How are gas prices affecting you?

[RubyMagic]

Gas prices have been over $4 where I live for a while now.

Yesterday I just bought an $800 dollar bike instead of photo gear so I can commute in town.

 

[GeorgiaOwl]

I'm wishing I still had my SV650 that I sold last year. I have a SportTrac and I'm thinking of selling it and getting a Civic or some other small car.
We've consolidated trips, and my wife now drives the truck ( she works closer than I do, or than I did when I was actually working)

And I sure as heck don't run down the interstate at 85mph any more, and I've noticed that alot of other people are driving slower, too.

 

[Alex_B]

As mentioned in another thread, currently over here in Germany I pay around $11 per gallon. And yes, I can feel it, even though I commute only short distance and drive a small German car which consumes less that most US cars.

 

[nealjpage]

I walk to work.

 

[LaFoto]

The high petrol prices make life a lot (read a lot) more expensive. Of course.

 

[kundalini]

I've been working from my home for almost 4 years now, therefore do not drive much anyway. Maybe 5K miles per year. Not only do I save on gas but food, clothes and most importantly, my personal time!

I think around here, RTP (Research Triangle Park) in NC, a lot of companies are allowing remote employees.

 

[LaFoto]

Well, to give you a more detailed answer, I changed my way of driving a little when the petrol prices started to rise and rise, and have now got used to changing my gears earlier, using the fifth in town, too, accelerting over longer periods of time, not overtaking "only because I can", trying to look far ahead to be able to reduce speed early simply by taking the foot off the accelerator etc.
I didn't believe it would be that effective, but true fact is that today I'm thus saving up to 12 % of petrol compared to my earlier driving (and the changes in my behaviour are totally minor).

Another thing: make sure you always have enough air in your tyres. That, too, helps a lot.

And I plan my journeys better, combine shopping with taking Sabine to the pool and such, to avoid unnecessary trips.

 

[caspertodd]

I have to leave earlier for work now because I am driving so slow. Mainly accelerating slowly. I also get home later. The main thing it has changed is my wife and I don't go visit our parents as much. I guess it's not a good thing to ignore family just to save a few bucks. We no longer go out driving around looking at houses, finding new roads in our area, or just site seeing in general. My wife and I on average are spending about $600 a month on gas just mainly driving to work and back. I miss the $200 a month days!!!!

 

[ferny]

Another thing: make sure you always have enough air in your tyres. That, too, helps a lot.

Not only that but incorrect inflation is the biggest cause of tyre failure.

I think my sisters were under half inflated once. I was shocked as they looked low, but not that low. They're run-flats on a mini which probably hid the problem.

 

[Corry]

There was actually a pretty recent thread on this: http://thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=124164

Gas prices are killing me...I have three jobs and school, and the shortest drive I have is about 44 miles round trip.

With a POS car that only gets about 20 miles to the gallon these days, and gas at $4 a gallon...well, you do the math.

 

[mrodgers]

And yes, I can feel it, even though I commute only short distance and drive a small German car which consumes less that most US cars.

Assumption. Needs clarification. First, US cars as manufactured by US companies or US cars manufactured abroad for the US market?

The US government has regulations that the average fuel consumption for an auto manutacturer's available passenger vehicle line up (excludes pickup trucks) must be something like 26 or 28 mpg. That is just for vehicles that are offered from the manufacturers.

In reality, probably half of the vehicles out on the road, at least where I am, are SUV and full size pickup trucks. I have yet heard anyone state that their SUV or pickup truck gets better than 16 mpg, usually based on highway driving.

You all can complain all you want about fuel prices. I'm still at roughly $50 per week to get to work and the wife drives probably $40 every 2 weeks (fill once per paycheck period for her.) My problem is the fact that my last heating oil bill was $865 for a month and a half of heating. I'm scared sh**less of what my heating bill will be next year. With $80 a pay ($160 a month) left to pay for the heating bill, I will probably be homeless within the next 2 years.

How does oil prices affect folks around where I am? Read the real estate transactions in the newspaper. It's about a full page worth of mortgage foreclosures every week. No one is buying houses, everyone is loosing theirs. I'm not too far behind.

 

[Cerradura]

I've cut back on my driving rather significantly

 

[astrostu]

I filled up about once a month 3 years ago, and I fill up about once a month now.