Gas prices, let the anal speak!

[otis24]

I think many people are overl anal. And nevermore does the subject of a persons analaity (is that a word?) than when it comes to gas prices.

For instance, and I've breached this subject before, there are certain people that are insistant that they get the BEST price on gasoline. Let's suppose that a person has a 30 gallon fuel tank. That person can purchase gas for a certain price, but at station x, they can save a nickle per gallon. Their average fuel economy on a good day is 20 mpg. But they will drive forty miles out of their way to save a nickel per gallon to fill up. My mother-in-law is one of these people. On a differnt note,I've seen this scenario play itself out in a c-store where work. People will purchase less than 30 gals of gas, save a nickle per gallon, then use the atm to get cash to get the "cash discount" , but pay three dollars to get the cash.. Do the math. After driving out of the way, or paying atm fees, you are spending more money to "save" than if you just paid the extra nickle per gallon .
So, if you are one of the anal, I would really like to hear from you. I really do want to understand your mindset. Is it that so hard to do the math to see that you really aren't saving anything? What goes into your decision making process/

 

[Lyman]

I don't even have to do the math. I live a half block away from the cheapest station in town.

 

[HTSS_TR]

I usually buy gas on the route that I have to go doing several chores, I would search for low price gas station(s) on gasbuddy.com and pick one along the route that I will drive.

No, I don't use ATM card for almost anything. I buy gas at stations that accept credit cards, because I have a Visa with 5% rebate on gas, that why I don't buy gas at Arco because they accept cash and debit card only even they have lower price than anyone except Costco and Sams Club.

 

[expat]

I have never owned a vehicle (for long) that averaged less than 27 us mpg, or driven more tha half a mile out of my way to buy the Least expensive gas around.

Here, Cash is the same as credit, Always.

I'm often surprised to see gas stations in the U.S. virtually next door to each other, selling gas at significantly different prices.....With cars buying at each of them

 

[daves87rs]

I drive a small car...I'm not going to worry over pennies. I just put in good gas. ...

Simply put, if have to budget gas like that (to the the penny), then you really can't afford the car...

 

[Voltmaster]

use gasbuddy.come and their phone apps if its available

even if your not near by cheapest station , you have a feeling where they are and start going to those in future.

so far the prices has never been wrong once, been using the android app for 4 months.

 

[bvance554]

Thats not anal. Its stupid. Anal people aren't stupid, they're just anal.

 

[eljefino]

I was quietly thrilled when I gassed up a couple weeks back and the pump price ended in 8/10 of a cent in contradiction to the big lighted sign by the road.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Gas Buddy. It's an app for my Droid phone. It plots a route past the cheapest stations so no extra driving is required!

 

[rshaw125]

Never do any of this. Never pay ATM fees. I drive by Costco regularly if I need gas I buy some. Use my debit card at the pump.

 

[Zako2]

I would never get out of my way to go and drive somewhere out there to get slightly cheaper gas. Indeed, saving $1-3 is just not worth the trouble. However, I did learn of several gas stations in my area that are consistently cheaper than others, a few of them are actually brand name Shell gas stations, that charge at to 20c less than a gas station just a mile away from my home. My solution? When I go to gym or shopping in that area, which is about half mile away from the "cheap" gas stations, I make sure to fill up if I really need the gas. So I end up getting gas about 15 miles from where I live. However, I never actually drive those 15 miles strictly to buy gas.

Of course, the long term solution is to own a more fuel efficient vehicle. My car currently gets about 20mpg combined, with over 50% of miles strictly on highway, which is not optimal by today's standards IMO. My next car will be a compact or hybrid.

 

[sciphi]

I have never done this. It never made sense to me. If I need gas, I need gas. I do make sure to hit the cheaper stations in the area I'm in since they're on the way.

 

[Cujet]

My F150 has a 35 gallon tank. I generally fill up with 32 gallons.

The local Sunoco is 25-30 cents more per gallon than the downtown stations.

That's a savings of nearly $10 per tank.

I drive it 25,000+ miles per year.

The yearly savings is about $550-$600.

 

[mpvue]

I live in PA on the NJ border; NJ gas is .20-.25 cheaper per gallon. if I fill up, I can save almost $4, by driving 4mi round trip, or if I'm running errands that way, it's a wash.
it has nothing to do with being able to 'afford it' or not, money saved is money saved.

 

[Mr_Incredible]

I've got a Prius C.

I get 49 to 60 mpg on a tank full (depending on outside temp and my patience), have an 8 gallon fill up, and get about 400 miles per tank.

I pretty much don't care any more what the price of gas is doing.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: Cujet
My F150 has a 35 gallon tank. I generally fill up with 32 gallons.

The local Sunoco is 25-30 cents more per gallon than the downtown stations.

That's a savings of nearly $10 per tank.

I drive it 25,000+ miles per year.

The yearly savings is about $550-$600.



Since we buy around 3-4 thousand dollars worth of gas EVERY MONTH (!!!) we are quite careful where we purchase. There is a huge difference between the three counties we normally cover, so a little planning means real savings in a year.

 

[Smokescreen]

I buy my gas at the same stations all the time they give me 7c on the dollar return for food. Their prices are also always the lowest in the area.

 

[SLCraig]

My decision making process is pretty simple.
Yes, I do want to buy gas cheaper, we all do. But if its more than 2 minutes out of my way I don't bother.
I have the "luxury" of working in a different town from which I live, right now, gas in the town where I work is WAY cheaper than where I live, so I will fill up in town on the way home tonight. The gas station is on the way.

 

[Cutehumor]

I buy kroger gas with 3 cents off with kroger card. it beats all the name brand prices, I fill up twice a month. I rarely leave my town for cheaper gas. now when I visit my dad in Memphis, I fill up there because their gas is 30 cents/gallon cheaper than it is here. I paid #3.28/gallon for kroger gas with the 3 cent kroger card discount last saturday. my dad told me he paid $2.97/gallon

 

[supton]

I buy diesel, and have an expensive fuel system, so I've been reluctant to buy cheap fuel. I did finally give in and a get an Irvings rewards card, as I pretty much only buy Irving's clean diesel. I think the program is, after buying 50 gallons of fuel, the next fillup can get 10c/gallon off. Small consolation at $4.19/gallon (which it was a month ago), but still saves a bit over the typical 15 gallons I'll buy. I think it's 10c/gallon, up to 20gallons on a single fillup, then you have to wait until you've bought 50 gallons again.

I have a long commute, but even larger fuel tank. I just look at the gauge, figure out when I want to fill up, and fill up then. About 7 days of commuting, so every 1.5 weeks, give or take--plenty of time. Now with the rewards card I try to run as low as possible, before I'd fill up when I felt like, even if I still had a quarter tank left.