How To Factor Gas Costs Into Car Purchases
Eileen Gunn | MainStreet.com

With gas prices settling in well above the $3.50-a-gallon level that Bill Ford has cited as the tipping point for American drivers, more and more people are trying smaller cars on for size, or at least trading in their sedan, SUV or minivan for a more fuel-sipping counterpart.

No surprise, there are more and more resources available online to help you find the auto that will suit your needs while saving you a chunk of change at the pump.

For example, Kelley Blue Book, that longtime resource for information on buying and selling cars, recently launched KBB Green, which is not perfect, but still a good starting point for information on eco-friendly developments in the auto industry.

The Web site offers forums here you can discuss the pros and cons of hybrids, and news articles about green technology advances and new fuel-efficient cars that are hitting the market. It also has a couple of tools that are handy, but could be handier.

One tool lets you compare the fuel efficiency of your car with one that you’re thinking of buying, which seems perfect for today’s gas-conscious consumers. But it lets you compare your car only to those from a list of vehicles that the KBB staff has selected for their fuel efficiency.

So, I couldn’t compare the Ford Focus I sold earlier this year to the Toyota Matrix that replaced it to see whether I’m saving as much in gas and emissions as I think I am.

Also, it’s just assumed you’ll be financing the car and paying it off over time, which is more expensive than buying it outright, and changes the critical calculation: How long before my gas savings outpaces what I lay out to buy a new car.

Another calculator lets you type in your weekly mileage, the cost of gas near you and the make of your car to find out how your monthly petrol tab compares with that of ten particularly fuel-efficient cars.

It’s a tool that has limited use, but its bar graph and little car icons drive home how monstrously extravagant it is to drive something like a GMC Yukon truck. If you drive 300 miles a week in it, and pay $4.25 at the pump, you pay $395 a month in gas, versus $251 for a Chevrolet Tahoe hybrid or $221 for a Toyota Highlander hybrid — or, to really go in the other direction, just under $149 for a Mini Cooper.

The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy puts out lists of the 10 overall best and 10 worst autos, as well as a list of best-in-class. There is some crossover with KBB’s list. The Prius, of course, is on both, as are the Honda Civic, the Nissan Altima, Smart car and Mini Cooper.

These lists make for good quick hits, if you want to narrow your search to the most fuel-efficient cars overall or in a particular category.

But the Department of Energy provides a wider view of the auto market, listing mileage, greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution score and annual fuel costs for most cars on the market. And, it lets you search by class or car maker within a given model year (from 2000 through 2009).

While each of these round-ups is good for general comparison purposes, most rely on the mileage stats that the manufacturers generate, usually under the most ideal conditions.

Consumer Reports does its own road testing of popular cars, and its real-world mileage is usually a little less rosy than the auto makers’ numbers. For example, Consumer Reports says the Prius gets 34 miles per gallon in the city and 47 on the highway, where the DOE reports 48 and 45, respectively. Though, by any measure, the Prius’ efficiency is nothing to sneeze at.

A hard-core environmentalist or super-savvy saver would recommend skipping the new car and just parking your existing one in the garage while you hop a bike and take mass transit or carpool — and more people are doing that.

But if you can’t get by without four wheels and are in the market for something that’s more cost-efficient to run, you’ve got plenty of help these days in finding it.

A reminder that you can still enter our $500 Gas Giveaway.

In the meantime, if you have the mad money to spend, you can now buy yourself a jet pack. Sure saves on gasoline!

You Think Oil’s Going Down? Think Again
by Eileen Gunn | MainStreet.com

If you aren’t counting your nickels and dimes (and $20s and $50s) at the pump just yet, or cutting back on air travel, or finding ways to cut your heating bills, you soon will be.

I was talking this week with Geoffrey Heal, a professor at the Columbia Business School, who believes that “the sky’s the limit” when it comes to oil prices, and that it’s possible we haven’t even gotten airborne yet.

He also believes that as oil reserves grow scarcer and oil prices climb beyond the $125-a-barrel range in which they’ve been trading, it will increasingly created both challenges and opportunities for businesses and change the way we go about our lives.

Heal has lately been thinking a lot about Harold Hotelling, a preeminent economist and Columbia professor in the 1930s and ’40s. Hotelling had a theory that once a society determines that a resource like oil is finite, its price will keep climbing higher and higher. People will gradually begin seeking an alternative before it actually runs out because it will become steadily more unaffordable.

We’ve reached this inflection point with oil, Heal says, because we’re using it up faster than we’re finding new reserves, a situation that we didn’t face even during the oil crisis in the 1970s.

Consider some statistics.

Americans now use twice as much oil as Saudi Arabia produces every day, according to the Energy Information Administration.

The 30 countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development account for two-thirds of the world’s daily oil consumption — with the US leading this elite pack by a wide margin — but the real growth in demand is happening in the developing world. In the 1990s, oil use grew by 35% in non-OECD countries, vs. 11% in the developed world, according to the EIA.

Most of this developing world growth was happening in Asia, where the EIA estimates that oil consumption will grow by nearly 125% between 1995 and 2015. Anyone who has seen the streets of cities like Hanoi, Saigon, Bangkok, Phnom Penh, Shanghai and Delhi increasingly clogged with mopeds will tell you they wholeheartedly believe it.

There are reserves we could tap into, you say, but Heal points out they are only a drop in the gas tank.

The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that there are about 90 billion barrels in the controversial Alaska National Wildlife Refuge, and another 40 billion barrels or so have been found off of Brazil’s coast. But global oil consumption is more than 30 billion barrels a year and growing (U.S. consumption is more than 7 billion).

“These are regarded as huge discoveries,” says Heal. “But you’re talking about four years worth of oil.”

Additionally, he says there had been a deeply held belief among people such as himself that oil prices would top out at around $60 or $70 a barrel. The idea was that at this price it would become financially viable to turn coal into an oil equivalent or to extract oil from Canada’s tar sands. So there would be new supply. But no one counted on global warming.

“Both of these processes create a lot of carbon dioxide,” he notes. “No one wants to invest in them in a world where we’re facing emissions caps.”

All in all, “We always knew in principle that oil was exhaustible, but now it’s beginning to look exhaustible,” he concludes. “The more you use today, the less you have tomorrow.”

And the more we use now, the more it will cost tomorrow. We’re already seeing changes in business and consumer patterns that are likely to get more pronounced as this happens. “Anywhere it isn’t essential, people will switch away from oil,” he says.

Some examples of change that we’re already seeing:

Heal says that the biggest change he’s seeing is in the future business leaders of America who he teaches at Columbia Business School:

“There were always a few students, two, three, four percent of the class, who were interested in the environment, but for the most part, if I brought up climate change I’d be greeted with yawns,” he says. “Now hands go up and they ask a lot of questions.” Compared with just five years ago, he says, students are more “aware and concerned.”

He adds, “I think that when they get into senior management positions, it will have an impact.”

No one can say where oil prices will be by then, but if Heal is right, and I have a feeling he is, they are sure to be higher.

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In honor of our contest “Fill Your Tank Using Your Right Brain”, here’s a creative way to start tracking your fuel usage. It’s a company called FuelFrog. I spoke with the founders recently. Here’s what they had to say about conserving fuel, reducing costs, and using Twitter.

What do you hope to accomplish with FuelFrog?

We will continue giving our users insight into their gas mileage and amount they’re spending on gas. Moving forward we will likely give users the ability to connect and see how their gas mileage compares with similar vehicles in different geographical regions. We will also allow our users to see data with more granularity and gain insight into how certain factors can affect their gas mileage (ie: maintenance, weather, various driving conditions, etc).

How does responsible use of fuel play into a personal budget as well as planetary-health goodness?

If we can be more responsible in our fuel consumption we can lessen the impact on our wallets and on the environment. By carefully tracking the amount we’re spending on fuel and the efficiency at which our car is consuming it, we can properly budget and invest the savings elsewhere. Also, we can lessen the impact on the environment by properly maintaining our vehicles and ensuring that they are consuming fuel as efficiently as possible.

Why utilize web technology like Twitter?

Twitter is a very popular tool that many are familiar with and use regularly. By utilizing their API we were able to get FuelFrog up and running quickly, with little overhead, and tie it to an existing application and user base. As we move forward we will look at additional ways for our users to enter their data using mobile devices.

What’s been the most interesting discovery so far?

After launching FuelFrog we began receiving a large number of emails from individuals around the world wanting to track their fuel consumption. We have since added the ability to track gas mileage using additional units. It has been interesting learning more about how gas mileage is tracked differently among various countries.

What’s your three favorite gasoline cost saving tips?

1. Carpool: Find co-workers who live near you and ride to work together. You’ll save on gas and talking with a friend on the way to work is a lot more interesting than listening to talk radio.

2. Using a tool such as FuelFrog, track your car’s gas mileage on an ongoing basis to ensure you’re getting the maximum miles per gallon. By monitoring your car’s gas mileage you’ll quickly learn if your car isn’t consuming gas as efficiently as possible, wasting fuel and money.

3. Purchase fuel very early in the morning or late in the evening. Some stations will raise prices during peak hours of the day (during the morning commute and during rush hour).

Related:
* Use Your Right Brain to Fill Your Gas Tank (a Geezeo contest!)
* Facebook Group focused on gas prices & usage
* Six Tips for Gas Problems
* Pre-Paid Gas Might Splash Back in Your Face
* Six Tips to Commute Well With Others
* Unexpected Victims of Gasoline Price Increases

Attention: Creative Folks With Tanks to Fill (or public transport tickets to buy)

We’re looking for the best gasoline-saving, money-saving tips. The best tipster will receive a $500 debit card to use at their favorite filling station - OR - $500 worth of public transportation tickets (your choice!). Two runner-up will bask in the glory and receive a limited Geezeo t-shirt. The shirt reads: “I’m Having an Out-of-Money Experience”, making it the perfect wardrobe choice at your next gas-station visit.

But first: some interesting Geezeo gasoline statistics:

In the last year, Geezeo users spent the most money per visit at Sunoco ($32.45). They spent the least at BP ($29.71).

Also, the average visit to the gas station has risen 20% in a year (from $29.10 to $34.88). That’s pretty good considering the price of gas has increased 37% in that time (from 2.92/gal to 4.00/gal). Are Geezeo users getting more gas conscious??

Here’s how to win:

1. You must be a registered Geezeo user (FREE - sign up here)

2. Use your creative right-brain to communicate a gasoline-saving/money-saving tip. Guidelines:

Video - 15 seconds or less
Music - 15 seconds or less
Words - 200 or less
Artwork - 50 KB or less
You must own all copyright and grant us permission to use.

3. Post your entry at your website, blog, or on YouTube. Send an email with your Geezeo user name and LINK to your entry. Send the email to kmccaskey#@#geezeo.com, removing #s in this address. NO ATTACHMENTS WILL BE CONSIDERED.

Contest will end midnight, September 1st. Geezeo users will vote on the winning entry. Sorry, no Geezeo employees or family eligible.

Good luck!

Charles Dickens famously wrote in his classic A Tale of Two Cities, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” In the book it all boils down to circumstance, perspective, and action. The same can be said for your personal finances.

Recently we surveyed the Geezeo community and discovered that 59% of us were bummed out by the economy. (See this and other results here.) This view is plainly seen in this article from San Diego. The article mentions some of the struggles middle- to low-income Americans face with soaring fuel prices, the issue Geezeo members voted as the “Biggest Economic Issue Facing the U.S. Today?”

So I’d like to pose two questions to our community. Please answer in the comments section below.

Are these bad times?
What are you doing to cut back, stretch a dollar, or make ends meet?

-AND/OR-

Are these good times?
Is it a good time to think optimistically and “go for the gold” while the market is down?

One Geezeo user wrote to ask my thoughts on a foreclosure purchase in this market. He agreed to let me quote him here because I said thought the larger community would have something to say on this topic. Here’s what he wrote:

My wife got really excited recently when she saw a foreclosure sign on a two family home, across the street from the house she grew up in. We have been homeowner for about four years now and have some equity in the house we live in. We also have 65,000 in proceeds from the sale of the two family home I owned before we got married. In light of the housing market and our financial position, is this a good time to jump into the investment real estate market? Thanks for your input.

So is it a time to drastically cut back on our lifestyles, or double-down on opportunity? A Tale of Two Cities…

Pre-Paid Gas Might Splash Back in Your Face
By Jeffrey Strain | MainStreet.com

Getting gas in the future at today’s prices might sound appealing, but it comes with a number of pitfalls.

With the ever-increasing price at the pumps, people continue to look for ways to reduce the cost of gas in any way that they can. This has lead to the recent launch of a company called MyGallons where you can buy gasoline at today’s prices and fill up your vehicle with it months down the road — even if gas prices have substantially increased.

The concept is pretty straightforward. Pay a yearly membership fee and you can purchase gasoline at today’s prices. The number of gallons you purchase are loaded onto a card that functions like a debit card. This card can be used at any time to redeem the gas you purchased at approximately 95% of all gas stations in the U.S., even if the price of gas has increased from when you purchased it.

On the surface, it seems like a great idea. Who wouldn’t want to pay today’s prices if gas is going to cost more next week, month or year? The reality, however, is that most people are likely to do no better than break even — and, in doing so, will carry a lot of risk.

Here are some of the issues that need to be considered before signing up:

Amount Purchased

The biggest problem is that in order for this to work in your favor, you need to pre-purchase a large amount of gas.

If you purchase only 25 gallons, you’re likely to use that all up within a couple of weeks from your purchase date. Gas prices may increase some during this time frame, but not a lot.

If you buy small amounts, you are always going to be paying close to the current price for gas and not getting the huge savings imagined.

To make this work, you need to purchase a large number of gallons (several hundred gallons of gas or more) to have a chance of making the gamble work in your favor.

Payment Method

If you decide to purchase a year’s worth of gas, you drive 12,000 miles a year and your vehicle gets 20 m.p.g., you would need to purchase 600 gallons of gas. At the current national average of $4.10 per gallon, you would need to pay nearly $2,500.

Many people don’t have access to that much cash, and would therefore need to place the payment on their credit card. If the credit card isn’t paid off in full right away, any savings that you would gain with gas price increases will likely be eaten away by the interest you must pay on the pre-purchased gas.

The overall 3.7% increase in gas prices predicted from 2008 to 2009 by the United States Department of Energy doesn’t come close to recouping the 20% interest rate on your credit card.

You can get better gas prices yourself — Mygallons charges you a typical price for your area under the program. The result is that you will likely be purchasing gas at a higher price than you could get on your own, especially if you use low gas price search Web sites like gasbuddy.

When you pre-purchase your gas, your not getting the best price for gas at that time. If you must pay $4 a gallon through the program, but you could get gas at a local station for $3.91, you would already be losing nine cents for every gallon you purchase.

Fees

You must also factor in the costs of the program when calculating if you will actually save money. The program comes with a host of fees, including a $29.95 to $39.95 initial sign-up fee.

There’s a transaction fee every time you purchase more gallons, plus penalty fees if you accidentally pump more gallons than you have in your account. Fees may also be implemented if you use a different grade of gas or fill up at a station that has prices that are higher than typical in your area.

All these fees add up and they have to be covered in the gas price increases if you are going to come out ahead.

Prices Don’t Always Go Up

The assumption is that gas prices are going to go higher because that is the current trend, but there is no guarantee that they will always go up. This is especially true over a long period of time. If the price of gas falls, you have pre-purchased more expensive gas and have to continue to pay the higher price while those around you pay the going rate.

While nobody knows what gas prices will do, the U.S. Department of Energy is actually predicting gas prices will decrease during the third to the fourth quarters of this year.

You Lose Interest

If you purchase $2,500 worth of gas, that money won’t be earning interest in an investment account. Therefore, the price of gas doesn’t only have to beat the difference between what you could have purchased it for at the lowest cost station in your area compared to the price the program charges plus all the program fees added in, but also whatever interest percentage you could have earned on the money had you no made the large gas pre-purchase.

Still Working Out Issues

Mygallons just came out of Beta testing the concept with 40 members over a period of a few months. They immediately ran into problems with the fuel card service provider they had contracted with who backed out on them. Mygallons is negotiating with other payment networks to get the program working again.

It’s possible there will be more bugs and problems along the way that could cause issues for you getting the gas that you paid for when you need it.

In the end, the risks of pre-purchasing gas far outweigh the potential benefit for most people. You would probably save more money by incorporating basic gas-saving tips into your normal driving habits and purchasing a more fuel-efficient car the next time you are in the market.

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Over the weekend my wife and I made the decision to sell her car (car payment of $400/mo) and buy a Piaggio Fly50 scooter. I will drive the scooter and she will start driving my Scion. Why a scooter? Well, it averages 70 miles to the gallon and it only takes 2.5 gallons in a tank. This means you can fill it up for less than 10 bucks and ride 140 miles. And it’s a hell of a lot more fun than driving a car! In the winter and on rainy days we will have to commute, but that will still save us money. Plus I look really good in a bucket helmet and the beep beep horn is great for picking up chicks (just kidding honey). Fuzzy dice coming soon!

Oh yeah… the Fly50 comes with a 50 dollar gas card, which means our first 800 or so miles are free!

From Barbeques to fireworks to parking at the beach, the 4th of July has always been a holiday of spending and celebration. This year however, people may think twice before dropping so much money on flags and food.

Last week I thought I had seen a drop in gas prices around my area (and by this I mean a little under $4 per gallon), however, this week gas prices seem to be sky rocketing again with the 4th of July weekend!

People love to hold BBQs and attend firework presentations, but this year consumers may cut back their spending with gas prices being on the rise. Not only will people think twice about traveling so far, but they may even cut back on their extravagant grilling and stick to the simple hamburgers and hot dogs.

According to a National Retail Federation survey, “59.4% of consumers say increased gas prices will impact their spending for the holiday, up from 42.1% of consumers who said so last year.”

The 4th of July celebration is huge for major cities across the United States. Boston, being a historical city, sees a large rise in tourists around this time each year. According to a recent Boston Globe article, the 4th of July draws around 160,000 out-of-state tourists to see the Boston Pops perform, the fireworks, and other attractions throughout the city. These tourists bring millions of dollars in profit to the city ranging from spending on hotels, tourist attractions, restaurants, bars, etc. Will Boston see a drop in these numbers? Or will people continue to flock to the city for the celebrations?

Even the retailers might see their sales struggling this 4th of July! Every commercial I see on TV is for the 4th of July weekend sales, this year is no exception. Hopefully the retailers have used their advertising budgets well and will see their sales stay consistent and not drop.

The decision is really up to you! Everywhere I go people are excited about the 4th of July so I personally haven’t seen such a drop in spending, but obviously people are considering this in their budgets.

So this year, will you spend less on your 4th of July weekend? Or will you find reasons to celebrate and ignore those rising gas prices?

Picture: Andrea Church