mother in law has my baby for the whole day and all week I plan my shop day. I have a notebook that is my best friend – it contains my to do lists, menu plans for the week, shopping lists and chore lists. I keep jotting things down all week, then Wed morning (that’s when grocery fliers are posted here in NC) I get up early, double-check the sales for the week for any changes to my menu and then number my to do list – that means I put all my stops in order, depending on location. That way I make a huge loop, get everything done and don’t have to double back anywhere.
3 – We also changed our driving habits – I guess we’re hypermilers now! LOL I finally practice some patience when driving and my gas mileage has really gone up. I can’t believe the difference it makes, when I have good driving habits!
I struggle with this area. We live in a rural area, so the nearest store of any kind is a 20-minute drive. We have no public transportation, and walking 15 miles just isn’t an option.
I used to drive my son to preschool three times a week, so I figured once he was in all-day kindergarten and would take a bus to school, I could leave my house once a week. Wrong.
An unusual series of injuries and illnesses in the last few months translated to so much time in the car: 30 minutes one way to the doctor’s office, 45 minutes one way a day or two later for the tests he ordered, 30 minutes one way a day or two later for the prescription or therapy ordered after seeing tests results. You get the picture.
Fortunately the health concerns were minor and not long-lasting, but it still seems I’m out of the house way more than I want to be.
Here in CA, we have a culture of long commutes. Some people who work in Silicon Valley live three hours’ commute away or more! And gas in the city is about $0.25-0.50 more expensive than in the Central Valley. When we moved out of Silicon Valley, gas expenditures were part of the consideration. Lengthening the commute (my husband was self-employed, but frequently had meetings in San Jose) actually saved us money because of the difference in cost/gallon.
The change in home also allowed us to change our habits. It became possible for us to be single-income and single-vehicle. He was gradually able to change how he worked, too. No one where we live now expects you to drive 150 miles at the drop of a hat, and there’s NO commuter traffic, which is a huge gas guzzler.
When that’s combined with an overall lower cost of living, our living expenses were cut by two thirds! And that’s without going to NV, where gas drops another $0.20 due to fewer taxes on it.
It’s an extreme thing, but if you are thinking about moving, consider how it will affect your gas consumption and gas prices. Sometimes choosing a longer commute can lower enough costs that you’ll come out ahead. And sometimes moving to a less economically vibrant area can open up lots of opportunities.