On the heels of my post the other day, Top 10 Ways To Beat High Gas Prices, I saw a survey in The USA Today talking about steps people are taking to beat the high gas prices. Here is what folks are doing according to the survey:
- Considered A Different Car - 71% of folks surveyed have seriously considered getting a more fuel efficient vehicle. What does that mean? Have you sat in a friend’s Hybrid and said, “Wow, what do you get on the highway?” Or maybe you have glanced at a MotorTrend magazine at the dentist office. Is that ’seriously considered’? Not sure what we should take from this survey question. Either you have you done it or you haven’t.
- Look For Cheap Gas - 74% of people surveyed have sought a gas station with the cheapest gas. Why wouldn’t you do this? I wonder if the 26% of people that don’t do this have a reason. Are you in that category?
- Try To Boost Gas Mileage - 76% have taken steps to boost gas mileage. These 76% say they are driving slower and keeping their car better maintained. Personally, I have mastered the art of coasting. One of the worst things you can do in terms of gas mileage is to accelerate up to a red light then slam on your breaks. Take your foot off the gas and let er’ coast up to a stop sign or stop light, and if it is the middle of the night on some rural road, coast right on through….
- Consolidate Trips - 84% of people surveyed consolidate errands to cut back on trips to the store, etc. One word, smart!
- Do You Think The Price of Gas will reach $6 a Gallon in the next five years? - 54% of people surveyed said YES! If they only surveyed oil analysts I might be interested in this question. Asking the average person on the street does not do much for me or give much insight. If anything, questions like this give the green light to the semi-humans that do control the price of gas to nail it to us for years to come! Essentially, 54% of the people are saying, “we are ready for it, and expecting it, so bring it on.”
What have you done to beat the high gas prices?
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7 responses so far ↓
Since we own two V6 trucks, gas prices are a huge concern, especially when trying to be frugal! We’re in the process of selling one of the trucks and using the cash to buy a late model compact car. When the lease is up on the other truck, it too will be replaced with a smaller, more efficient car.
We’re also checking tire pressure, performing regular maintenance and filling up early in the day at gas station we know have low prices.
Also, we’re going out a lot less, combining errands, carpooling to events with friends and telecommuting!
And yes, I believe gas prices will go higher…
Personally, I’m trying to ride my bike for local errands on the days I telecommute from home. Since I only live about a mile from a grocery and K-mart, it’s entirely feasible to make short trips there!
Great tips from both of you. Thanks for the comments!
DJ FuzzyK, I think gas will only get lower, I am expecting it to be back down to around $2.20 a gallon by the end of the year. (Note: I am putting into practice the idea of Self Fulfilling Gasoline Prophecy)
Hi Kyle! I’ve been MIA lately, so I’m trying to catch up on blogs. I’ve been making an extra effort to get up early to walk DS to school instead of driving him, and we did buy a more fuel efficient vehicle earlier this year.
I think something is going to give–either we will open more fuel refineries in the US and/or start drilling in the US– I hope people eventually realize that whether the refinery is on US soil on foreign, its still hurting *our* earth, so we may as well have it here in the US and enjoy the price break–OR we will move to more sustainable energy, OR we will all start relying heavily on public transportation. Ideally a combination of all 3 things will happen.
That’s easy. I work from home so I rarely go anywhere during the week. Save a fortune on gas that way.
Kyle, you must be more optimistic than be about the outcome of the fall elections. Gas prices will drop again as long as the government doesn’t get involved.
As to the question, I haven’t made any changes. Before I bought out 4runner, I made sure to use a higher fuel estimate in our budget. Prices have climbed a little higher than I’d expected, but $20-30 more a week isn’t going to hurt our budget.
We have tossed around the idea of getting a more gas efficient car, but ultimately don’t want to go into debt for a new car (which we’d have to, we don’t have enough cash for one).
What I am doing is really trying to cut down my driving to just what is necessary and find things to do to entertain my kids a bit closer to home.