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Posted
Jul 03 2008, 01:06 PM
by
Karen Datko
This post comes from Joe Benton at partner blog ConsumerAffairs.com. The July Fourth holiday will see $4 gasoline throughout most of the country. Consumers will spend more money per gallon on gasoline celebrating the national holiday weekend than they have ever spent in the history of the nation.
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Posted
Jun 23 2008, 11:57 AM
by
Karen Datko
"NCN" at No Credit Needed has noticed a change on the personal-finance front that's due to the rising price of gas. Some gas stations are no longer taking credit cards for payment. Flexo at Consumerism Commentary reports about a variation on that practice: His favorite New Jersey station recently adopted a discount for cash customers. We can understand why both are happening. Gas stations pay a set percentage -- usually about 2% -- of each transaction involving a credit card. As the price of gas goes up, that 2% produces more revenue for the card companies, even though their costs for processing payments remain the same.
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Posted
Jun 20 2008, 02:51 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Don't bother Jennifer Derrick at Saving Advice with your e-mails about boycotts of Big Oil or a nationwide gas no-purchase day. Those tactics won't work, and she's tired of your complaining. Those e-mails "are both the product of, and perpetuated by, those who would rather complain and look for the easy way out of the oil situation than actually get up and do something about it," she says. Well, Jenn, if you won't let us run our mouths, what would you suggest we do? Change your personal dependence on oil, she says, and you'll have less to kvetch about.
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Posted
Jun 13 2008, 11:28 AM
by
Des Toups
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The ultimate gas-saving gadget is very close to free: a scalding-hot cup of McDonald's coffee, perched in the cupholder next to your thigh -- with the lid off.
You'd drive a little differently, right? Maybe ease into the gas more than before, look ahead a little further so you don't have to slow down for the next light, or maybe even plan your route to avoid stops and starts altogether. Slow and steady wins the gas mileage race.
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Posted
Jun 11 2008, 11:15 AM
by
Karen Datko
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Some frugal-living tips -- turning two-ply toilet paper into one-ply -- seem over the top, but others, like reusing Ziploc bags, are accepted practice in lots of households. The Happy Rock provides six "cheaper than cheap" tips "that border on fanatical to the point of being humorous" and asks readers to vote on their usefulness. "Rock" provides a thorough explanation of each über-frugal tip as part of an ongoing series of posts, complete with how-to links in case you need some help implementing them.
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Posted
Jun 09 2008, 09:13 AM
by
Donna Freedman
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When I got to the bank last Friday, a pickup and a sedan were in the drive-through lane. I didn't pull in behind them because I'd read that one way to save gas is to avoid drive-throughs. Just for fun, I decided to figure out how long I would have waited.
The owner of the pickup must have had some pretty complicated banking, because the vehicle sat there for six minutes -- and I don't know how long it had been there before I arrived. The sedan owner's transaction took four minutes. In other words, if I'd gotten in that line I would have spent 10 minutes idling plus whatever time my own deposit would have taken.
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Posted
Jun 06 2008, 07:30 AM
by
Karen Datko
Given a chance to have fun with an interactive Web site and learn how to save money on gasoline at the same time, we couldn't resist. So we went to the Alliance to Save Energy's new Drive Smarter Challenge Web site. To take the challenge, you tell the site what make and model you're driving. The site calculates how much you'll save by using up to six fuel-saving tips. Not just how much money and gas you'll save, but how much you'll reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. Interesting fact: Big Oil is one of the sponsors of this site.
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Posted
Jun 04 2008, 03:52 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
"Frugal Dad" has some great advice for buying your teen's first vehicle, and it starts with this: Don't buy your kid a new car. "Some out there hock their own financial futures to put their prince or princess in a brand new car, and pay for it long into their college years," Frugal Dad writes. "Not only is this harmful to the parents' financial plan, it sends a bad message to teenagers." Need we say more about encouraging a sense of entitlement?
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Posted
Jun 03 2008, 10:11 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
A friend -- we'll call her Ms. Pedal to the Metal -- told us the other day that she has reduced her speed to improve the gas mileage of her big pickup truck. If she's doing this, can the rest of America be far behind? But until everyone catches on, some drivers who are employing this effective way to save gas are drawing the ire of roadway warriors. This from David at The Good Human: "On the freeway down to Laguna Beach, I drove a solid 65; no more, no less. And what did I get back for it? A lot of honks and a special middle-fingered tribute."
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Posted
May 27 2008, 10:57 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
"Clever Dude" has been taking the DC Metro to work for more than a year and has noticed that more and more people, motivated by ever-higher gas prices, are joining him on the ride. Some don't know simple rules of commuter courtesy. As a result, sometimes he's "Angry Dude" by the time he gets to work. Clever Dude's "10 tips for my fellow mass-transit riders (egotistical rant)" may prevent you from offending other passengers crammed into the same train or bus.
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