Higher Gas Prices – Does it Really Affect You?
Posted by Cap in Even More Ramblings |
photo credit: cindy47452
Oh man. Just what you’ve been waiting for, another post on gas prices on yet another stupid blog (to be fair, I don’t believe I’ve ever really griped about gas prices on this blog).
I’ll be honest and admit that I use to have a really smug attitude towards people who complain about gas price increase.
“If a couple cents of increase in prices can affect you that much financially, then gas is the least of your worries.” I’ll often thought to myself.
Yeah, I’m an ass.
Being that I’m a bit older and less of a moron now, I came to realized that despite the fact that other developed nation have higher fuel prices, relatively speaking, gas prices can still affect many people in the United States. After all, not everyone drives a 30+ mpg car like me, nor do they have a less than 5 miles per day commute.
Many people across the country have long commutes because they can’t afford housing closer to their job location, and for others, their main profession requires the use of gas in such a way that changes in price directly affects their income.
With gas prices averaging $3.87 as of this post, I am very fortunate that changes in prices affects me minimally. But of course, that’s not the case for many other people today.
Has the increase in gas prices affect your travel plans or your daily life? Do share.
Six Quick Gas Saving Tips:
- Take it easy.
Driving at a reasonable speed will conserve gas. As a rule of thumb, you can assume that each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.20 per gallon for gas. - Cruise Control.
Engaging cruise control on the highway for better fuel management. - Lighten Up.
Take everything out of the car that you don’t need so your engine doesn’t have to work as hard. If packing for a road trip, try to keep luggage inside the vehicle rather than strapping to roof where it creates wind resistance. - Stay in tune.
Keep up with regular maintenance. Simple things such as changing the engine air filter on a needed basis can improve gas mileage as much by 10%. - Pump them up.
Properly inflated tires play a big role in good fuel economy. Check the sticker at the driver side door or glove box for the proper inflation pressure. Besides affect fuel economy, under/over inflated tires can significantly affect ride handling, vehicle safety, AND add unnecessary wear to your tires, costing you more money in the future. - Cool it on the AC.
Use air conditioners conservatively. Most air conditioner have a “economy” or “recirculation” setting that reduces the amount of outside air that must be chilled.
Related Links & Resources:
- How To Save at the Pump: 62 Ways – Free eBook (440 KB PDF)
- Tips to improve your Gas Mileage – FuelEconomy.gov
- Brand Conscious Buying #3 – Gasoline
19 Comments to “Higher Gas Prices – Does it Really Affect You?”
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May 23rd, 2008 at 10:14 am
I am about to start grad school, and per the terms of my fellowship, I can’t take a weekend or evening part-time job as a waitress or what have you. That leaves me a very limited income to work with, and after budgeting in the daily cost of living, and the only “extra” money budgeted for emergency fund saving, I have about $45/month for gas. 11 gallons of gas per month, if gas prices stay the same. That’s not to mention the other CoL increases that come with higher gas prices, like groceries, stamps, etc.
If there were public transportation, I’d be set, but it’s a small city with bad PT. So, 11 gallons of gas per month for a daily commute to school and errands, and God forbid I have to make an emergency run to my parents’ house four hours away. My options are to *take out loans for gas*, or not go to grad school. I’m leaning towards the latter, so yes, gas prices are affecting me a lot.
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:49 am
It does affect our family. We recently ended up selling our 2nd car which has saved on insurance and gas. It’s less convenient but we’re managing.
Jerry
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:49 am
Yes! They effect me and my co-workers in a negative way! I work for a home hospice care organization where we are reimbursed the federal rate of .505 per mile. The vehicles are our own and when gas prices go up so high, we end up losing money on the deal. I get roughly 27-30MPG with my compact Chev. Malibu, but filling up used to cost me $15, then went up to $30, Now it’s up to $45 to fill my gas tank! I used to spend $30 a week in gas, now it’s more like $75!!! And for roughly the same mileage! It’s depressing.
Too bad I love what I do!
May 23rd, 2008 at 11:15 am
Even if you have a short commute, it still effects you. Higher transporting costs equal higher prices for store bought items. The gas prices have effected me directly because right now, my commute is 45 minutes. Fortunately, we’re buying a house close to my work. That’ll cut down on my gas needs, but won’t help on prices at the store. The sooner most of us are driving hyrbrids the better! I have hope that that’ll be achieved in the next ten years.
May 23rd, 2008 at 11:22 am
One more note…..these high gas prices have meant it’s harder for me to stop cursing! “@#%@! Saudi Arabian rich guys – how many more wives, golden toilets, and hotel oasises do you need?”
May 23rd, 2008 at 11:45 am
So far, the higher gas price hasn’t affected me much. By the look of all those people I see driving big SUV by themselves, I guess they are not being affected by the higher price also and there are many SUV drivers out there. So, I must say that the higher gas price hasn’t affected that many people.
Of course, there are some that are being affected by this.
Although, I must say that I am driving slower than before and that definitely saved me some gas.
May 23rd, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Wow, Barry, do you tell all filty-rich people how to spend their riches, or just the Saudis? An unexpected and uncalled for opinion, IMO.
May 23rd, 2008 at 5:04 pm
owning a service company, i have 5 trucks on the road… they average 12 mpg… they dont make an electric van that can haul 7000 lbs worth of parts and tools, whats a guy like me to do???????
raise prices? people really dont like that!!!
May 23rd, 2008 at 6:53 pm
Well said Cap!
I used to dismiss peoples ramblings about the rising price of gas as well!
I guess I was being naive or cold hearted, but the truth is there are folks who really are crushed when the price of gas fluctuates even a few cents per gallon.
Ironically, I am one of the “evil” ones who works for Chevron Texaco and even I find myself complaining about the high cost of gas.
Let me tell you, when 100 guys who make a living working on an oil rig (like me) and 90% of the idle conversations on the rig are about how ridiculous the price of gas is, you know that its hurting everyone else as well.
To be totally candid we were happy to see $50-60 bbl oil a few years ago because we thought that it would translate into more money for us (raises, bonuses, etc.) well that ended up not being the case and though we have received a few mediocore raises over the last couple years as demand for skilled oilfield workers has picked up, it certainly hasn’t kept up with the rising price of oil.
May 24th, 2008 at 4:06 am
Yeah, it affects us big time. My wife drives 20 miles round trip to work, I drive 30. We live 5 miles from the gas station and ten from a town that has food, hardware, etc. 50 miles from a metro area. My gas bill is over $500 a month and we drive conservatively and “multi-task” our trips to town.
I drive a huge PU, but we really need it for where we live (on acreage in the middle of the snow belt). I look at small cars for commuting, but they don’t give those away either.
May 24th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
Yes, gas has affected me in a big way. Being a single mom, working two part-time jobs and going to college I have to be very tight on my budget just to put a little away for an emergency fund. I drive a Malibu like the gal above. What use to take $20 to fill my tank now takes $45. This translated for me as a $100 to $150 per month taken from somewhere else in my budget. Now with the price of groceries going up as well I can’t afford to do needless running around, or put as much away for a rainy day.
May 24th, 2008 at 8:02 pm
I have a 16 mile commute and a car that gets 20 mpg. Yeah, it sucks. But mostly, I just find ways to drive less, even if it means spending the night sleeping on a friend’s couch on campus so that I don’t have to drive home just to sleep.
May 25th, 2008 at 4:12 am
Of course it does… I am one of those people you mentioned that couldn’t find affordable housing near work. So, I commute almost 50 miles one way. That’s almost 100 miles per day at about 24 mpg. It affects me, but, it’s not the only thing. Heating and cooling my home is the next big expense only after taxes (property, income, capital gains, etc.). After savings, there’s not much left for fun. So, we have fun once or twice per year (vacation), and save a little extra where we can.
May 25th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
The rising gas prices make me glad I only fill up my little Honda every five or six weeks. I walk or bike most places, but honestly I think I do it more for exercise and eco-friendliness than because of gas prices. I’m with all of the people who are noticing a pinch at the grocery store though – tough to get around that one. I have my little garden behind our house, but 20 square feet will only produce so much…
May 26th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
Five of my coworkers and I have been carpooling since we started the job, which really helps. I haven’t seen much of a change at all financially. Although, I would love to get rid of my car one day reguardless.
May 28th, 2008 at 9:28 am
Just before I retired about three years ago, gas was running about $2/gal give or take. I filled up my truck on $20 back then; now it usually takes $50! I drive alot less now but still feel the pinch. My wife and I use prepaid gas cards from Speedway. They knock off 5-cents/gal with the card, and you can avoid waiting in line to pay. Food prices have increased noticeably. We compensate some with our vegetable garden (but the price of plants are up too!). Don’t forget the added cost of mowing your lawn. Also, I love attending auto races. The car counts are way down at some tracks due to gas prices and the slumping economy. On the plus side, traffic conjestion is noticeably down.
May 30th, 2008 at 8:55 am
Indeed! I have always told people that we should consider ourselves to be lucky, and to go look at the gas prices in Europe.. however, now that gas is pinching my pocketbook a bit more than it used to, well, it’s a lot harder to just be grateful that gas is lower here.
Of course, I have no idea how to fix the problem. ;)
May 30th, 2008 at 9:03 am
I agree with Conrad. I don’t think too many people are being affected if there are still people riding in huge SUVs by themselves (which I see A LOT)
The rise of gas hasn’t affected my gas bill much since I drive a cavalier, but it has affected my spending overall, since everything is costing much more now. One of the reasons is the rise in gas costs.
My husband and I both drive fuel efficient paid-for cars, and we are almost debt free (we are following Dave Ramsey’s plan), so we are not struggling a bit.
We have not leveraged ourselves to the max and we are not in debt up to our eyeballs, thus if the cost of something goes up, we still have plenty of money to spare.
If we can learn to live debt free, we will not have to rely on the govt. to take care of us, and give us stimulus checks and tax free gas days.
May 30th, 2008 at 9:11 am
I also wanted to add, has anyone seen “The Death of the Electric Car”? Good movie, and it will make you so mad at the oil companies and big 3 car companies!
They are literally forcing us to buy gas guzzling cars so we will use lots of gas. (I know there’s so much technology out there to make our vehicles more gas efficient.)