20 Ways of Coping with High Gas Prices
The state of economy and imminent recession worries me, particularly the cost of gas. The cost of gas was keeping up at night until I found creative ways of stretching my budget to find gas money.
1. Start a petty cash jar or box. I found that there was extra cash at the bottom of my purse that I could stash away in cigar box for gas.
2. Designate a credit card account for the sole purpose of an emergency gas card. It is easier and cost effective to look in your wallet and find the credit card with the smallest balance and lowest interest rate.
3. Coordinating errands by location and purpose. I found that coordinating errands by location and purpose saves gas and time. I noticed that the post office is near my daughter's school and the grocery store is near the dry cleaners.
4. Plan meals using staples rather than recipes. Planning meals by staples cut down on trips to the grocery store to buy additional items. I also by staples in bulk so that I have them on hand as needed.
5. Sort and use coupons when items are on sale. Most stores will allow you to combine manufacturer coupons with existing sales prices as well as in store rebate programs.
6. Allow plenty of time to reach destinations. Driving faster uses more gas, not to mention increases the likelihood of a car accident.
7. Limit highway driving. Yes, driving the highways saves time but it does not save money. Cars burn more gas on the highway than local streets because of elevated speed.
8. Do not idle the car or warm it in the summer. Warming up the car in the drive way during warm weather burns unnecessary gas. Driving a little slower rather than warming up the car saves gas.
9. Carpool whenever possible. I found that after school functions used a lot of gas. I started carpooling with other parents to save money.
10. Find cheaper forms of entertainment. My favorite form of entertainment is going to the movies. I found that nearly all opening movies have free premiers. Check for cinema promotions to save even more money on concessions. We saved a whopping $27 dollars.
11. Limit buying frappes and other costly coffee drinks from coffee shops. I found that I was buying costly frappes 5 days per week at a cost of nearly $4 each. I found recipes for home made frappe that taste relatively close to the coffee shop frappes for a fraction of the cost.
12. Listen to music on the Internet. There are many websites that allow you to listen to music and view music videos for free.
13. Resale music discs that are being used. I have a teenager that loves listening to music. She also swaps music discs with her friends downloads them to her computer and returns them.
14. Let working teens share the cost of gas especially if they are driving your car. My teenage daughter works weekends at the local mall, shares our car and gladly helps pay for gas.
15. Rotate potluck dinners with friends and family. Rotating potluck dinners with friends and family is a great way to socialize, save money on dining out and swap recipes. Save dining out in restaurants for special occasions.
16. Limit visits to fast food restaurants. Fast food is a guilty pleasure for me. Limiting visits to fast food restaurants saves an average of $8 per person per visit.
17. Rent movies from cheaper outlets. McDonald's restaurants and 7 eleven stores now offer movie rentals for $1 per night compared to over $4 at traditional movie outlets.
18. Plan summer vacations with other people. Sharing the cost of gas, car rental and hotel makes cuts the cost of traveling and makes for an enjoyable adventure. Explore your home state by visiting odd places.
19. Buy office and school supplies all year when they are on sale. I am notorious for scouring the clearance bins at my neighborhood office supply store. I designated a trunk for school supplies.
20. Swap magazines back issues between friends saves money. I found that swapping back issues with friends, reading magazines at coffee shops and libraries also saves money.
It is possible to cope with the rising cost of gas, and still enjoy life with a little creativity. Good luck.