Posted in Frugality-Simplicity

Simple Journey Ministries Presents

Combat Gas Prices Part II

Last week I discussed ways to cut back on gas and other energy costs associated with running your home. This week I want to address the issue of vehicle fuel. I use the term “vehicle fuel” because not everyone operates a vehicle that runs on gasoline; some use diesel fuel. If you think your gasoline prices are high, check out the cost of diesel next time you are at the pump. It will look as though you are getting a bargain!

The first thing you want to do is look at your driving schedule. Pull out your calendar/planner and look at your average schedule. For simplicity’s sake you may want to consider consolidating your away from the home events, but this will not save you much gas, as you will be driving to these places anyway. However, there is a savings in the distance from and to your home to a mid point, which can result in a few miles per week.

Look at how many events you have away from the home and consider ways to conquer those outings in a more gas conserving way. Does your child play on a sports team? When you show up for practice, how many mini-vans do you see in the parking lot? Is it possible for you to organize a practice carpool? If there are 20 kids on a team and each family agrees to take only 2 additional kids to practice, that means only 6 families would be driving each week. That saves 14 families gas during that week! If you can get parents to commit to taking 3 additional children each week, then only 5 families would need to drive to practice each week.

I have mentioned this next idea before, but make a family challenge, like a game. How many consecutive days can you keep your car parked? My record is twelve. That does not mean I never left my house for 12 days. But whenever we left, other than for my husband to go to work, we left as a family and we got all of our needs taken care of. For example, although I don’t like shopping on Sundays because I don’t like crowds, knowing that the entire family is out for church already, we now do a portion of our shopping on that day.

In addition, if Dad works outside of the home, give him a shopping list for the stores that he passes on a daily basis. This costs no extra gas and still gets your family the items they need. This seems simple, and the actual process is, but it is also a sacrifice. Dad is tired after a long day at work. Stopping to do the shopping is not going to be on the top of the list of things he wants to do when he clocks out. Additionally, this means Dad will be returning home later on those days. As we see it, these are sacrifices worth making. J

Do you have any outside commitments that you may be able to accomplish without leaving the home? For example, if you type the weekly bulletin for your church, could you do this from your home computer and send the file to the church secretary?

Here’s the hardest thing for us to DO something about: cut back on outside commitments. When someone calls and asks if you can come to do something, say No! This can be done gently and kindly. How many times per week are you attending a function at your church? I am not advocating that if all of those visits are of vital importance to you that you scratch them off the list. However, are there events you feel comfortable cutting back on? Currently, our church is “open” on Sunday, Monday, & Thursday. We normally attend all services on Sunday (we don’t have an evening service on Sundays, but there are 2 services in the morning and a children’s Bible study.) We no longer attend on Thursdays due to the cost of gas. However, I usually make a point to call our pastor and get a review or ask to borrow the disc (we record each service). Since we have our Pastor and his wife over for dinner on Monday nights, it made sense to change the location of our Bible study to our home. This helps our pastor too, because they do not have to drive to an additional location. If you have a woman’s group that meets and only discusses issues or a Bible study, is it possible to arrange for those who cannot drive there to call in with a conference call or speaker phone? Also, we have a lady who calls in for a Bible study through her computer using Skype!

If your children are in a theater production, again think about carpooling with other parents. Once the production is over, consider not committing to another function for a set period of time. Same goes with sports. No one is saying that your child should never be involved on a team, it’s how you are handling the cost of transportation to get there. We have a son who plays hockey. Our children are only allowed to participate in one outside activity each. He is the only one involved in a sport, which allows us to fit his schedule in. However, the location is an hour away. We determined the ability for him to participate in a family meeting. We discussed pros, cons, and distance, cost, etc. The other children were on board with supporting him in this. One was willing to take a cut in pay to help our overall monthly budget, which in turn helps us to be able to transport him there. We also agreed to cut back on a family on some budget items. Think outside the box, and let your family help in this area. You can’t do everything, especially at gas prices today. Your children will be rewarded with the ability to make choices using God’s priorities when they are on their own if they are involved in helping with the process now, and seeing you applying it now.

Even harder than those mentioned above, check your Homeschool activity schedule. Are there activities you can walk away from? Talk with your children and set up an activity priority list. Stick to the top three.

DRIVE THE SPEED LIMIT! I know we are always in a hurry. I am a Jersey Lead Foot by nature, so this is one of my daily struggles. I detest driving. I have never liked it. I would rather be driven any day of the week. So I rush to get everywhere even when I am already on time or early, just so I can stop driving! But driving the speed limit is a crucial aspect of saving money on the gas you are actually using. You car uses less gas and gets better mileage, the slower and more consistent speeds you drive.

Don’t Stop. I mean this literally. Try to view what is going on in front of you and predict when a light will change or if traffic is sluggish. When you notice either of these occurring, simply take your foot off the gas. Coast to your destination or stopping point. Typically, I can see a light turn ahead of me and determine if I can make it to the stop light by coasting around the time the light will change to green again. In this way I never use the break. Every time you use your break, you have wasted gas that was pumped into the engine to make your car go. You don’t get to re-use that gas, next time you put your foot on the pedal.  This is something that takes practice, but becomes much easier more quickly when you condition yourself to the speed limit.

Check the owner’s manual or the website specs of your vehicle for the amount of gas your vehicle injects into the engine each time you turn the ignition. Now look for information about gas usage during idling times. Compare these numbers. Generally, it is MUCH cheaper to turn your vehicle off than to leave it idling. But each vehicle and manufacturer is set up differently, so get the specs on your make and model.

Take one week off per month from driving. Do you always have tasks that you run out of time to do because your family is on the go? Commit to not driving for one week per month. This makes a HUGE difference!

If you are a two vehicle family, crunch the numbers to see which vehicle is the most fuel efficient and use that one the most. In our family I drive a mini-van that gets terrible gas mileage. The hubby drives a large diesel truck that gets GREAT gas mileage. For the longest time we were using his vehicle for family outings and errands because it cost us the least to operate. Now, prices for the diesel fuel make it MORE expensive to drive even though it gets significantly better mpg. This means that other than work, the truck is parked. This has changed several times for us in the last year, so do the math every month when you are doing your family budget.

Consider public transportation. If you live in an area where bus, tram, shuttle, train services abound, check the cost for monthly passes. Do these modes of transportation offer a family pass? Do they have stops that would allow you to accomplish your outings easily? I have been checking into this since we have a bus system in our area. What I found is that the fare for certain outings would cost significantly less than driving. Other outings would not have a cost savings, and certainly I can’t shop at a warehouse club and get my purchases home on the bus. The one thing that really makes this a great option is that some buses have a bike rack on the front. This opens your usage of the system. Another wonderful point in using this when it is cost and outing effective is the experience. Homeschoolers can learn a LOT from travelling on public transportation!

MOST importantly, consider your family as a whole when making decisions. You need not implement all of these tips to make an impact on your gas expenses. Start slow if this is very uncomfortable to deal with. Also, your family may choose to cut way back on other budget categories, or eliminate some categories all together in order to compensate for the price in gas to be able to run whenever and wherever you choose. The best plan is one that fits YOUR family!

These are my thoughts.