Tag Archives: gas

Saving at the Pump

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How much does a gallon of gasoline cost?  Nobody knows.  The price of gasoline is all over the place in Centre County right now.  A gallon of 87 octane can cost anywhere from $3.54 to $3.85, depending on what station you visit.  Even the prices from one Sheetz to another can vary depending on which end of State College you are on. It’s enough to make you crazy.  I’m accustomed to prices varying from city to city, but not such large disparity within one town!

I’ve never been the kind of person to drive around chasing the best price for a gallon of gas.  But a difference of 30 cents per gallon when I put 13 gallons into my Subaru is $3.90.  That’s more than the cost of one gallon.  And that’s worth driving a little further for—there’s no way that I’m going to burn a whole gallon of gas just driving across town to the less expensive station.

Luckily there are ways to lower your per gallon price, as well as ways to know how much your local stations are charging before you make the drive.  I’ll be honest….that $3.54 per gallon price is at Sam’s Club, so you can only take advantage of that with an annual membership (which I maintain for other reasons—gas prices are a bonus for me).  But there are stations in Bellefonte charging similar prices without a membership fee.  I’m a Sheetz loyalist, but my local Sheetz has the advertised price of $3.85.  I never pay full price for gas at Sheetz, though.  I save three cents per gallon by using my My Sheetz card, and an additional five cents per gallon for using my Sheetz branded credit card.  I also collect rewards and offers on my My Sheetz card, so right now I have an extra 11 cents off per gallon waiting to be used.  That will bring my next Sheetz gas purchase down to $3.66 at my local Sheetz, or $3.56 at one at the other end of town.  Sam’s is still cheaper, but not enough to make it worth going out of my way.

So how is a person to know where to go to get the best price on gas?  Just driving around defeats the purpose.  Thankfully, there is an app for that.  I use the Gas Buddy app on my phone to check the prices at local stations whenever it is time to fill my tank.

Someday I’ll get an electric car so I can avoid all this gasoline nonsense and just charge up at home.  But that’s not an option for me right now.  But I feel like I’m making the best decisions I can to fuel up in an economical way.  Are you getting your best deal on fuel?

 

 

Inflation!

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Inflation.  It’s all over the news.  The inflation rate this year is the highest it has been in 40 years.  And now I find myself changing my behaviors to address the higher cost of just about everything.

It all started with the thermostat in my house.  I read throughout the fall that I should expect significantly higher heating costs this winter.  I decided to be proactive and turned down the temperature in my house by 2 degrees by day and 7 degrees by night.  It hasn’t had any negative impact on my daily life and I get to spend extra time in cozy hoodies and under blankets and with cuddly cats on my lap.  I am indeed using less natural gas than last year.  And I’m paying a lot more for it, so I’m truly grateful that I took action early.

Then came the gas pump changes.  Gasoline is incredibly expensive right now.  And changing my driving habits isn’t really a very viable option for me.  So I’m being extra careful about chasing the lowest prices.  I know from my experiences that the price per gallon varies wildly even within State College.  The cheapest prices are on the north end of town, near the sad mall, and even cheaper just north of there in Bellefonte.  And the ultimate lowest price in the area is at the members-only warehouse club across from the sad mall.  But don’t take my word for it, because these things can change on a moment’s notice.  Take a look at the Gas Buddy app.  It will tell you the most recent gas prices wherever you happen to be.  I know that when I need to fill my tank, I try to do so when I’m near the places with the lower prices.

Most recently I’ve been changing my grocery shopping habits.  A lot of the supplies that I used to keep on a monthly auto-ship I have recently dropped from the convenient delivery process.  It’s just significantly cheaper for me to buy a lot of these things at the warehouse club.  It’s less convenient, but the savings is worth it at a time that groceries in general (and especially pet supplies) are soaring in price.  In addition to changing where I buy, I also find myself changing what I buy.  Beef is barely a part of my diet anymore because the price is just too high. Now I eat mostly pork and poultry proteins, as well as vegetarian options such as beans and eggs.  And in the winter months I tend toward frozen berries and vegetables to keep the costs manageable for these out-of-season fruits and veggies.

I suspect the cost of things is going to get worse before it gets better.  I’m sure more changes lie in my future.  I’m hoping that I won’t need to make any major purchases in the near future.  (Hang in there Prius and refrigerator….you can keep going a little longer!!!)  Inflation is stressful.  But it’s our current reality.  We can’t easily change the state of the economy.  But we can change how we react to it.

 

Gas is Cheap!

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Gasoline is cheap right now.  The cheapest I remember in a lot of years.  And for most families, this means a big difference in the household budget.  The reality is most people spend a lot of time in their cars getting from one place to another.  And when gas costs less, that frees up money for a lot of other things….like paying off debt or saving for the future.

This is why it blows my mind that every time the price of gas drops, there is a noticeable increase in the sales of trucks and SUVs.  “Gas is cheap…I should buy a Hummer!”  It just doesn’t make sense to me.  The price of oil and gasoline fluctuates more than most commodities.  And just because gas is cheap now, it won’t be forever.  When it goes back up to the $4 per gallon range again at some future date (and it will), you don’t want to be stuck driving a vehicle that gets only 12 miles to the gallon.  I think it makes sense to choose a vehicle that offers the best gas mileage available for something that suits your needs.  Sure…some people do have need for a truck or an SUV.  But certainly not everyone.

hummer_v_prius

Gas is cheap.  So don’t spend the extra money on a car that burns more gas.  Stick with a more fuel efficient model.  Then maybe you’ll be able to use the savings to actually go somewhere.

Don’t Forget to Fuel Up!

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It’s never a good idea to try to get by with too little fuel.  Doing this with your car can have much worse consequenses than just running out of gas and being stranded.  In some cars the fuel pump is actually located inside the gas tank, and the gasoline surrounding it serves to keep it cooler.  By letting the tank run too long without the cooling of the gas, the fuel pump can run too hot and eventually burn up.  Also, running with the tank low on fuel will allow greater risk of your engine picking up some of the dirt and sediment that may have settled on the bottom of your fuel tank.  And all of this can add up to costly repairs that could have been avoided by keeping the fuel supply up.

The same is true with the human body.  While it may be tempting at stressful times like the exam period to skip out on the three fuels that run the body (food, water, and sleep), this will only be more costly for you in the long run.  Eat well and eat regularly.  Eat fruits and vegetables.  Drink lots of water.  Fueling up with junk food is the equivalent of putting diesel into your unleaded based car or vice versa.  It might work for a while, but in the long run it will cause serious damage.  The same goes for sleep.  While it may seem that you are able to get by on adreniline and caffeine, your head will not be as clear as it would be if you get a good eight hours of sleep.

Time is at a premium at this very busy time of the semester.  But don’t risk damaging your body by not keeping it fueled up.

Good luck on exams!!!