Dealing With The High Cost of Gas

A writer writes!

Yesterday $3.81 was the price of a gallon of regular gasoline.  I recalled years ago when I told a friend that I simply refused to buy gas if it went into the $3 a gallon range.  I said I would be pushing my car on the highway in the fast lane rather than paying $3 for a gallon of gas.  Now here I am buying gas routinely at $3.50 and over and thinking nothing of it.

How do we deal with the high cost of gasoline today?  Well, here are my tips/suggestions.  Use discount coupons from grocery stores, or get gas from the "members only" stores such as Sam's Club and Costco.  Use any money saver that doesn't cost you money.  If you have to join a gas station's membership roll to get cheaper gas, and there is no cost to you, join that club.

Plan your trips for errands and store visits so you can cover all of your stops in a straight back and forth route or a circular journey.  There's no need to go out to a store come back home, then go back to another store that was near the one you visited first.  That is wasteful driving and you're wasting high priced gasoline.

Actually walk to a store if you are only going to purchase a few items that you can easily carry back home.  You will save gas and exercise at the same time.  In this case the high cost of gas will actually help you with your plans to stay healthy!

Use the internet to research items instead of driving to a store to look around.  Let your fingers do the walking.  If you are just tired of being stuck in the house, plan your people watching, walking around the stores day, for a day when gas actually has gone down several cents.  Then you can refill your gasoline tank at a lower cost on your way home.

When it's time to purchase a new car, make sure your new car gives you better gas mileage than your current car.  If you can find a  car that gives 40 miles per gallon, try to ignore the fact that it has an ugly design.  Think of all the $$$ you will be saving in gas costs.

Go on strike against gas purchasing, but don't let yourself run out of gas!  Only buy enough gas to get you safely back home.  For entertainment value, ride your bicycle down to the closest gas station and watch the faces of people as they fill up their car's gas tanks with the expensive gasoline.  It's the best free drama show around.  To make it a family experience buy a bag of chips, popcorn and sodas and take the whole family with you.

Through careful planning you to can beat the high gasoline prices.