What have you sacrificed due to rising gas prices (Full Version)

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Prairiehiker -> What have you sacrificed due to rising gas prices (5/31/2008 7:10:57 PM)

This might be relevant to us singles as most of us don't have anyone to share the financial burdens with. Especially for some of us single parents. So the question is what have you done away with because gas prices are affecting the price of everything.

List of things that I changed due to gas prices
-I buy coffee at work instead of going to Starbucks or Tims (our local coffee joint)
-We don't go out for dinner every week now...maybe other week.
-I don't run errands because it's there but I wait until I have a lot more to do and do it all at once.
-We're thinking of taking the bus twice a week (my vehicle is a gas guzzler)
-Up until two weeks ago, we saw a movie at the theater almost every week. Now, we're waiting until they come out to the second run theatre, and we'll only go to the first run when it's a movie worth paying full price for (movies are way more expensive up here in Canada).
-And my weekly trip to the parks to go hiking, which are usually a couple of hours drive has been cut down considerably.
-I'm purposely buying clothes that are on sale instead of buying anything I wanted for my kid.
Haven't changed my vacation plans yet. So far, I think all the other changes might allow us to continue our yearly vacation.

If anyone has any creative ideas, I'm open for suggestions. By the way, gas is more expensive up here.



Miss Giggles -> RE: What have you sacrificed due to rising gas prices (5/31/2008 7:48:41 PM)

I got a new more fuel efficient car. I will keep it for as long as possible though. I would have liked to keep the small/midsize suv but I really never used the extra room or the towing so back to car, plus it was costing to much to repair.

That's it. for now I can afford the prices since I am only filling up once a week.

If I need to I'll keep renting and make sure that I don't have a long commute. That's about all I can do, in the area I am in I do need a car.



Prairiehiker -> RE: What have you sacrificed due to rising gas prices (5/31/2008 8:08:57 PM)

quote:

I got a new more fuel efficient car. I will keep it for as long as possible though. I would have liked to keep the small/midsize suv but I really never used the extra room or the towing so back to car, plus it was costing to much to repair


Miss G, If I had known a year ago what gas prices would be, I would kept my car longer and never have bought my SUV. The SUV is great for long drives, and camping, and it's very roomy, but man, it's really bad on gas. I think I get 16 miles per gallon in the city. But I really like it for those dreadful winter weather when there's a foot and a half of snow on the ground.



shemaromans -> RE: What have you sacrificed due to rising gas prices (5/31/2008 9:54:22 PM)

Prairie, I've been doing what you mentioned--waiting to run errands in a lump sum method instead of randomly making several trips, planning out the path that I will take more carefully.



mutinywxgirl -> RE: What have you sacrificed due to rising gas prices (5/31/2008 10:01:09 PM)

same thing here - not making unnecessary trips.



Miss Giggles -> RE: What have you sacrificed due to rising gas prices (5/31/2008 10:32:03 PM)

I figured that gas prices would go up this summer so I traded the car in before the gas went up. I knew i had to do it before May.

Good timing too because now people are paying over sticker for used reliable cars like Toyotas and Hondas and some dealerships quit taking SUVS as trade ins. They are also paying over sticker for the new ones too in some areas.

Actually if I did it all over again I would have bought the CRV instead of the Saturn.The gas mileage on those aren't bad because they are smaller. Oh well. It would still be running, would have saved a 1000.00 in repairs and have a lot higher resale value.

I will miss it in the snow, but you still have to know how to drive in the snow. Just because you have AWD or an SUV doesn't mean you can speed or you won't slide. Duh.

i also got a mountain bike and I might use that for short trips to the store on the weekend when the weather is good. No driving real far just for the fun of it or to go shopping across town just to browse.



Pauley464 -> RE: What have you sacrificed due to rising gas prices (5/31/2008 10:34:39 PM)

>I have quit going out for dinner. It's been 2months since I've had a pizza that wasn't frozen.
>I have quit buying the expensive ground chuck and am buying the cheaper regular ground beef now.
>I don't make unnecessary trips.
>The church I regularly attend is 20 miles away, so I only go there every other week now. (Yes, I am going to a local church.)
>I take the city bus when one of its stops is a place I am going.
>I have quit buying groceries at my regular place and go to the discount store. (You know the place. They carry no name brand items. You bring your own bags or they charge you 10 cents a piece for theirs and you pay a quarter for buggy rental and get your quarter back when you return the buggy instead of leaving it in the parking lot. Around here it's called Aldi, There are probably a dozen other similar places.)
>I've quit buying the clumping cat litter. And now my cat looks at me accusingly every time she walks through the room. I figure she'll get used to it eventually.



Prairiehiker -> RE: What have you sacrificed due to rising gas prices (5/31/2008 10:45:20 PM)

quote:

I've quit buying the clumping cat litter. And now my cat looks at me accusingly every time she walks through the room. I figure she'll get used to it eventually.


LOL. I don't think my cat would appreciate a non clumping cat litter. That's not something I'd mess around with. I can imagine the kind of look he'll give me if I change his cat litter. Whenever I forget to clean his litter box, he actually meows in front of the room where i keep it. Or he just sits there.

I haven't changed my weekly trip to Dairy Queen. Only this time, we ride our bikes there. It's about 4 miles away. I don't feel guilty indulging as long as I burn it off.

quote:

Actually if I did it all over again I would have bought the CRV instead of the Saturn.The gas mileage on those aren't bad because they are smaller. Oh well. It would still be running, would have saved a 1000.00 in repairs and have a lot higher resale value.


Yeah, I think the CRV would have been a better choice for me. I just didn't like the look of it. I had to choose between a Subaru and an Xterra and because I didn't like the Subaru dealer, I bought the Xterra. Big difference in gas mileage.



Tinkerbell_ -> RE: What have you sacrificed due to rising gas prices (5/31/2008 11:31:41 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Pauley464

>I have quit going out for dinner. It's been 2months since I've had a pizza that wasn't frozen.
>I have quit buying the expensive ground chuck and am buying the cheaper regular ground beef now.
>I don't make unnecessary trips.
>The church I regularly attend is 20 miles away, so I only go there every other week now. (Yes, I am going to a local church.)
>I take the city bus when one of its stops is a place I am going.
>I have quit buying groceries at my regular place and go to the discount store. (You know the place. They carry no name brand items. You bring your own bags or they charge you 10 cents a piece for theirs and you pay a quarter for buggy rental and get your quarter back when you return the buggy instead of leaving it in the parking lot. Around here it's called Aldi, There are probably a dozen other similar places.)
>I've quit buying the clumping cat litter. And now my cat looks at me accusingly every time she walks through the room. I figure she'll get used to it eventually.

Oooh! I remember Aldi's in Southern Illinois! Wow! Small world!!! [:D]

It's hard for me to cut back because I have a 50 mile commute daily to work. I made the mistake of getting an SUV when I totaled me diesel Jetta (moment of silence please) but it's worked out I think.

I told the Things today that we will no longer be making trips to the movies. At least to the Rave theatre. It's about a 30 mile drive and about a $40 trip. We're going to get started with NetFlix and start renting movies and games and just keep buying the movies we like.

We aren't eating out anymore...and when we do, we share a meal or go when kids eat for free or very cheap. Plus Thing 2 still gets free meals at various restaurants in the area for making straight A's on his report cards.



BugLady -> RE: What have you sacrificed due to rising gas prices (5/31/2008 11:33:17 PM)

quote:

What have you sacrificed due to rising gas prices


My sanity! [;)]



mutinywxgirl -> RE: What have you sacrificed due to rising gas prices (6/1/2008 7:17:18 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: BugLady

quote:

What have you sacrificed due to rising gas prices


My sanity! [;)]



LOLOLOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Haven't we all??????? [:D]



ShallbeRebuilt -> RE: What have you sacrificed due to rising gas prices (6/1/2008 8:01:43 AM)

So far here we haven't made too many sacrifices, but now you will hear us include how much gas a trip will take in our conversation about whether to do something.

I am shopping at the smaller grocery store here in town instead of going to the nearby city and going to the larger store where I have more choices.

But like Tink, I drive to work and also to school--school is 100 miles one way. If the prices continue to go up, I may have to give up the idea of finishing my degree, at least at this time. I have a gas-guzzler, too. It's paid off, though, and I hate to add a car payment just to buy a car that doesn't use as much...and now that the prices for cars with great fuel economy have gone up...*sigh*. But $650 a month just for gas is hard to justify.

Day late and dollar short, as always.

Guess I can just go to work for Walmart, like half the county around here.

[:(]

besiderself



jlp1 -> RE: What have you sacrificed due to rising gas prices (6/1/2008 9:05:42 AM)

quote:

-I buy coffee at work instead of going to Starbucks or Tims (our local coffee joint)
-We don't go out for dinner every week now...maybe other week.
-I don't run errands because it's there but I wait until I have a lot more to do and do it all at once.
-We're thinking of taking the bus twice a week (my vehicle is a gas guzzler)
-Up until two weeks ago, we saw a movie at the theater almost every week. Now, we're waiting until they come out to the second run theatre, and we'll only go to the first run when it's a movie worth paying full price for


Same here[:D] I have a gas guzzler



Prairiehiker -> RE: What have you sacrificed due to rising gas prices (6/1/2008 10:23:45 AM)

wow, you guys all live so far from work. I'm about 25 km and take the bus half way and park my car in a park and ride parkade.

On CNN, there was this guy who bikes 42 miles to get to work and home. That's 84 miles cycling daily. It takes him 3 hours each way and saves them $400 a month on gas. I don't know. I don't think I'd want to spend 6 hours of my time commuting to and from work, unless I do that much cycling to begin with.



utilityfielder -> RE: What have you sacrificed due to rising gas prices (6/1/2008 3:52:45 PM)

I have a car that gets 30 plus miles per gallon, but I have always ridden in a vanpool to and from work.



Miss Giggles -> RE: What have you sacrificed due to rising gas prices (6/1/2008 4:25:50 PM)

Wow thats a lot of cycling.

6 hours commute + 9 hours work (1 hr for lunch) is a 15 hour day which means that you'd get home from work and eat dinner and probably go right to bed.



Prairiehiker -> RE: What have you sacrificed due to rising gas prices (6/1/2008 6:17:49 PM)

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/living/2008/05/30/christian.bike.to.work.kero

Here's the link.

I might do this when I don't have to drive my daughter to the daycare. I love cycling and it's only 25 km to work. Probably less than 30 mins ride.



Mrs.Above_All -> RE: What have you sacrificed due to rising gas prices (6/1/2008 8:19:40 PM)

Nothing. I actually went from regular to premium. [&:]



Miss Giggles -> RE: What have you sacrificed due to rising gas prices (6/1/2008 8:21:33 PM)

15 miles in 30 minutes? Wow thats fast.

Trishy, Does your car really need the premium? You must have the matrix xrs model then.



togodbtheglory -> RE: What have you sacrificed due to rising gas prices (6/1/2008 8:27:29 PM)

I moved closer to my job. I had a 45 mile trip one way. I also brought a fuel efficient car.



devinevessel -> RE: What have you sacrificed due to rising gas prices (6/1/2008 10:23:25 PM)

Traveling by air. The fuel surcharges are getting to be rediculous. Other than that there hasn't been a change. I am very, very, very, blessed because I have a company car and it pays for the gas but I am not too confident that I will be able to keep it for long. Several of my co-workers had to give up their cars. [:o]Fortunately I can keep mine for now. I get nervous thinking about having to have a car payment, insurance payment and buy gas.[&o]



Hismusicgal -> RE: What have you sacrificed due to rising gas prices (6/2/2008 12:05:33 AM)

I cut out unnecessary trips and food. Since that is going up too. Don't get me wrong I still eat just not as much or as often.



iwillfearnoevil -> RE: What have you sacrificed due to rising gas prices (6/2/2008 11:20:49 AM)

i spend an average of 2.25 hours in the car daily so buy a lot of gas. i drive a camry which is decent with mileage but haven't had to cut back on anything yet so i don't feel an immediate effect. i guess it's less money for savings/retirement though in a long term picture.



hotsaucygma -> RE: What have you sacrificed due to rising gas prices (6/2/2008 1:44:08 PM)

So far I haven't cut out much. I have a "smaller" SUV, but it gets 19 miles a gallon in town. I fill up once a week, but since last time it cost me $55.00 to do so I am thinking about getting more conservative in my driving habits! I did just choose to do one more shop-til-I-drop-for-the-dress-for-my-nieces-wedding, in town before taking a trip down to the Mall of America... and it was worth it! I got a dress (on sale) and shoes (on sale) for the cost of a one way trip to the MegaMall!! Hmm, maybe I better take this "economizing" thing a bit more seriously, if it works that good [:D].



Mrs.Above_All -> RE: What have you sacrificed due to rising gas prices (6/2/2008 2:54:03 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Miss Giggles

15 miles in 30 minutes? Wow thats fast.

Trishy, Does your car really need the premium? You must have the matrix xrs model then.


My mechanic suggested it because it keeps the engine cleaner and healthier longer. He said ethanol levels in gas these days are not as good and that is what keeps engines clean. I've already experienced a few times when my engine wouldn't start right away. So he told me it's best to use the premium gas.

And you know how we go to several places to shop because of sales? That is not working as well because you spend more on gas and that extra savings on a particular food item may as well be paid regular price.



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