Milestones & Carelessness

My daughter got her driver’s license today. My son is paying a traffic ticket for a running red light today. And I’m trying to figure out how I will manage to continue to pay for both gas and auto insurance.

In this case, reaching a milestone and being careless both have the same bottom line effect -- mo' money, mo' money, mo' money. This ain’t right.

This May Be My Next Car

General Motors announced that it is closing 4 truck plants and will begin to produce smaller, more fuel efficient cars. American Airlines recently announced a plan to impose a $15 fee for the first checked bag. Many employers are considering 4 day/10 hour work weeks for employees. Gas prices are causing change all across the country.

I continue to think of ways that I personally should and/or can adjust. As an update to my previous post -- I haven't been to Starbucks in over a month. That's big for me since I used to stop there at least 3 times per week. With gas prices what they are -- that still doesn't equal a tank of gas but every little bit helps.

I took the photo above in Rome. I thought that itsy-bitsy car was so small and cute I had to take a picture of it. The novelty has quickly worn off. I see a Smart Car in my future.

Paying For Gas

An article on CNN’s website earlier this month compared gas prices in the US with the price of gas in other countries. Of 155 countries on the list, the US ranked 111. That means that only 44 countries had cheaper gas than the US.

I think the purpose of the article was to make us feel a little better about the price that we are paying for gas. While I am very glad that we do not have to pay $18.42 per gallon like they do in Sierra Leone, $3.50 is still a blow to my budget.

In London gas is $8.32 per gallon. I hope our gas doesn’t reach that price any time soon. But a major difference between filling up here versus London is the size of the cars. In London you rarely see SUVs or larger cars. Most everyone there drives itsy-bitsy little cars. They have small cars over there that we’ve never even seen here in the US. I swear some of them have got to be half the size of a Mini-Cooper. Consequently, it takes less for them to fill up and they get more miles to the gallon.

Some say that gas prices should remain high and in fact rise even higher as a means of protecting the environment. Higher gas prices will force us, as a country, to stop making environmentally unfriendly vehicles and opt for smaller, fuel efficient cars instead.

Others say that prices should remain high to force us to look for fuel alternatives and lessen our reliance on foreign oil.

This outrageous spike in gas prices seems to have come out of nowhere and I was not prepared for it. Unfortunately, I’m not hearing that anything is likely to change any time soon and trading in my gas guzzler for a SMART Car tomorrow is just not practical.

We may just have to accept high gas prices as a way of life. So, what are SUV driving people like me supposed to do?

Here’s my budget adjustment pledge to myself:
1. I will become more strategic in my driving. I will make fewer unnecessary trips “around town”. I’ll patronize the businesses closest to home.
2. Because I am spending so much more for gas -- I will try to save money in other areas. I’ll cut out inessentials like daily stops to Starbucks.
3. I’ll significantly cut down on clothes shopping.
4. I’ll clean out my garage and closet and have a garage sale. Sure it’s only a one-time reward but I may earn enough to buy a tank of gas. Every little bit helps.
5. I’ll stop for fast food less often.
6. And finally, if I review my cell phone plan, cable package, Internet package, home phone plan and security monitoring service – I am certain that I can save enough money with each to at least partially cover the additional money that I am spending for gas.

OK, that’s the plan. I’ll keep you posted.