Dealing With The High Price of Gas

I thought I would post some of my strategies for dealing with the high price of gas. If anyone has any tips please feel free to comment.

1) Ebay - I've sold some stuff on Ebay to make a few dollars. I've also bought some used stuff to save money. It doesn't always amount to much but of course every little bit helps. One thing that I've found that has a little bit of value on Ebay are coupons. I sold some Similac coupons that we don't use and then purchased Enfamil coupons that we do use. Essentially with two transactions I traded a $5 coupon that I couldn't use for a $5 coupon I could use. Net $5 for gas.

2) Buy fewer brand name goods - When we hit the grocery store, we often find ourselves buying the generic store brand products instead of the leading national brand. Sometimes you can't tell the difference and sometimes you can. Recently we bought the store brand cheese vs buying Kraft and we wound up with a few extra dollars in our pocket.

3) The Bus/Ridesharing - Most days I ride with my wife to work, since I'm on her way. That way no paying for parking and gasoline for both cars. If she can't drive me in I ride the bus, which is $2.25 each way, much less than gas and depreciation on the car.

4) Sam's Club - They sell gas for several cents cheaper than other local stations. You have to pay $35 for a membership to join, but with 2 cars it pays for itself. One time a few weeks ago I saved 26 cents per gallon, so I filled up both cars. Sam's also helps keep the other local stations price for gas lower. Costco also has cheaper gas.

5) Cutting coupons - We cut out coupons for the products we use. The cost of the Sunday paper always pays for itself.

6) Cheaper alternatives in eating at restaurants - There's almost always a way to save some money. Instead of eating at Applebee's we might eat at Wendy's instead. I like their 99 cent side salad. Another tip for eating out, drink water instead of beverages you have to pay for.

7) Eliminating Standby/Wasted Power - As much as 10 percent of a typical residential electric bill is spent on “standby” power – the power consumed while products are turned “off” or otherwise performing no useful function! Virtually any appliance that operates with a remote control uses a small amount of electricity while it waits for your instruction to turn on. If you've got a TV, VCR, Cable Box, Stereo, DVD player, Video Game system, Cable/DSL modem, fax machine, etc you can be using 5-10-15-20+ watts an hour per appliance for 24 hours a day. That can really add up. I have several appliances like my TV/Stereo/DVD players hooked up to a power strip, so when I'm not using them, I just flip the switch so that I'm not wasting electricity the 20 hours per day that they're not in use. Check out Standby Power - A Growing Issue.

8) Fewer trips - I got out of going to Michigan this weekend, because it was the start of Ohio State's football season, but it would have cost an arm and a leg to go there anyways.

Of course, there's always "just spend less".

Update I forgot number 9) Drink Cheap Beer