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If you bought an SUV or truck in 2007 it cost around $50 to fill its spacious 20 gallon tank. Today, it’s about $75.
According to the American Automobile Association, gas prices in New England have risen for the 11th straight week, averaging $3.75 per gallon. Some economists are predicting $4 per gallon by summer, others as high as $5 if Mideast problems worsen.
“My costs have gone up 15 to 20 percent each time I fill up,” said Grafton resident and sealcoat business owner Richard A. Allen, who drives a GMC Yukon. Allen, 67, is especially vulnerable to gas prices. He currently spends $165 to fuel his truck and his sealcoating equipment.
Mary Lou Errara, a local massage therapist, doesn’t like the price increases but keeps filling up. “It stinks,” she said, “but I still have to go to work.”
Indeed, business owners and commuters alike are watching the almost daily increase with anxiety. For most, driving slower is the best way to increase mileage, but there are other creative solutions.
Here are five practical ways to save money at the pump:
1. Take advantage of “gas rewards” programs: Many people know it exists but don’t use it. Certain grocery stores like Stop & Shop and Price Chopper allow customers to save 10 cents per gallon based on a point system. At Stop & Shop it is roughly one point per dollar depending on the promotion, with a cap at $2.20 per gallon. There are a few catches, the points expire every 30 days, only Shell stations accept the points, and certain items bought like tobacco and milk are excluded.
2. Use GasBuddy.com: For best results, download the iPhone or Android app. Wherever you might be, GasBuddy will pinpoint the lowest gas prices within driving distance. This is great when you want to avoid the overpriced stations on the Massachusetts Turnpike. But don’t drive too far to save a few pennies, it will negate the savings.
3. Avoid “gas saving products”: When gas prices spike sales of additives and gadgets that claim to improve mileage go up. According to the Federal Trade Commission, they offer minimal or no benefit to consumers. Save your money, they say.
4. Keep your car or truck in tip-top shape: Let’s face it; changing the oil is far down on the “to-do” list. But the U.S.Department of Energy says changing the engine oil regularly will save about 4 to 7 cents per gallon, while keeping proper tire pressure will improve mileage by 11 cents per gallon. If you drive an older car changing a clogged air filter can improve MPG by 2 to 6 percent.
5. Never, ever, top-off the tank: Have you ever kept pumping after the nozzle clicks off? The Environmental Protection Agency says not only does that push harmful gasoline vapors into the air, but that extra amount could mean paying for gasoline that gets fed back into the station’s tanks because your gas tank is full. Don’t give the station an opportunity to sell the same gas twice.
Saving at the pump offers small victories for consumers. But if gas prices remain high then eventually the price of goods will follow. The self-employed sealcoater, Richard Allen, said that he will keep his fees the same but worries since his material is petroleum based. “I have to eat that cost,” he said. “There are a lot of people in the sealcoat business.”
Richard Price can be reached at rich.price01@gmail.com
Comments (28)
Is it too late to buy EXXON stock?
Auburn spends over a million dollars a week! Drive around town does it look it? Property values have plummeted taxes keep going up for what?
Auburn spends over a million dollars a week! Drive around town does it look it? Property values have plummeted taxes keep going up for what?
Slugs on the public dole outnumber people who live and work in the real world ! It's over for America!
Obama is wide open for criticism on high gas prices. His $30 billion in policies for alternative energy have yielded minuscule results, with too many actually going into bankruptcy so early in their business development cycle as to bring into question what was the real motive for the spending.
In reality though, domestic oil production effects our country's economic wealth a lot more then it effects the price of oil that trades on the world market and is purchased by the highest bidder. Soon, in 2015 natural gas will have export capability making its price more reflective of world consumption rather then domestic consumption. And to those who preach energy conservation as the solution to high gas prices, the fact is USA uses 6% less gasoline today then we did in 2006, but gas prices have still increased. Again because it is a world market that dictates the price of gas and not domestic consumption or production that is the determining factor.
In fact Obama's QE2, monetary supply policy increased gas prices 15% within two months because traders saw the value of the greenback being deliberately weakened, meaning that they would need more dollars to buy a barrel of oil and that did happen, eroding much of the effects of QE2 monetary policy.
So in the end folks, your jibber-jabber needs to be worked on, or you'll continued to be played like fools. The truth is nationalizing oil, like so many other countries have done, yields the greatest social benefits for the producing countries. We nationalized health care like so many other countries, why not nationalize energy production like so many other countries? The truth is, energy is our countries natural resources and should be respected accordingly.
I remember that time period well, and I also remember a 'very honest' President named Jimmy Carter outlining a strategic Plan for Energy Independence for the Nation.
You had me (sort of) up until you said nationalize. That doesn't have a history of working out very well. Putting politicians and bureaucrats in control is never a good idea. Markets (i.e. consumers and producers) do a much better job.
re: Just a thought to get you thinking. Remarkably I think our county's answer is to follow Australia's example. Basically they've determined that natural resources are a national asset and if companies want to profit from those resources, Australia wants a 50% cut.
England, Japan and China all cried foul, but they all are still there conducting mining and gas business. But it did push China a little more towards S. America.
re: Just a thought to get you thinking. Remarkably I think our county's answer is to follow Australia's example. Basically they've determined that natural resources are a national asset and if companies want to profit from those resources, Australia wants a 50% cut.
There is so much wrong with the reasoning in this forum, I'm not sure where to start.
Firstly, there is NO supply/demand issue. When was the last time that you pulled into a gas station with no gas? When was the last time your fuel was rationed? When was the last time you had to wait to get the fuel you needed? Unless you're over the age of 45, the answer is probably never. Global supply and demand have, and will continue to be, mostly in balance. There was a bit of a demand spike in '08 which was met with an increase in supply. Since then demand has settled a bit with the cooling global economy.
Given that there is no real supply concern, gas prices are mostly self-limiting. Just as in 2008, the dire predictions of $5 or more for gas are unlikely to be proven correct. As prices rise, economic output falls and takes demand for fuel with it.
Commodity buying, and thus pricing, has to do with expectations of FUTURE market dynamics. Just as you'd only buy a stock (unless shorting) if you expected a company to do well in the future, you only buy a commodity if you expect future market conditions to warrant higher prices. Thus it does not matter that the oil from Keystone will not be online instantaneously. As I described above, the issue is not supply anyway. Opening Keystone and other related initiatives may reduce expectations of future price increases and therefore reduce trader enthusiasm for oil.
The real problem right now is not supply and demand for fuel; it's an economic and monetary policy that insists on pumping inflated dollars into an asset du jour. First housing, now commodities. This bubble will burst too. Hopefully by the time it does, we'll have someone a bit more prescient running the show who sees the error in our Keynesian ways.
I have a feeling the American people may not want a possible Mr. Bush Jr., Number III., again? Or maybe a Mr. Limbaugh or Grover Norquist potentially running the Country? I think well respected Republican Journalist George Will, in a recent Editorial advised the Republicans to concentrate on retaining control of the House Of Representatives and not potentially the Presidential Election?
Could the increase in Gas Prices also potentially reflect that the Economy is picking up speed, and along with it picking up speed bring an increase in Energy Demand and Energy costs? Remember we are no longer loosing 800,000 jobs a month like we were doing under Mr. Bush Jr. I think in February we gained 200,000 jobs, better then the Mr. Bush Jr., days?
I agree the Federal Reserve maybe lowering the value of Dollar has an impact, but maybe once we are out of this large ditch we were put in by Mr. Bush Jr, and sailing down the highway again that may change?
I guess the Honolulu Hawaii Newspapers putting the Presidents Birth announcement in the News Papers when he was born, did that because they knew he was going to be our President in the future? Or maybe they potentially conspired with the Kenyan Government to cloud the issue of his citizenship? Yes 40 plus years ago because they some how knew it maybe be questioned in the future?......lol
Please don't think that I am advocating another Republican president. Nowhere in my previous post did I state that. The Bush/Greenspan administration had a great opportunity to address some of the underlying problems that have led to our current situation. They failed. I do not expect a Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich to do any better. The current president's birthplace has no relevance to the discussion, so I suggest you remove such clutter from future posts as it obscures the point you're trying to make.
I don't buy the argument that increased economic output is leading to higher prices. While it might seem a reasonable hypothesis, it is unsupported by fact. According to data available on the International Energy Agency's website, supply and demand for oil are basically flat. Demand has been falling recently due to high prices. The improved economy has not resulted in anything more than a small proportional change in demand. Certainly nothing close to the 200% increase in price we've seen recently.
Before discounting the effect of currency valuation on oil prices, look at what's happening to other commodities. It's not just oil that's rising. They all have very different market dynamics, but are experiencing a similar phenomenon.
Maybe I had you confused with another poster that was potentially blaming the President for all the high Gas Prices?
My final thoughts:
The gas price consumers pay at the pump reflects the world price of oil, state and federal taxes, and other factors such as escalating refining costs, environmental regulations, and the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy. Which we may agree on.
Understanding what goes into the cost of gasoline is key to understanding what the government could do to lower gasoline prices. While U.S. policy cannot affect the world price of oil much in either the short or long term (though policies aimed at reducing instability in oil-producing regions couldn’t hurt), policymakers do have other options that might reduce the cost of gasoline, including: tax holidays at the state and federal level; strong-dollar and inflation-control policies at the Federal Reserve; and relaxation, suspension, or simplification of environmental regulations that fragment markets, increase market fragility, and boost refining costs.
Agreed.
As far as driving a sensible vehicle how about starting with the town of auburn's celebrites! why does the sewer guy need to drive a town owned and fueled ford expedtion?
Because he can
The price of gas isn't going to affect barry's reelection at all! With half of the population not paying any taxes and half of the households in the United States receiving some form of government check every month the great one has got it made!
junior does not consider FICA or medicare and medicare or sales taxes as taxes. TURN OFF FAUX NEWS!
'Let Them Eat Cake'! An Opinion:
"Gas Prices, the Flip Side' An Opinion:
Oil is traded on the World Global Markets, plus U.S., Oil Co.'s may Export more Oil for their Company profits, then dedicate it's possible use to America's Gas Stations.
It will be really interesting to see how the Pro-Obama spin doctors weave their tales come the late-summer, after gas has surpassed $5/gal. and only the wealthy can afford to go on summer vacation. I'm sure former President Bush will continually be blamed for this...4 years later.
Obama has done little to give the middle class any hope, yet he has gotten into bed with every major lobbying group, which is a change from what he said he would do. If anyone is surprised, don't be.
Bin Laiden is dead, so is in Ronald Reagan's words "The flaky Barbarian"
Jobs are being created very month for the past year.
Why would any one vote for conservative economic polices is beyond me? Our MBA business leader president economic policies were so good that John McCain coasted into the presidency on the back of a expanding economy, brought about by conservative economic policy of low taxation for the super rich and deregulation of the banking industry.
I'll keep my performance vehicle thank you very much. It will take much more than $4/gallon gas for me to give up spirited driving! No thank you on the lifeless 30+ mpg commuter appliance.
I find it a bit amusing that Americans don't think twice about paying for all sorts of useless luxuries. (HD TVs and their associated monthly fees, premium cable channels, 3g/4g data plans, etc) but somehow the thought of spending an extra $20/month on premium fuel sends chills down peoples' spines.
If more people drove cars with engaging dynamics, maybe they'd spend more time paying attention to the task at hand - driving.
EDIT: Oops. I responded to the wrong post. This reply was for Jethro.
Here's another gas-saving tip: Drive a sensible vehicle!
If you want to keep driving a pickup truck even if you never haul anything, or a Suburban, Expedition, Hummer, or a performance vehicle requiring premium fuel for your daily commute, don't complain about the cost of fueling the hog. And don't talk about how safe you are in a large vehicle. Most crashes involve a single vehicle, with a drastically increased rollover risk for SUV's. You're probably safer in an SUV with a head-on collision with a moose, but otherwise you're just as safe in a Toyota Corolla. Assuming you use the seat belt.
Ya just what I want to drive on route 128 a small car
A divided highway is actually the safest place for ANY vehicle. In the late 80's, I drove a Chevette on Route 128 several times a week when I was in college. Great little car (when it actually ran!)
Sick of the high price of Gas well you voted him in, and I'll bet most of you will vote for Obarma again so stop crying, and you tree huggers are to blame also, (don,t drill here, don't explore for gas here) enought said. VOTE REPUBLICAN
I bet you are looking forward to see the oil rigs off cape code and Miami's south beach.
Didn't vice president Dick Chaney say that the Iraq war will bring down the price of oil.
Republican, never letting the facts inter-fear with their opinions.