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Posted
Jun 08 2009, 12:27 PM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
It irks us that gas prices are rising at a good clip. Other than grousing, is there something productive we can do to mitigate pain at the gas pump?
To that end, we signed up at Fuelly, an easy-to-use Web site that will help us track our gas mileage, compare it with that of similar vehicles, and improve our driving techniques to get more miles per gallon. Plus, the social-networking aspect of Fuelly will make this fun.
J.D. Roth at our partner blog Get Rich Slowly wrote about Fuelly when Matt Haughey and Paul Bausch created it a year ago: "I think this is a great idea. Fuelly taps the power of the masses to compile real fuel-efficiency data so that users can find ways to save money. Brilliant."
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Posted
Dec 19 2008, 05:59 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Filed under: spending, savings, The Simple Dollar, car models, gas prices, prices, cars, used cars, gas mileage, car loans, car shopping
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Trent Hamm at partner blog The Simple Dollar. In just a few short months, the price of gas at the station I regularly use has dropped from $4.09 per gallon to $1.49 per gallon -- an absolutely amazing drop. Not long ago, I spent $82 filling up my truck (which has a 20-gallon tank). The other day, I filled the tank for under $30. From a strict personal-finance perspective (and ignoring the larger global economic concerns) this is fantastic news for most people. If you have to fill a typical car tank each week (12 gallons), the price change is saving you somewhere on the order of $30 a week. That's $120 a month, an amount that can really help with debt repayment, saving for a down payment, or preparing for retirement. This shift in gas prices comes at an interesting time for me and my family. My wife and I have been carefully studying potential automobile purchases, and our calculations had led us to focus on automobiles that are efficient with their fuel. Using our numbers, assuming a $4 to $5 gallon of gas going forward, fuel efficiency was so valuable that it often trumped a higher price at the dealership.
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Posted
Nov 24 2008, 06:52 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Mark Huffman at partner blog ConsumerAffairs.com. Talk is intensifying in Washington, D.C., about the need for an economic-stimulus package early in the Obama administration to help lift the country out of its economic plunge. But economic factors have already delivered some economic stimulus without the Treasury Department having to write a single check. Since August, oil prices have been falling, and the price decline was speeded up by September's credit crisis. A barrel of oil has fallen from just over $147 in July to below $50 last week. As oil has plunged, so has the price of gasoline at the pump. Motorists who had grown accustomed to spending $75 or more to fill their tanks are now doing so for $40 or less. The difference stays into their pockets.
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Posted
Oct 27 2008, 07:52 AM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
I paid $2.65 a gallon at the pump over the weekend. Not that long ago, the same station was charging $4.67. Every day as I wait for the bus, I check the gas station signage, and every day it drops a little lower. Compared with the hue and cry about how expensive gas was getting, I've barely heard a peep about the tumbling prices.
Then again, the current economic upheaval continues to demand attention. No wonder nobody seems to notice that the average price of gas has come down about $1.47 since mid-July-- and a lot more than that in some areas. In fact, it's gone below $2 in many places.
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Posted
Aug 22 2008, 02:14 PM
by
Ryan MacClanathan
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
"Slugging" an impromptu form of hitchhiking/car pooling is quickly
becoming the hottest way to travel in our nation's capital. The practice allows
commuters to save money, time and the environment by driving in a car-pool
lane.
The catch -- you must be willing to share your car with a stranger.
Matt at the GreenUpgrader
describes this simple concept:
- Drivers line up in a
designated area.
- The drivers pull up to the
line of people waiting for a ride and hold out signs with their destination or shout it out to the
first person in line.
- If that person isn't heading
to that destination, he or she shouts it out to the rest of the line and
the first two people going that way jump into the car.
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Posted
Aug 20 2008, 12:59 PM
by
Ryan MacClanathan
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Americans are driving less because of high fuel prices.
Presumably, that means fewer accidents, which in turn means we'll all see some
relief on our auto insurance bills.
Right?
Maybe not. Evidence that rates will be going down is far
from clear, says insurance expert Sam Friedman at A View From the Press Box, and the
insurance industry seems reluctant to make such an across-the-board move.
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Posted
Aug 01 2008, 01:24 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This guest post comes from ConsumerReports.org. With elevated gas prices, many commuters are looking at alternatives to save money. Some people are opting to downsize their vehicle to a smaller, more fuel-efficient car, others are moving to two-wheeled transportation like motorcycles and scooters, and many other commuters are choosing to forfeit the car and take public transportation. However, for those who can't change their means of transportation or don't have access to public transit, a car pool can be a great way to save money by sharing gas and toll costs, providing driving companionship, and, when you alternate driving, saving wear and tear on your car. To gauge the impact gasoline prices have had on American motorists, the Consumer Reports National Research Center recently conducted a random, nationwide Auto Pulse survey.
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Posted
Jul 29 2008, 04:42 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Call it a desperation move or marketing genius. A Florida car dealer is offering a free energy-efficient car when customers buy a big truck or SUV.
BOGO in the showroom seems to be working. Dealer Jack Holcomb at New Smyrna Chevrolet in New Smyrna Beach said he's generating interest in his previously shunned gas-guzzling inventory. (And, as you'll note by reading the comments section below, it's not a unique idea. Readers are reporting similar promotions across the country.)
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Posted
Jul 29 2008, 12:19 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Here's something that hadn't happened in nearly 30 years: The number of miles driven by Americans has fallen for seven straight months. And if things keep going the way they've been, we might see something we haven't experienced as a nation since 1961: a drop in annual traffic deaths below 40,000. It should be no surprise that both are related to the high price of gas and other essentials like food.
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Posted
Jul 25 2008, 12:49 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
We've read about how more people are running out of gas on their way to wherever. Were they short on money for gas, or were they employing one of Punny Money's "5 incredibly stupid ways people are trying to save money on gas"? The fact is, with gas at more than $4 a gallon, auto clubs all over the country are reporting an increase in calls from stranded travelers. Some truly didn't have enough money for gas. "A select few morons are even running out of fuel on purpose -- just to get that free gallon of gas their automotive club or roadside-assistance program provides to get them going again," writes Nick at Punny Money. He's right.
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