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Ozarks Gardening

saving gasoline

18 years ago

I am giving up mowing my "lawn". It is so dry that it kicks up dust anyway. I also skipped a trip to the grocery store using up some of the food I have on hand. I went through my cabinets and am taking to Crosslines what I know we won't use before it gets old. The pictures of the people suffering make me realize how lucky we are here.

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Comments (4)

christie_sw_mo
18 years ago
I've been getting gas only three or four gallons at a time hoping the price will go down and it has just a little but wish it would go down a lot more. My kids have so many activities, it uses it up quickly.
Makes those catalogs a little more appealing for Christmas shopping and plant shopping. Think I could convince my dh that I'm SAVING money by ordering from plant catalogs? I still don't feel comfortable ordering things online but do occasionally if the price is right. We got band instruments that way and it was a tremendous savings.
Anybody else hearing southern accents when they go shopping? I have been tempted a couple times to ask if someone was a hurricane refugee but didn't want take a chance on offending them. A clerk at Wal-Mart said she'd been seeing a lot of people from Louisiana. I saw an article that said there are 500 in Missouri that are being housed by red cross but I'm sure there are even more that are staying in hotels or with family that won't be able to do that for very long and will need a more permanent place to stay. Places like The Kitchen and Victory Mission in Springfield are collecting food and such for them.
DPallas
18 years ago
I've been trying to save gas by mowing only when the lawn is intolerable and cutting back on trips to town (50 mile round-trip) to once a week.

The streets were deserted Saturday, and so were the stores. Gas was $2.999 though the national average was reported to be $2.87 Saturday morning, which is odd, since we're usually below the average.

No Louisiana accents, but there are remarkably fewer tourists, locals, and others out and about. Clerks in the stores said people are staying home, not burning fuel. You'd usually expect to see at least dozen pick-ups backed in at the feed store to stock up for the long weekend, but I was the only one there. It's eerie for Labor Day weekend - we usually see dirt bikes, atvs, campers, fishing boats, canoes, and jet skis being carted around, but they're not here.
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Conserve and your rates may go up!
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I'm not trying to discourage conservation with this post. I think more people than ever are conserving resources, mostly out of economic need. That said, rates (or unit costs) are how most consumers and all businesses compare everything in making decisions. Some examples: which car gets the highest mpg, how much should I charge my customer for two additional hours of my time, or how much does it cost per page to print with the new laser printer? With regulated utilities, consumers do have some say over the ways in which the business is run. This can either be directly through large scale public outcry which forces local leaders to address the issues, or indirectly through regulatory commissions. A simple question that has to be looked at: have utilities reduced their costs in every possible way before passing on more rate increases? It is logical to use rates as a starting point for comparison of utilities across the nation. According to a special on PBS tonight (10-16-08), the average cost of water per 1,000 gallons is $2.50. That's $1.01 less than our current water rate. Keep in mind, this topic comes from a very frugal minded consumer who can still probably conserve another 3-5% on utility use. Once you have done everything possible to conserve, you are still at the mercy of the rates!
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$3.12 the lowest around here. How much is gasoline in your area?
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I paid $3.53 a gallon yesterday. I never "fill up" anymore. I always use cash and buy $10 or $20 worth of gas at a time. I have a Honda Civic Hybrid so I only buy gas every couple of weeks. I used to drive 40 miles back and forth to work. Since retiring and buying the hybrid I'm doing much better.I do try to schedule any driving errands together. I'll go out to grocery shop, post office and library all on one trip.
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Saving some gasoline cost
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If you're cold-weather driving you may find that the windows fog up on the inside. If your car heater has a choice, you may select having outside air brought in instead of recycling the interior air. If you have trouble with the interior of the windows being frosted up after the car has been sitting for several hours, overnight, etc. you should select bringing in outside air a while before you stop and park the car. If that isn't sufficient, when you are nearing your destination prior to shutting down for a period, open your window an inch or two to let the moisture-laden air depart and be replaced with fresh cold air (which carries only minimal moisture). If really cold weather is common in your part of the country for a substantial period, you may choose to stick a plastic sheet on the inside of your door windows, which comes in a kit that keeps the plastic about an eighth of an inch from the glass. It acts like a storm window. Good wishes for safe winter motoring. There was snow all over at Uncle's place today and when I started out the lane I drove slightly off track, so one wheel slipped down over an embankment. With engine in the front and front-wheel drive, after some shovelling I was able to get myself unstuck - I'm here at the library computer, ain't I, and 10 miles is somewhat too far to walk, even in nice weather, let alone when it's snowing and blowing and several degrees below freezing. I think that I'd better get back there before dark, when it's easier to see while it's snowing and blowing. I usually stay at home till late night. Have a happy weekend, all. joyful guy
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Saving on Gasoline
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Comments (17)
Drive a car with a standard transmission. A couple of months from now it will have been seven years since I bought the little 1990 Dodge Colt, around seven years of age at the time, that had 138,000 kms. (about 87,000 mi.) on the odometer. It turned up 288,000 km. the other day. I went to visit the person who sold it to me, owner of a body shop and friend of over 30 years, to thank him for having sold me a car that has given me 150,000 km. of service without major trouble (until recently) - for about $2,700. Bonus ... he took me and another friend out to lunch just after. He said that he had something to show me ... ... took me about 6 blocks to a used car dealer friend who has a 2 year old Cavalier, 2.2 litre engine, standard transmission, that he's having a hard time selling because, " ... nobody wants a standard transmission". It has about 31,000. km. (under 20,000 mi.) on the odometer, some factory warranty left. He'll sell it to me for somewhat under $10,000. I'm tempted. Standard trasmission vehicles use less gas ... and are easy to drive. Remember a couple of years ago when I was going to North Carolina to a reunion of former Korea missionaries, my starter quit near Detroit, and I drove from Detroit to Peoria with no starter? If I'd been driving an automatic transmission car, I'd have returned home (or had it fixed at my cousin's garage, whom I was visiting a the time). Driving a small vehicle with standard transmission, I figured that there was a good chance that I could get someone to help push and get it started, in case I had to stop it. By the way - the only time that I turned it off during that trip was when I could park it on (even a small) hill. Stopping at a rest area, with no hill, I was glad that I carried an extra key, so that I could leave the engine running in a locked car while I brought myself a sense of relief - without adding further to my stress by leaving a car running with door unlocked. Hope you're all having a great week. ole joyful P.S. Friend says that, since the Cavalier should go 400,000 kms., if I take seven years to add another 150,00 km., to 181,000, that I'll be 82 by then, adding another 150,000 km. would be 331,000, with me at about age 89 (suppose I keep driving at my current rate, rather improbable) ... so it could well be the last car that I'd need to buy. How do you like them apples? oj
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ceresone
18 years ago
I agree completely ! i fueled up the jeep thursday, $50. then, before we got home to get a couple of cans, it had gone up 25 cents a gallon. but-we have 2 cans of gas to use for chain saw this winter--$30. there. my lawn tractor uses deisel, and i just finished the front and back yard--put the last of deisel in the tank, so i'll mow everything again after a heavy frost!if these prices stay up, i may start using lawn for pasture.next trip we plan isnt untill sept 24!-and thats only for groceries. think those of us on social security will get a cost of living raise to match the prices?i wont hold my breath!
DPallas
18 years ago
Hope everyone's stocked up on coffee - or likes tea. 30% of the nation's coffee bean inventory was in New Orleans and that and grain products are the next thing to go through the roof... or so financial analysts say.

I don't see how SS recipients will manage the coming years without substantial savings besides - I won't be eligible until 2024 or so if it still exists by then.

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