A gasoline price success story

Posted at 8:42 AM on May 22, 2008 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)
Filed under: Energy

It's time to compare notes.

On the way home yesterday, I tried to calculate whether my plan of spending only $20 a week on gasoline is going to work. I think I can make it to Friday if I don't make any unnecessary trips, I get a tailwind, and I only drive downhill. We'll see.

When I got home, I fired up Quicken to find out whether all of my fretting about the price of gasoline has been a worthy endeavor. Has it -- at least as measured by the cost of gasoline I'm putting in my car -- been warranted?

Surprisingly, no!

Using Quicken's reports feature, I called up how much I spent in gasoline in 2007 from January 1 to May 22. $363.61. Then I ran the same report, but changed the dates to 2008. The result? $364.20. That's a 51-cents increase. And I haven't even started the whole bike-to-work-one-day-a-week thing yet.

How'd that happen? I've been focusing on increasing my miles per gallon (I drive 55, I brake and accelerate over a greater distance), and not really considering the effect of combining trips etc.

I know a lot of you use Quicken, too, to track your finances. Run the same report, please, and report back here on the net result of your changed -- or not -- driving habits.

Also, list some of the ways you've changed. One tip free: Don't fill up. Fill the tank only half full. Otherwise, you're wasting gasoline lugging around the weight of additional fuel you don't need unless you're on a long trip.

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Comments (2)

For most months the increase has only been $20. I have been working on my driving habits like referenced in your article and they make a BIG difference! Also, when I go to the pump I remember that the Germans are paying $8/gallon and the Brits near $10 - we have nothing to complain about! I support additional taxes on gas/oil, which would contribute to quicker positive changes. We had drastic changes during the 70's oil embargo and we need real changes now - something like they are doing in Israel w/ electric cars or Japan's gov't making a mandate to produce only hybrid, hydrogen powered vehicles by 2012!

Posted by Tim Lynch | May 22, 2008 10:33 AM

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found this on yahoo. 6 gas saving myths: http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/105077/6-Gas-Saving-Myths

Thought you might like to reference them.

Posted by brian hanf | May 22, 2008 10:49 AM

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