Rants of A Coyote

Has anyone else been watching as Gasoline Prices creep upwards? There have been mixed speculations as to how far the price of gasoline will go this year. IF the markets don't do anything screwy this year, than by this time next year we should only see an average price of $3.35/Gallon for regular unleaded. By this time in 2013: $3.60/Gallon.  This is only if you follow the historical data of Oregon's Gasoline prices since about June of 2009.

So, without going and buying a full electric vehicle or a Prius... What can you do to help keep that wallet padded?

Well, simply put: reduce the amount that you drive. How you do this is up to you, but the less that you drive, the less you have to spend on gasoline. In the PDX area, you can get a monthly Bus ticket for $88. For the Yamhil County Transit it is only $30 for unlimited use. If you are willing to work out  a little, you can save a lot.

Sure, you may spend a bit more time in transit by taking the public transit, but that is time that you can use doing other things as well. No one says you have to just sit there being bored.

Other things you can do to limit the amount you drive: If the stores you go to are only a few blocks apart, walk between them instead of driving just to make your car closer.

Aside from driving less, make sure to keep your vehicle well maintained. Keeping things up to date on your vehicle will keep things running better and longer, thus (hopefully) reducing the number of times that you need to head to the pump.

When you go grocery shopping, if staple food items are on sale, stock up! If you need to buy a small air-tight container to keep the food fresh, but if you can start a small storage area for food that you can go to instead of needing to always go out to the store any time you need stuff, then you will have saved yourself the cost of the time, and the cost of the fuel needed to get those few things you would have needed to get.

Also, if you are weird like me and like the taste of it, get powdered milk instead of fresh. It's great in coffee and in baking, and doesn't need to be refrigerated until it is mixed together!

Lastly, it is just about awareness. You will only start making a difference in your vehicle usage if you are aware of anything extra that you do in your vehicle.