Gasoline - Making Everything Cost More
I spent Saturday at a taekwondo tournament. I work at five tournaments a year, and luckily for me, many of them are pretty close to home. And even the furthest away is only a bit over two hours drive. This past weekend’s tournament was that one, where I got up, drove for a few hours, worked all day, competed, worked some more, and then drove a few hours home. A long and tiring day, but much fun too. I truly do love what I do, and I look forward to these tournaments, even though by the end of them I am ready to crawl into bed for a week.
What wasn’t so fun is that I realized that this tournament cost me about twice as much as it did last year. Now that I keep track of the cost of things I used to just deem unavoidable, and therefore ignore, I notice more the effect that rising prices have on my life. This tournament takes me just about a full tank of gas for my car, round trip. The night before I left, I spent approximately $50 to fill my gas tank. Last year, it was much closer to $25 for the same exercise. Tomorrow, I will most likely have to fill my gas tank again after the ~250 mile round trip I took Saturday. Realizing that made the real effect of inflation and rising prices and how much more we spend this year to do the same things we did last year really sink in. We don’t drive an exorbitant amount, but we do take a few trips a year by car, most notably the one to visit our families at Christmas. With gas prices what they are right now (and they’ll probably be more by December), we’ll spend at least $120 more on gas than we did last year for the same exact trip. Too bad that airplane tickets are being affected by the same fuel hikes and raising their prices, or maybe at some point it would become more cost effective to fly. But for now, four plane tickets are still much more expensive than the fuel costs for the car, even with the $4+/gallon costs.
What are rising fuel prices doing to your pocketbook? Have you reconsidered or changed plans recently because of the transportation costs? What are you considering to help alleviate the financial affects? I think I might have to rethink my “next car is a station wagon” idea, or at least put it off a while longer than I was planning…
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July 21st, 2008 at 8:27 am
I’ve been looking for a job closer to home, rather than driving 30 miles in each direction. It’s like paying $300/ month for the privilege of working in a relatively stressful environment. My husband and I used to drive to his grandmother’s house which was a two hour drive in order to fish on the river. However, now, we have to budget it in, which is becoming a difficult choice between reaching our monetary goals and enjoying our hobbies. We’ve compromised and spend time fishing near our home. Though, to be honest, we’ve spent most of our time as of late splitting and hauling wood for our woodstove. Because of fuel prices, we’re planning to use a woodstove as our only source of heat.
July 21st, 2008 at 9:15 am
So if you take into account inflation are we REALLY paying more? Or is it just more money but less value. My grandparents used to pay a penny for lollies when they were kids, now we pay $0.50 or $1. It sounds like a lot more money but it has the EXACT same value. So are we really pay more money?
But seriously what is wrong with gas prices these days! They are going through the roof. I am going to need to get a hybrid car (or walk more often)
July 21st, 2008 at 9:31 am
i love that my car gets nearly 50 mpg (a VW diesel from ‘04), but diesel’s about $1 more than regular (and about the same price for B100 - full biodiesel - when i can find a station to get it, so that’s awesome!). so, it still evens out to less than most of my friends pay for fuel, but a fill is killer. i’m finding that it’s much harder to justify going to out-of-town weddings or a one-night special occasion or even just fourth of july at the lake this year than it ever has been - with those things, the price of getting there used to be negligible, making things like hotel expenses the big determining factor. now i’m just thinking, “i can send a hell of a present for that… so i’m going to!” presents instead of presence, when it used to be the other way around.
July 21st, 2008 at 9:33 am
We have funds allocated for a vacation but decided to stay at home. We accomplished a lot. Totally cleaned out and painted the basement so it could be usable living space. Did a price book and watch it carefully so as not to spend to much on food and laundry items. I take surveys on line and send for freebies and with those freebies come coupons normally worth $1. off. We have spent some of the vacation money eating at a spot in town that we really enjoy and costs more than we normally pay. I replaced things that needed to be replaced. Like new drinking glasses and measuring cups for the kitchen and a new curling iron for myself. Today chicken breasts are on sale at the grocery not far from me so I will by quite a few and freeze them. Also, making a few freezer meals with the chicken to have when I go back to work.
July 21st, 2008 at 9:43 am
I transfered to a different department in the same company that also came with a move to a building closer to my house. While I do enjoy my new job better, the pay is the same, and if it had been in the same building I don’t know if I would have applied for it.
July 21st, 2008 at 9:47 am
I plan my “errand route” very carefully and try to make a circle with no backtracking. I don’t run out anymore just to get something and I really try to have at least one non driving day a week. I also look for the cheapest gas station in my area to fill up. Also, no day trips for fun for us now. And I gave up my Mystery Shopping jobs as the pay isn’t worth the cost of gas to get to the stores.
July 21st, 2008 at 10:29 am
I’ve noticed a line at the cheap gas station. I’ve filled up there for years since it’s one of the lowest prices around (that takes credit cards — the other low one is cash only or 50 cents for ATM/debit!) and recently I’ve had to wait to fill up every time I go there.
I know people who used to fill up at a certain gas station due to incentives, but I don’t think anybody really does that anymore. Now people just go for the cheapest price.
I’m getting my bike tuned up so I can go for short bike rides to the gym and the closest grocery store instead of driving. I read a newspaper article recently that says bike stores are doing huge business on tuneups like the one I’m getting.
-Erica
July 21st, 2008 at 11:01 am
@Ryan - since my gas price has about doubled in the past 12-18 months, well, that has to be more than inflation - unless inflation has become 100% a year.
Which would frighten me.
July 21st, 2008 at 11:24 am
The last conversation I had with someone about gas prices involved me picking my jaw up off of the floor. I had said that it probably cost me less to fill up both of my cars than it did for this other girl to fill up her one, and it turned out I spend less than half on both of mine than she does on her one! (My Miata and S2000 vs. a Suburban, I think.) That was a crazy thought, and that’s even considering that the S2000 will only take premium and that my husband and I only use Shell. (Better gas = happier engine = longer life. I’m willing to pay a premium for that.)
Even so, I’m not looking forward to driving to and from school every day starting in August… That’s just about going to kill any of the money I make from my part time job.
July 21st, 2008 at 12:05 pm
Adaptation, baby.
We still pay far less for gasoline than most other countries… so I suspect we’re not seeing the top yet.
Might be a good time to buy a bike… and save the car for trips over 20 miles (or more).
July 21st, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Well, I can go almost 400 miles on one tank of gas and it’s closer to $40 for me to fill up so I can’t really say it has had any effect on me at all. I happen to live in Tucson, AZ which was noted as having the lowest gas prices in the country last week so maybe that helps.
I can see how it would be a bit more painful given your mileage and fuel cost numbers. I guess there is nothing you can do but try to cut some corners in some other parts of your budget.
July 21st, 2008 at 12:21 pm
PaidTwice, we have observed a similar phenomena in a sport we still follow though our kids no longer participate: gymnastics. It’s always been a very expensive sport, particularly if you choose to compete, what with leos, extra coaching, traveling all over our [big] state for meets, hosting your own, so forth. What we’ve seen are less meets, gyms competing only in those closer to them, and less kids on the rolls at the mid-high levels (when it starts getting really expensive, yet many can still do the “tricks”). To us, these are indicators of not only higher fuel prices, making traveling really tough, but also families unable or unwilling to come up with the cash for their kids to even participate. I’d be curious if enrollment at your Dojo has dropped at all……
AS far as our own traveling, over the last 8 months we’ve probably cut our fuel usage in half or better. I’m also heeding Al Gore’s (and others) warning and looking towards switching more and more to electricity which we generate ourselves. If we need another car, our next would be a plug-in.
BTW, some very cool friends use http://www.citycarshare.org/. That, and similar programs, are a great alternative to car ownership.
July 21st, 2008 at 1:02 pm
I’ve noticed the increased cost as well in my monthly endeavors, the worst part is that my income hasn’t increase accordingly and that extra money has to come from somewhere in the budget.
July 21st, 2008 at 2:08 pm
Three items are really hurting my family: food, gas and heating oil. These three items are really hitting my family hard and I bet hitting everyone hard. I sure wish that we would drill, build nuclear power plants and encourage alternative energy. We need to do all three.
July 21st, 2008 at 3:24 pm
I cancelled a trip to see my younger brother a few weeks ago because of the price of gas. I only live 15 miles from work but between work and errand-running I’m filling up every five days or so. That’s currently costing me $80-90/week and between that and groceries, we’re hurting right now too. It’s sad because my brother only lives about 100 miles away but we haven’t seen each other since Christmas…
July 21st, 2008 at 6:07 pm
I used to consider plane flights between major cities on the east coast an extravagance. Now, flying is the more cost-effective way to get from Boston to DC, etc. I often catch myself looking at it as though flying has gotten less expensive, but the reality is that everything has simply gotten more expensive. Definitely makes me think twice about visiting friends who live out of state.
July 21st, 2008 at 6:18 pm
Luckily, I’m not affected too much by the rising gas prices. I drive a company vehicle during the week and I use my personal vehicle only on the weekend. I usually fill up my personal car once a month.
July 21st, 2008 at 6:19 pm
No, the price of gas has not affected my transportation yet, and I haven’t changed nor postponed any trips. That being said, I don’t drive much, so I’m not affected like some people.
My commute to work is only 20 miles a week. I live in a small town and everything is within a mile. About once a month I drive 160 miles to see out of town grandkids, and that’s not going to change
What the price of gas has affected tho in my life is the cost of groceries here at the edge of the world… or so it seems. So I am taking out more and more of my lawn (city lot) and adding more and more veggie/fruit raised beds, and putting in about 90% edible landscaping. My landscaping beams, dirt, and manure, have all been free to me. It’s just a matter of shoveling a lot - so I have an good exercise program going here also! I want to product about 90% of my fruit/veggie/potato needs - at least that’s my goal. (Some stuff just won’t grow in this soggy soggy place short on sunshine) (But nice and cool in the summer - so no complaints!)
July 21st, 2008 at 11:41 pm
Not at all. I don’t own a car and bike just about everywhere within the city where I live. I even have a bike trailer for the grocery store. This allows me to be able to afford to use my Zipcar membership whenever I want, not to mention being able to pay off my consumer debt fairly quickly.
July 21st, 2008 at 11:53 pm
I drive a huge gas hog - GMC Yukon XL. I haven’t driven it for weeks. I’ve been taking the bike. I put some huge baskets on the front and back. Everywhere I go I feel like the Wicked Witch from the West. It’s amazing how many items I can fit in the baskets.
July 22nd, 2008 at 1:39 am
Great post, What gets me is the tax placed on fuel, namely for reasons inferred but not directly stated. I will go back to basics to explain … If you want to help somebody in the jungle who is making things with his hands (human power) give him some modern power tools, and you will see his productivity go up to the efforts of ten men. In short the industrial revolution used fuel instead of human or animal power to provide everybody a higher standard of living.
As you point out the price of gasoline is causing transportation costs to go up - and every item that needs to be transported. It even costs more to get to a job.
The recent ideas floated around congress to increase tax on fuel is economic suicide. If the blockage of freemarket to get oil out of the ground in the US was not bad enough.
July 22nd, 2008 at 8:50 am
i’m at home with the kids this summer and luckily most of the places we go are within a 5-mile radius. some days we don’t drive anywhere at all.
we did have to make a 1000-mile (one way) trip to my brother’s wedding last month. and even though gas is expensive, we couldn’t not go. so we tried to save money on other aspects (packing lots of snacks, staying with relatives). in the end we didn’t spend as much as we thought and had a great time with the family. since my husband and i were both committed to not spending i think it worked well.
July 23rd, 2008 at 11:35 am
Yes, the cost of gas has impacted me in a couple of direct ways. I belong to several crafting groups that meet outside of town (20 to 60 miles away). I no longer attend these groups, which has really had a negative impact on my social life in general.
I’m trying to stay in touch with all my friends from these groups via email and blogs, but it’s not the same as being able to see their projects in person and just sit and knit or stitch or scrapbook together.
My commute is about 12 miles one way - and no bike paths, so that’s out. And the closest grocery store and the only one in biking/walking distance is just a little tienda and doesn’t carry a lot of fresh produce. So I’ve changed from going to the Whole Foods store on the “rich” side of town to the Dillons that is on my way home from work as a compromise.