Saving Money On Gas!

From: Natalie T.

Hey, gas prices here in the west are way, way up so I thought I would share how we are coping.

People complain (including me before I decided to take action) that it takes “so much money” to get gas and fill up the tank. Who says you have to get a full tank? Who says you can’t budget for it just like groceries? I’ve decided that we can only spend $40 every two weeks on gas for my minivan (coincides with my husband’s paycheck, I’m a SAHM), and my job is to make that gas last just like I make milk last by only giving “appropriate” serving sizes.

So to make that 12 or so gallons of gas last two weeks, I do as much as possible on one day with a well planned out route, and try to avoid driving for non-critical things. Grocery, pharmacy and grandparent visits are on the “go” list when they are together and well planned. Pizza and driving to pick one up is on the “no” list. (Not only did we not pay for a pizza, we also didn’t waste 1/3 gallon of gas to pick it up).

Once I applied the grocery principle to filling up the car, our vehicle gas expenses have been budgetable and predictable.

 

Jill’s Reply:

Thank you Natalie. We need to use this principle with everything we buy. Part of our problem has been that we have a generation who were given credit cards and loans freely but weren’t mature enough to use them wisely.

It was like taking a kid to a toy shop and saying, “Here, use this card and you can buy what you want. When it gets filled you can get another.” Can you imagine what a kid with free rein in a toy store would be like?

I was always taught to use what I had carefully. You didn’t make a trip to the store to buy one item. Even if you needed milk you made do without it because it saved on gas.

People just fill up their cars, buy homes, buy cars, clothes and TVs with out giving it too much thought. They consider gas a necessity, which it is for some, but like many necessities you have to control them and budget them, not just buy them without thinking because you can use a credit card.

Food is a necessity but that doesn’t mean you should spend it on gallons of the most expensive ice cream, chips, pop or, as you mentioned, pizza. You need to give yourself a certain amount of money to use for food. If you happen to have some left over, you can buy a treat. If you run out, you may have to find ways to make it stretch better.

Thanks for a really good tip!

 

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