I hate paying for gas

Xan921 · May 2011

As I am sure most of us do. Now with my job being further away, I am spending $13.75 a day on gas which is $68.75 per 5 day work week. This doesn't even count any extra driving I do after work or on the weekends. I'm pretty sure I'm going to start making Jason drive everywhere on the weekends now (he typically prefers to drive anyway) since he is still working close to home and not getting screwed like I am via gas stations. I'll now be spending $300 a month just on gas...I'm going to have to write a goodbye letter to my savings account because I don't think I'll be able to give it any financial support anymore Tongue Tied

So how much do you spend on average a week for gas?

becca474 · May 2011

I hear you. DH used to drive from south NJ to north NJ, close to 50 miles each way/100 miles round trip to work. He had to gas up once a week, it was horrible. Have you looked into opening a credit card with a gas station? I know he had a shell credit card that would give him $$ off if he used it to gas up.

Also he had to get oil changes literally like once a month because of all the mileage but he always found coupons for them online to help save some money.

Hang in there!

MC22 · May 2011

Ugh! That sucks. My commute to my office is about 45 minutes each way, so I burn quite a bit of gas when I go in.

Fortunately, I am able to work from home two to three days a week, and I am in the process of changing to full teleworker status, so I won't have to drive in anymore at all, unless there is a big meeting I need to attend in person.

But $75 to fill up a sedan is beyond ridiculous! Not to mention that it's a sedan that gets 19 mpg on average, which I think is far too low, considering my husband's truck gets 15 (if I'm remembering right). Oh, and I don't even put premium gas like I'm supposed to...I put mid-grade to save 15 cents a gallon.

christieep · May 2011

I feel your pain! I drive 52 miles to work and 52 miles home each day. I have to fill up 1.5 times a week (or three times in a two week period) and that is if we don't drive my car anywhere else. Everyone always asks me how I can stand the long drive....I can handle that no problem. My bank account is having trouble dealing with $60 fill ups.

When DH and I were combining bank accounts I budgeted $300 for gas a month and I thought even then I was giving myself a pretty good cushion for overages. Now I spend about $360 a month. We just did these budgets in December and it is outrageous that I could not have predicted how off I was going to be.

I cannot wait until June 1 when I don't have to drive to work each day for three months and I will only have to fill up once every two weeks. My bank account is going to be very happy. Yay for summers off!

hz80408 · May 2011

Wow! Eek! How awful!

I take the train to work so I have a monthly public transit pass. It's $86 unlimited, but my company has a program that I can buy it pre-taxes, so really it's like a pay $62/mo for.

We have a station wagon and with gas here right now (last time we got it it was $4.59/gal), its about $95 to fill up. Luckily, we drive so rarely that we have only been filling up when we've been going to our hometown, so maybe every 6-8wks and gas is much cheaper there.

nfp147 · May 2011

We drive about 50 kms (31 miles) round trip to work and use about $300/month. It sucks.

Patineuse1124 · May 2011

I guess I'm kind of a b**** on this issue, but if you drive an SUV or other inefficient vehicle, I don't feel bad for you having to pay at the pumps. Only a small percentage of people that drive SUVs and trucks actually need them (e.g., have to haul things often, have a disability, live in a remote unpaved road area, etc). As somebody who has been in a car accident where the other vehicle was an SUV and it rolled over, I tend to laugh when people say they have to have an SUV because it's safer. It's a preference, not a necessity. DH and I both drive Saturns (his is a hybrid) and both get over 30/gal. We also walk and bike many places. When I lived in MI, on average I only put 10 or less miles a week on my car (unless I drove to NY to visit family) because I walked 2 miles round trip to school/office. We also pick our housing location because we like to be able to walk and bike places for both health and environmental reasons (I realize not everybody can live in the most ideal location). The high gas prices just add a financial incentive to behavior decisions we would have likely made anyways. I'm actually hoping that the higher gas prices lead others to make similar choices and that there will be additional mass transit options and more bike lanes and sidewalks in the future.

christieep · May 2011

Patineuse1124:
The high gas prices just add a financial incentive to behavior decisions we would have likely made anyways. I'm actually hoping that the higher gas prices lead others to make similar choices and that there will be additional mass transit options and more bike lanes and sidewalks in the future.

I would FREAKING love to take a train to work every day or walk to the grocery store, unfortunately unless you live in a bigger city this is not an option. Even if high gas prices did push places to look into mass transit options like laying more train tracks these things probably wouldn't be in place until I am eligible to retire. I kind of sucks to not live in a big city because you really are optionless when it comes to mass transit.

I have made a choice to drive a fuel efficient car however and DH and I take my car whenever possible b/c he has an SUV.

ETA: I've done the math, unfortunately if I took a job closer to home, I would take a pay cut large enough that the gas savings wouldn't matter.

Dyork · May 2011

My job is 5 mi from my house, so I drive 50mi a week....I get gas every other week. It's amazing. Dave on the other hand has a 30mi commute (one way) to work when he's in office. But he travels out to RI, LI, NH, VT and NY a lot. It's nice when he gets to take the company truck, but otherwise it sucks to have him rack up the miles on his car.

Mia2700 · May 2011

I wish we had public transportation around here. I'd much rather do that!

Gas is about $3.75/g right now, and I drive around 40 miles one-way so I have to fill up every 4 days at around $65. It's so annoying. I have a CUV for the space and safety. We usually take my car on the weekends too so I feel like I'm always at the pump!

Mike drives about 80 miles one-way but thankfully he telecommutes 2 days so he only has to fill up once a week and his car is about $50 to fill right now. He chose a hybrid to save on gas.

Gas is so annoying. I don't care how "green" you try to be with your choice of vehicle, you still have to pay too much money because gas prices are just ridiculous.

Xan921 · May 2011

Patineuse1124:
I guess I'm kind of a b**** on this issue, but if you drive an SUV or other inefficient vehicle, I don't feel bad for you having to pay at the pumps. Only a small percentage of people that drive SUVs and trucks actually need them (e.g., have to haul things often, have a disability, live in a remote unpaved road area, etc). As somebody who has been in a car accident where the other vehicle was an SUV and it rolled over, I tend to laugh when people say they have to have an SUV because it's safer. It's a preference, not a necessity. DH and I both drive Saturns (his is a hybrid) and both get over 30/gal. We also walk and bike many places. When I lived in MI, on average I only put 10 or less miles a week on my car (unless I drove to NY to visit family) because I walked 2 miles round trip to school/office. We also pick our housing location because we like to be able to walk and bike places for both health and environmental reasons (I realize not everybody can live in the most ideal location). The high gas prices just add a financial incentive to behavior decisions we would have likely made anyways. I'm actually hoping that the higher gas prices lead others to make similar choices and that there will be additional mass transit options and more bike lanes and sidewalks in the future.

You are right, you are kind of b*tchy on this issue. Everyone is entitled to their opinion of course though so it is what it is, but with that being said...I drive a small SUV, a Ford Escape, and no I don't haul stuff or have a disability; however, around where I live there are a lot of mountains and my poor little first car, a Ford Escort 4cyl, died because it had to struggle so much going up the hills to and from college. Unless I floored it, which was horrible for the car, it would barely go 40mph up a hill on the highway. My second car, a newer Honda Civic 4cyl, was the same exact way. It's a matter of safety to have a larger 6cly vehicle considering all of the tractor trailors that are cruising on the highways around here. If one of those things were to have hit my little cars because I couldn't make it up the hill fast enough, I would have been crushed in a matter of seconds. Where I currently work is 30 miles northwest of my home, smack dab in the mountains, where there is no public transit at all. I don't have the option to take a train/bus/subway to work. I also pick where I live based on where my family and friends live, not based on how I can get from one place to another. To me, personally, it's way more important to me to be closer to the ones I love than to be 'green'. I get what you are saying, that if you want a larger vehicle you shouldn't complain about paying for the gas, but I know plenty of people who drive smaller vehicles who are also really hurting when it comes to the gas situation.

becca474 · May 2011

Xan921:
Patineuse1124:
I guess I'm kind of a b**** on this issue, but if you drive an SUV or other inefficient vehicle, I don't feel bad for you having to pay at the pumps. Only a small percentage of people that drive SUVs and trucks actually need them (e.g., have to haul things often, have a disability, live in a remote unpaved road area, etc). As somebody who has been in a car accident where the other vehicle was an SUV and it rolled over, I tend to laugh when people say they have to have an SUV because it's safer. It's a preference, not a necessity. DH and I both drive Saturns (his is a hybrid) and both get over 30/gal. We also walk and bike many places. When I lived in MI, on average I only put 10 or less miles a week on my car (unless I drove to NY to visit family) because I walked 2 miles round trip to school/office. We also pick our housing location because we like to be able to walk and bike places for both health and environmental reasons (I realize not everybody can live in the most ideal location). The high gas prices just add a financial incentive to behavior decisions we would have likely made anyways. I'm actually hoping that the higher gas prices lead others to make similar choices and that there will be additional mass transit options and more bike lanes and sidewalks in the future.

You are right, you are kind of b*tchy on this issue. Everyone is entitled to their opinion of course though so it is what it is, but with that being said...I drive a small SUV, a Ford Escape, and no I don't haul stuff or have a disability; however, around where I live there are a lot of mountains and my poor little first car, a Ford Escort 4cyl, died because it had to struggle so much going up the hills to and from college. Unless I floored it, which was horrible for the car, it would barely go 40mph up a hill on the highway. My second car, a newer Honda Civic 4cyl, was the same exact way. It's a matter of safety to have a larger 6cly vehicle considering all of the tractor trailors that are cruising on the highways around here. If one of those things were to have hit my little cars because I couldn't make it up the hill fast enough, I would have been crushed in a matter of seconds. Where I currently work is 30 miles northwest of my home, smack dab in the mountains, where there is no public transit at all. I don't have the option to take a train/bus/subway to work. I also pick where I live based on where my family and friends live, not based on how I can get from one place to another. To me, personally, it's way more important to me to be closer to the ones I love than to be 'green'. I get what you are saying, that if you want a larger vehicle you shouldn't complain about paying for the gas, but I know plenty of people who drive smaller vehicles who are also really hurting when it comes to the gas situation.

Well said Xan. I used to live near a city but I hated my life. My quality of life has gone up SO much because I live near my family in the middle of no where. Unfortunately that means I can't take public transportation to save gas. But I'd rather have a better quality of life and live where I want to live.

As far as the SUV comment, some people just need the extra space. Who am I to judge? If I didn't have my Rav4 we would have had so many issues space wise with traveling back to my hometown for the wedding since I have 2 cats that take up the back seat in their carriers. The same thing happened when my parents, brother, DH and I went out of town. We had all of our luggage plus 5 people. A sedan just wouldn't have worked. I think it's a little ridiculous to assume that only small amount of people who own SUVs need them.

Dyork · May 2011

Patineuse1124:
I guess I'm kind of a b**** on this issue, but if you drive an SUV or other inefficient vehicle, I don't feel bad for you having to pay at the pumps. Only a small percentage of people that drive SUVs and trucks actually need them

I can honestly say I used to think the SAME thing. But now that my life has changed I've realized how thankful I am that DH has an SUV. It BLOWS in the winter trying to drive around in my little 2 door honda civic (which trucks along) but doesn't handle the snow or ice like DH's Rav4.

There would also be no way in hell I'd be able to have my 60lb dog, iguana, and husband crammed into my car for a nice ride down to visit our families for the weekend. Or when we buy large objects like yard tools and supplies...I can't just pop my back seats out to fit it all in there.

Even though hybrids can save you on gas money, they're not necessarily more environmentally friendly.

"Gas - electric hybrid engines use several large batteries. Creating these power cells requires a couple of hundred pounds of heavy metals-- not to mention the copper used in the large electric drive motors and the heavy wires they require. Mining and smelting lead, copper and other heavy metals is an energy intensive process that generates both air pollution and deforestation. Disposing of the batteries when they outlive their usefulness also raises environmental challenges." - http://www.motorists.org/ma/1100027274.html

I do hope that in the future they come up with a cleaner, cheaper, safer way to run vehicles. But as of right now, my next car is going to be a Honda CRV.

Xan921 · May 2011

Dyork:

Patineuse1124:
I guess I'm kind of a b**** on this issue, but if you drive an SUV or other inefficient vehicle, I don't feel bad for you having to pay at the pumps. Only a small percentage of people that drive SUVs and trucks actually need them

I can honestly say I used to think the SAME thing. But now that my life has changed I've realized how thankful I am that DH has an SUV. It BLOWS in the winter trying to drive around in my little 2 door honda civic (which trucks along) but doesn't handle the snow or ice like DH's Rav4.

There would also be no way in hell I'd be able to have my 60lb dog, iguana, and husband crammed into my car for a nice ride down to visit our families for the weekend. Or when we buy large objects like yard tools and supplies...I can't just pop my back seats out to fit it all in there.

Even though hybrids can save you on gas money, they're not necessarily more environmentally friendly.

"Gas - electric hybrid engines use several large batteries. Creating these power cells requires a couple of hundred pounds of heavy metals-- not to mention the copper used in the large electric drive motors and the heavy wires they require. Mining and smelting lead, copper and other heavy metals is an energy intensive process that generates both air pollution and deforestation. Disposing of the batteries when they outlive their usefulness also raises environmental challenges." - http://www.motorists.org/ma/1100027274.html

I do hope that in the future they come up with a cleaner, cheaper, safer way to run vehicles. But as of right now, my next car is going to be a Honda CRV.

Before I bought my Ford Escape I really wanted a Honda CRV, like my mind was dead set on getting one. I actually test drove one and really liked it, but then I had Jason test drive it because he can feel/tell if something is wrong more so than I can (this was a used car) and the poor guy could barely fit. His head was touching the ceiling and his knees were up around the wheel. He's also 6ft 3 and a bit larger than the average fella, but I knew I didn't want to buy a car that he wasn't comfortable driving too. I was surprised that the inside wasn't much bigger than my civic's inside, but this was also the older version (the kind with the wheel on the back), the newer models look bigger. If it were just me though or if he fit better, I would have totally bought a CRV....stupid tall husband lol jk Stick out tongue

Patineuse1124 · May 2011

becca474:
Xan921:
Patineuse1124:
I guess I'm kind of a b**** on this issue, but if you drive an SUV or other inefficient vehicle, I don't feel bad for you having to pay at the pumps. Only a small percentage of people that drive SUVs and trucks actually need them (e.g., have to haul things often, have a disability, live in a remote unpaved road area, etc). As somebody who has been in a car accident where the other vehicle was an SUV and it rolled over, I tend to laugh when people say they have to have an SUV because it's safer. It's a preference, not a necessity. DH and I both drive Saturns (his is a hybrid) and both get over 30/gal. We also walk and bike many places. When I lived in MI, on average I only put 10 or less miles a week on my car (unless I drove to NY to visit family) because I walked 2 miles round trip to school/office. We also pick our housing location because we like to be able to walk and bike places for both health and environmental reasons (I realize not everybody can live in the most ideal location). The high gas prices just add a financial incentive to behavior decisions we would have likely made anyways. I'm actually hoping that the higher gas prices lead others to make similar choices and that there will be additional mass transit options and more bike lanes and sidewalks in the future.
You are right, you are kind of b*tchy on this issue. Everyone is entitled to their opinion of course though so it is what it is, but with that being said...I drive a small SUV, a Ford Escape, and no I don't haul stuff or have a disability; however, around where I live there are a lot of mountains and my poor little first car, a Ford Escort 4cyl, died because it had to struggle so much going up the hills to and from college. Unless I floored it, which was horrible for the car, it would barely go 40mph up a hill on the highway. My second car, a newer Honda Civic 4cyl, was the same exact way. It's a matter of safety to have a larger 6cly vehicle considering all of the tractor trailors that are cruising on the highways around here. If one of those things were to have hit my little cars because I couldn't make it up the hill fast enough, I would have been crushed in a matter of seconds. Where I currently work is 30 miles northwest of my home, smack dab in the mountains, where there is no public transit at all. I don't have the option to take a train/bus/subway to work. I also pick where I live based on where my family and friends live, not based on how I can get from one place to another. To me, personally, it's way more important to me to be closer to the ones I love than to be 'green'. I get what you are saying, that if you want a larger vehicle you shouldn't complain about paying for the gas, but I know plenty of people who drive smaller vehicles who are also really hurting when it comes to the gas situation.

Well said Xan. I used to live near a city but I hated my life. My quality of life has gone up SO much because I live near my family in the middle of no where. Unfortunately that means I can't take public transportation to save gas. But I'd rather have a better quality of life and live where I want to live.
As far as the SUV comment, some people just need the extra space. Who am I to judge? If I didn't have my Rav4 we would have had so many issues space wise with traveling back to my hometown for the wedding since I have 2 cats that take up the back seat in their carriers. The same thing happened when my parents, brother, DH and I went out of town. We had all of our luggage plus 5 people. A sedan just wouldn't have worked. I think it's a little ridiculous to assume that only small amount of people who own SUVs need them.

We chose to live near our families too, which is why we moved back to Buffalo. We are 3 miles from my parents (biking distance and they are retired and will be helping with childcare in the future) and 17 miles from DH's. If family didn't matter to us we would live in a big city that had good mass transit and probably wouldn't even own a car. In MI we paid a lot more for our apartment to have such a great location where we could walk places, but I didn't complain about the rent as that was our choice to be close to downtown and campus (it was a luxury/want we chose, and not a necessity). When looking for a house here we were very picky about location so we could be close to things that mattered to us (good schools, family, work, stores & entertainment). We could have gotten an even better value on a house but would have paid the price in additional travel time and associated costs (including opportunity costs).

And while for many people it is convenient to have an SUV for the additional space that is still not a necessity IMO, it is a luxury and comes with the additional cost of higher gas prices. Some how millions of people manage to get by with regular sized cars. I like extra legroom and space just as much as the next person but I realize it's a luxury and not a necessity. And frankly I judge because your gas guzzler is bad for the environment and drives up the gas prices (and most other prices like groceries) which does impact me. So my flame-worthy opinion is that if you choose the luxury of an SUV then you should not complain about the gas prices.

As I noted in my original post I know not everybody has the flexibility in location, so if you are struggling with gas prices (which we feel in our grocery bills as well) and have done everything you can to help the situation I'll send good vibes your way that things get better soon, because I actually am a nice person, I just have a strong opinion about the gas price issue :-)

alecat9 · May 2011

Dyork, I was looking for that same quote!

BTW, I love my Honda CR-V. Its 13 yrs old and has over 201,000 miles on it and gets ~25 mi/gal and its great. Our 3 pups fit in it really well and I am going to be a sad panda when it finally dies. I wish we would be able to afford another Honda but it looks like we are going to go for the Jeep Compass or Escape (once we get DH's car paid off or mine dies, whichever comes first).

Patineuse1124 · May 2011

Dyork:
Patineuse1124:
I guess I'm kind of a b**** on this issue, but if you drive an SUV or other inefficient vehicle, I don't feel bad for you having to pay at the pumps. Only a small percentage of people that drive SUVs and trucks actually need them

I can honestly say I used to think the SAME thing. But now that my life has changed I've realized how thankful I am that DH has an SUV. It BLOWS in the winter trying to drive around in my little 2 door honda civic (which trucks along) but doesn't handle the snow or ice like DH's Rav4.

I live in Buffalo, so I know all about the joys of driving in snow. Yes, an SUV "may" drive better in the snow, but I still say it is a luxury not a necessity (I say "may" because I tend to see more SUVs in ditches during the winter since they tend to think they are invincible). Your Honda (or my Saturn) still gets you there, it's just not as pleasant of a ride and may take longer. Yes there are remote areas where you genuinely need 4 wheel drive, and I'm ok with those people having it because they actually need it (or have to love being shut-ins during bad weather). And yes there are occasionally snow storms where normal cars get stuck, but those are the exception and not the rule. On UR note I'm looking forward to my garage this winter, I hate brushing off my car.

StaceB2010 · May 2011

We get shell gas and only shell gas lol Mike swears back and forth that he gets best gas millage out of it, so were paying about 3.60 a gallon. which isn't to bad if he drives my civic as his everyday car to work, he drives about 13 miles one way. we only have to fill her up once every 2 weeks. so about $40.00 when were on the E.

But if he take the new car which is a v6 we fill it up way more, only because we find it easy to only have to put 30.00 in at half a tank then 60 when it's empty so that's about 1 week of driving. he's been driving the civic more then anything, we really only take the new car when we go to see family or go shopping or things like that cause it's hard to get things in & out of a two door, and mikes complaint is he doesn't want to have to shift he just wants to "cruise".

Jen72682 · May 2011

Patineuse1124:
I guess I'm kind of a b**** on this issue, but if you drive an SUV or other inefficient vehicle, I don't feel bad for you having to pay at the pumps. Only a small percentage of people that drive SUVs and trucks actually need them (e.g., have to haul things often, have a disability, live in a remote unpaved road area, etc). As somebody who has been in a car accident where the other vehicle was an SUV and it rolled over, I tend to laugh when people say they have to have an SUV because it's safer. It's a preference, not a necessity. DH and I both drive Saturns (his is a hybrid) and both get over 30/gal. We also walk and bike many places. When I lived in MI, on average I only put 10 or less miles a week on my car (unless I drove to NY to visit family) because I walked 2 miles round trip to school/office. We also pick our housing location because we like to be able to walk and bike places for both health and environmental reasons (I realize not everybody can live in the most ideal location). The high gas prices just add a financial incentive to behavior decisions we would have likely made anyways. I'm actually hoping that the higher gas prices lead others to make similar choices and that there will be additional mass transit options and more bike lanes and sidewalks in the future.

I understand this is your opinion... but I thought it was pretty snarky.

I just bought an SUV, that's right! And dang proud of it! Like Xan I drive a Ford Escape - my hubby is 6'6... we are very limited in what sedans he can drive because of his size. Not only that but the ones he can fit into have the seat pressed all the way back so no one can sit in the back seat. So we decided to buy an SUV so we can actually fit people in the back seat. We are thinking 5-6 years down the road we plan on having two kids hopefully so there will be room for them both. We get pretty good gas mileage too - 23 city/28 hwy. Not a big difference from a sedan.

Also living in Kansas we get a heck of a lot of snow here. The past few years we have had several feet of snow so driving a car isn't ideal with bad weather condititions. We have horrible public transportation here too - a few buses that have bus routes, but they are very limited and only downtown. I wish our city officials would build a mass transit system - it would be great!

Luckily, I work from home and just go to the gym everyday. It's only 10 miles away... So I generally spend about $45 for gas for about a week and a half. My hubby has a work truck - thank god! So we don't pay for his gas at all!

pondering_gal · May 2011

Yesterday for the first time in a while, I saw that gas went below $4.

And I got pretty darn excited, too.

cm10/10 · May 2011

Gas prices are the reason we are moving this weekend. DH drives an Escape and his commute is 120 miles round trip. Right now he spends about $600 a month on gas-- ouch!!!!! The reason we didn't move closer sooner is because my job was about 10 miles from our current place in the opposite direction. The way New Orleans is set up, there really is no in-between our jobs that wasn't a ghetto, so we were stuck where we are. Now that I've been laid off, we're moving about 10 mins from his work which should save about $400 a month!! woop!!!!!

hz80408 · May 2011

cm10/10:

Gas prices are the reason we are moving this weekend. DH drives an Escape and his commute is 120 miles round trip. Right now he spends about $600 a month on gas-- ouch!!!!! The reason we didn't move closer sooner is because my job was about 10 miles from our current place in the opposite direction. The way New Orleans is set up, there really is no in-between our jobs that wasn't a ghetto, so we were stuck where we are. Now that I've been laid off, we're moving about 10 mins from his work which should save about $400 a month!! woop!!!!!

That's huge!! Congrats!

Patineuse1124 · May 2011

cm10/10:
Gas prices are the reason we are moving this weekend. DH drives an Escape and his commute is 120 miles round trip. Right now he spends about $600 a month on gas-- ouch!!!!! The reason we didn't move closer sooner is because my job was about 10 miles from our current place in the opposite direction. The way New Orleans is set up, there really is no in-between our jobs that wasn't a ghetto, so we were stuck where we are. Now that I've been laid off, we're moving about 10 mins from his work which should save about $400 a month!! woop!!!!!

Sorry to hear you were laid off. Good luck on the move, and hooray on the huge gas savings and all the extra time you'll have together now that he doesn't have such a long commute.

cm10/10 · May 2011

Patineuse1124:
cm10/10:
Gas prices are the reason we are moving this weekend. DH drives an Escape and his commute is 120 miles round trip. Right now he spends about $600 a month on gas-- ouch!!!!! The reason we didn't move closer sooner is because my job was about 10 miles from our current place in the opposite direction. The way New Orleans is set up, there really is no in-between our jobs that wasn't a ghetto, so we were stuck where we are. Now that I've been laid off, we're moving about 10 mins from his work which should save about $400 a month!! woop!!!!!
Sorry to hear you were laid off. Good luck on the move, and hooray on the huge gas savings and all the extra time you'll have together now that he doesn't have such a long commute.

Thanks, it will really take some of the financial pressure off of us not to mention the time savings. DH says that's one extra hour to sleep and one extra hour of baby-making a day. My response-- uhhhhhhhhhhh- say what? LOL!

rccola1981 · May 2011

I teach economics and every year when we do our opportunity costs one of our more detailed questions is a comparison between a ford focus( or similar car) and and hybrid. Every time even with gas prices figured in they get that the Focus is the better deal. Of course I don't choose to drive the Focus though...I haul a good bit of stuff frequently, live in an area where road maintenance is terrible and the schools never cancel so we have 2 4x4 vehicles and a Mazda Miata. When possible we drive the Miata but it isn't always reasonable...We've also decided that because we want 2-3 kids and want to be able to travel with friends and family our next vehicle will be a large SUV.

DH drives about 20 miles each way most days some days when the car pool won't work 50 miles each way. I drive about 15 each way so our gas bill is crazy and I fully intend to become hermit like over my summer vacation to save what we can.

chantico23 · May 2011

Matt and I budget everything together, and he often fills my car, so I am not positive how much I spend on gas a week. But I can tell you that up until recently we were budgeting $230 for gas out of every paycheck, for both of us combined. About a month ago we had to increase that by $100 because of gas prices. So it's currently an average of $165 a week for both of us.

He drives 45 miles each way to work, and I cover a territory that spans the state of Oklahoma.

I drive a compact SUV. Matt drives a sedan. We get the same gas mileage. I think that SUV's are a practical option for many. Gas is not the only consideration when looking at what your vehicle needs are. Sure, if you are driving a Hummer I don't think you can complain about gas prices. But in this day and age I think it is silly to think that a reasonably priced SUV is a luxury.

kjhharris · May 2011

MC22:
Oh, and I don't even put premium gas like I'm supposed to...I put mid-grade to save 15 cents a gallon.

From what I've seen on Click & Clack you can use the 87 octane for almost any car. I fill my Lexus with the lower grade octane (it says it takes 91 or higher), and have done so for 3 years without noticing any issue with the engine. My parents do the same (Audi and Infiniti). In SoCal the cost for gas is currently $4.30 a gallon - I'm not shelling out $4.55 a gallon for premium!!!!

lavieboheme73 · May 2011

Patineuse1124:
becca474:
Xan921:
Patineuse1124:
I guess I'm kind of a b**** on this issue, but if you drive an SUV or other inefficient vehicle, I don't feel bad for you having to pay at the pumps. Only a small percentage of people that drive SUVs and trucks actually need them (e.g., have to haul things often, have a disability, live in a remote unpaved road area, etc). As somebody who has been in a car accident where the other vehicle was an SUV and it rolled over, I tend to laugh when people say they have to have an SUV because it's safer. It's a preference, not a necessity. DH and I both drive Saturns (his is a hybrid) and both get over 30/gal. We also walk and bike many places. When I lived in MI, on average I only put 10 or less miles a week on my car (unless I drove to NY to visit family) because I walked 2 miles round trip to school/office. We also pick our housing location because we like to be able to walk and bike places for both health and environmental reasons (I realize not everybody can live in the most ideal location). The high gas prices just add a financial incentive to behavior decisions we would have likely made anyways. I'm actually hoping that the higher gas prices lead others to make similar choices and that there will be additional mass transit options and more bike lanes and sidewalks in the future.
You are right, you are kind of b*tchy on this issue. Everyone is entitled to their opinion of course though so it is what it is, but with that being said...I drive a small SUV, a Ford Escape, and no I don't haul stuff or have a disability; however, around where I live there are a lot of mountains and my poor little first car, a Ford Escort 4cyl, died because it had to struggle so much going up the hills to and from college. Unless I floored it, which was horrible for the car, it would barely go 40mph up a hill on the highway. My second car, a newer Honda Civic 4cyl, was the same exact way. It's a matter of safety to have a larger 6cly vehicle considering all of the tractor trailors that are cruising on the highways around here. If one of those things were to have hit my little cars because I couldn't make it up the hill fast enough, I would have been crushed in a matter of seconds. Where I currently work is 30 miles northwest of my home, smack dab in the mountains, where there is no public transit at all. I don't have the option to take a train/bus/subway to work. I also pick where I live based on where my family and friends live, not based on how I can get from one place to another. To me, personally, it's way more important to me to be closer to the ones I love than to be 'green'. I get what you are saying, that if you want a larger vehicle you shouldn't complain about paying for the gas, but I know plenty of people who drive smaller vehicles who are also really hurting when it comes to the gas situation.

Well said Xan. I used to live near a city but I hated my life. My quality of life has gone up SO much because I live near my family in the middle of no where. Unfortunately that means I can't take public transportation to save gas. But I'd rather have a better quality of life and live where I want to live.
As far as the SUV comment, some people just need the extra space. Who am I to judge? If I didn't have my Rav4 we would have had so many issues space wise with traveling back to my hometown for the wedding since I have 2 cats that take up the back seat in their carriers. The same thing happened when my parents, brother, DH and I went out of town. We had all of our luggage plus 5 people. A sedan just wouldn't have worked. I think it's a little ridiculous to assume that only small amount of people who own SUVs need them.
We chose to live near our families too, which is why we moved back to Buffalo. We are 3 miles from my parents (biking distance and they are retired and will be helping with childcare in the future) and 17 miles from DH's. If family didn't matter to us we would live in a big city that had good mass transit and probably wouldn't even own a car. In MI we paid a lot more for our apartment to have such a great location where we could walk places, but I didn't complain about the rent as that was our choice to be close to downtown and campus (it was a luxury/want we chose, and not a necessity). When looking for a house here we were very picky about location so we could be close to things that mattered to us (good schools, family, work, stores & entertainment). We could have gotten an even better value on a house but would have paid the price in additional travel time and associated costs (including opportunity costs).
And while for many people it is convenient to have an SUV for the additional space that is still not a necessity IMO, it is a luxury and comes with the additional cost of higher gas prices. Some how millions of people manage to get by with regular sized cars. I like extra legroom and space just as much as the next person but I realize it's a luxury and not a necessity. And frankly I judge because your gas guzzler is bad for the environment and drives up the gas prices (and most other prices like groceries) which does impact me. So my flame-worthy opinion is that if you choose the luxury of an SUV then you should not complain about the gas prices.
As I noted in my original post I know not everybody has the flexibility in location, so if you are struggling with gas prices (which we feel in our grocery bills as well) and have done everything you can to help the situation I'll send good vibes your way that things get better soon, because I actually am a nice person, I just have a strong opinion about the gas price issue :-)

So, in the interest of "saving the environment", I'm supposed to buy a compact hybrid, which comes with a whole slew of its own environmental issues (that energy doesn't just make itself, you know), and unsafely cram my family of 10, soon to be 11 into it? Sorry kids, I know it's uncomfortable, but Mother Earth appreciates it? Ummmm...no thanks...I don't consider adequate room and an appropriate number of seatbelts per person to be a "luxury". That's a necessity in my book.

Patineuse1124 · May 2011

lavieboheme73:

So, in the interest of "saving the environment", I'm supposed to buy a compact hybrid, which comes with a whole slew of its own environmental issues (that energy doesn't just make itself, you know), and unsafely cram my family of 10, soon to be 11 into it? Sorry kids, I know it's uncomfortable, but Mother Earth appreciates it? Ummmm...no thanks...I don't consider adequate room and an appropriate number of seatbelts per person to be a "luxury". That's a necessity in my book.

Please note I said many not all. I don't think you need a SUV, you need a minibus :-) But in the case of a large family, a large vehicle is an necessity (falling into the "etc" in my original post), you need enough seat belts to safely transport everybody.

If people want to drive SUVs that's your choice (though if you don't need one IMO then I (and others out there) will judge you, as I'm sure others judge me on the choices I make). My main argument was that if you choose to drive an inefficient car then I don't think you should complain about the gas prices, as it is a consequence of your choice, and I'm not going to feel sorry for you. Personally when I drive past the $4+/gal prices (hooray for NY taxes!) I just think about how much they pay in other parts of the world (like Europe) and not feel so bad. They were probably paying this much 10 years ago.

lavieboheme73 · May 2011

Patineuse1124:
lavieboheme73:

So, in the interest of "saving the environment", I'm supposed to buy a compact hybrid, which comes with a whole slew of its own environmental issues (that energy doesn't just make itself, you know), and unsafely cram my family of 10, soon to be 11 into it? Sorry kids, I know it's uncomfortable, but Mother Earth appreciates it? Ummmm...no thanks...I don't consider adequate room and an appropriate number of seatbelts per person to be a "luxury". That's a necessity in my book.
Please note I said many not all. I don't think you need a SUV, you need a minibus :-) But in the case of a large family, a large vehicle is an necessity (falling into the "etc" in my original post), you need enough seat belts to safely transport everybody.
If people want to drive SUVs that's your choice (though if you don't need one IMO then I (and others out there) will judge you, as I'm sure others judge me on the choices I make). My main argument was that if you choose to drive an inefficient car then I don't think you should complain about the gas prices, as it is a consequence of your choice, and I'm not going to feel sorry for you. Personally when I drive past the $4+/gal prices (hooray for NY taxes!) I just think about how much they pay in other parts of the world (like Europe) and not feel so bad. They were probably paying this much 10 years ago.

We actually had someone offer to sell us one of the small school buses, but we decided that was too hillbilly even for us!

Patineuse1124 · May 2011

lavieboheme73:

We actually had someone offer to sell us one of the small school buses, but we decided that was too hillbilly even for us!

Aw I would have totally went for the bus and painted it some fun colors. I would only consider it hillbilly if you painted it camouflage or something like that. We actually passed a camouflage bus on the highway on our move from MI to NY.

I hate paying for gas

Re: I hate paying for gas

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