Sean Adkins: April 2008 Archives

For the past month, my wife and I have been doing what we can to save money. We've stopped eating out, are taking leftovers for lunch and have started going to the park with our dogs instead of heading to the movie theater. Coupon clipping has helped, but high gas and food prices remain are many obstacles to padding our saving's account. What tips can you offer to further save cash?

I didn't think it would happen this fast. But, I was wrong. While driving on Route 74 today, I glanced up at a gas station's sign and saw that the price for a gallon of regular gas had hit $3.55. Other stations that I passed this afternoon advertised the same price. To me, gas used to be something I would pick up on my way to work and not major expense. Now, I find myself budgeting about $50 a week for gas. Have you started budgeting for fuel? What have you given up to fill your tank?

So I'm on the phone with my buddy Frank the other night and he tells me that he plans to spend his tax rebate windfall on a hi-tech cell phone. You know the one that I mean. This particular shiny cell phone costs about $500 and features a touch-screen. Surely, something no house should be without. At any rate, Frank tells me that he is thankful that the government is giving him money. My blood started to boil.

One month ago, the price for a gallon of regular gas in York county averaged $3.25, a record when compared to the $3.238 that locals paid to fill up their tanks in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Today, county residents paid an average of $3.359 per gallon, another record according to AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report. Following that trend, local gas prices should shoot up another dime to land at $3.45 a gallon by this time next month. How high will pump prices reach until residents start reacting in a concerted way? In May 2004, Dan Wagner of Hellam Township picketed outside the Sheetz gas station in Springettsbury Township to protest regular gas prices that topped $1.99 per gallon. Will more people take to ridding bikes or are additional public protests on the horizon?

I've attempted nearly every trick possible to save money on gasoline. Completely filling my tires and taking the heavy junk out of my trunk saved a little, but not very much. As of today, York County's average price for regular gas stood at a record $3.328 per gallon. For now, the only way I've found to save gas is to use my reward points accrued at local supermarkets. How do you save gas? What tips can you offer that have kept your gas budget afloat?

On Sunday, my wife and I decided to go over our finances and sort through our bills. No, it wasn't a calm or leisurely chat on how we might better manage our money. The conversation focused more on how we should start saving money rather than going out to the movies, eating out and buying mulch from Lowe's. We decided to make it point to eat at home and rent movies from the library rather than hike down to Hollywood Video. How have you managed to plug the holes of vanishing discretionary income? What tips do you have to save rather than spend?