No Gas Purchased - Month of September..

Let the oil companies choke on their +$3/gallon gas.

Story: Listened to DU'ers who advised filling up your tank just when Katrina hit. I filled up my two cars at under $3/gallon on August 31st.

For this month, there have been no disretionary trips with my cars. I have a mall three blocks from my house that has a supermarket, Blockbuster, Target and Lowes. I make one trip there on the weekend, and pick up food, dvd rentals, anything needed at Target and Lowes.

I usually get my haircuts on weekends at another mall which is 15 miles away, but very close to my job. So I'll go after work instead, and save a 30 mile round trip.

Gas saving tip: Consolidate trips to supermarkets, Targets etc. Get everything at one time, don't make multiple trips to the same area.

It's Sept. 16th, and I still have 5/8 of a tank in both cars. They won't need refilling until October.

...twice a week. It's a 66 mile roundtrip, but I'm in good enough shape to do it, it saves me two-fifths of a tank of gas, it's good for the environment and it saves me the workout time I normally would do.

Time to follow the Oregon example and take our environment and energy needs into our own hands.

Wednesday was the first time I had to fill one of three cars in the family since before the prices topped $3.
I am not going to be able to keep that up as appointment generally increase this time of year and require more short trips around town.

I have learned to conserve gas though, my car has a trip computer on it that displays Miles/gal consumption on the fly. Where possible, I have been using cruise control, even on streets where speed limit is 35 and higher. Cruise will not operate below 35mph.
It is amazing the mileage you see when traveling 40mph on cruise.

It works. All it requires is a little organization and planning. An additional bonus is the savings on time and aggravation.




Cher

i filled both cars the week of the hurricane. i have had to put gas in the guzzler (18 mpg), but the little camry wagon just went below a half tank. i take this car for going into town. the big car is for work and car pooling.

i also do errands when i pick up my daughter in the afternoon. she is the only one in town, so i get groceries, gas and so on. i have had to get her every day but friday, so yesterday i just came home and stayed here.

For ten years I had a job requiring me to drive all over my state and put about 45,000 miles a year on my car. I had to fill my tank 3 times every two weeks. Thank goodness I don't have to do that anymore! It's only a 3 mile round trip now to doctor, dentist, grocery store, post office, bakery, dry cleaners, bank - all within a mile of each other. Two trips a week does it. I did make a 20 mile round trip to a nature preserve area to stock up on birdseed for the winter. But the discount there for Audobon members more than paid for the gas.
I am debating whether to drop my YMCA membership. It's 30 miles round trip from my house, and the gas costs are 4 times the membership fees per month.

We are within 2 miles of grocery, library, bank, fitness center (duh-I should have been walking there in the first place unless there was too much snow), Marcs (like target), pharmacy, so screw 'em I'm walking.....Its better for me anyways, and I've only had one close call with a stupid SUV who didn't realize pedestrians existed.

...the average American salary for the same years (adjusted for inflation) over these graphs. I think you know where I'm going on this.

bought 10 gallons (filled tank) at $2.53 a gal. and have at least another week's worth in that car. My other car has over 1/2 tank of gas that I bought at $1.99 a gal. (Think that was in early May)!

It's getting to be a game in this house. See how many days you can go without filling up.

and drive a couple hundred miles just to go fishing. The boat and truck have been sitting all summer. I have had it out only three times all summer, and only when I took someone with me to help pay for gas.

unbelievable.

We have cut down tremendously. We ride our bikes or walk. We have stopped going anywhere on weekends... just watch movies and play games.. just hang around the house. We prioritize trips and make the most of every time in the car.

I've been riding motorcycles since I was a kid and now I'm 50 and I ride everyday to work and back as long as there is now snow... I have a 400cc single cylinder dirt bike set up for the street. Cheap Insurance, cheap taxes/plates, easy to maintain and a hoot to ride.