Are higher energy prices affecting your behaviour?
 

Just curious, are you guys doing anything different due to higher gasoline prices (and I guess soon higher natural gas and heating oil prices)? Driving less or differently, doing less shopping/spending/traveling, cutting back on XMas giving, turning down the thermostat, etc?

I know I'm not driving any less (I didn't drive that much anyway, take bus/BART to work), but am driving the 911 more gently (shifting early and less gratuitous throttle) and I bumped up my tire pressures to 34 F / 37 R (was 32 F / 36R). I do seem to be spending less and buying fewer toys, though I didn't consciously think I was doing it due to energy prices, maybe I'm subconsciously trying to offset the Red Cross Katrina donation or something. I'm not planning any change in the kids' XMas presents, and do still plan to award myself something, probably a $1,000 gun, at least a new $300 iPod. It being only Oct in the Bay Area, we're not really using the thermostat yet, but I probably will turn down the program a bit come heater season.

Here in CA, our gas prices were very high even pre-Katrina, and I have the impression it didn't go up as much as elsewhere (I speculate this is because most CA gas is refined in CA, but I'm really not sure about that). And heating the house never costs much. But still, $70 to fill the 911 tank, every 3 weeks, is painful.

I drive less; bus more but I've been doing that for the last two years anyway since I started working in downtown LA.

Finally got a locker at work. Come and go to the cleaners from there. That means I can commute on the bikes (no luggage).

I drive the Prius a lot more than the Pcars now.

I try and keep the speed at altitude below Mach .80 Used to be much faster, but am doing my part up there too.

Sold my Infiniti FX45 and bought a MINI Cooper and Nissan Xterra. The FX45 was getting 15 mpg on premium gas. The MINI gets at least 30. We don't drive the Xterra much at all but gets 18 mpg on regular gas.

Bought oil call options but sold too late. Set my stop loss too low.

As a landlord, I do not drive the Porsches to my property. Don't like the "rich landlord" image, even though I have tenants with more expensive cars than mine. As a result, the daily driver has been a 3/4 ton pick-up.

After the first time it cost over $70 to fill it, I bought a used Miata. Gets over 30 mpg, is a hoot to drive, and has no prestige. I drive the truck now only when I need to carry or tow something.

SoCal, a recent news article I was reading regarding gas prices was that the amount more folks would be spending on energy costs would be about 3-4% more of their income over last year. The typical raise a person gets a year is also in that range.

I'll raise it one more third rail - My wife an I were talking about her medical benefits this evening because open enrollment is approaching. He benefits are going up from ~$75 a pay period to ~$100 which also equates to nearly 4% of her salary per year which is ALSO what her raise typically is.

Though they do give pretty good bonuses. I asked her if it was a deal breaker and if she would look for another job over it and she said no. She gets to work from home 3 days a week and the company is very good to us in a lot of other areas.

We have the option of just using my insurance which has no premiums but it is crappy HMOs and a lot of the Dr.s around here are no longer accepting HMO insurance.

Around here, the used car lots are full of big trucks. But so are the roads.

For hauling, I had a '97 Cherokee (the un-Grand one) that was fairly economical, but replaced it with an A3 that gets nearly double the Jeep's mileage if I drive sedately...

I didn't do it so save money. I did it to reduce the amount of gas I use.

The gas thing is just one of the reasons why I replaced the FX45. It was great vehicle, fast as hell, corners like a sports car. But who the heck needs an SUV that can do all that but tows only 1500 lbs (I think) and is scary in snow? Thought I did but I was wrong. The gas thing pushed me over the edge so I sold it.

To a chorus of Democrat jeers, the energy bill barely passed.

http://tinypic.com/ei1pv4.jpg

Picked up cheap Army supply blankets to keep the children warm after I turned off the heat. Make them more physically active since its too cold sitting in front of computer or television. ;)

Further more, I drive the Porsche a lot more since its way cheaper than the Grand Cherokee.

Gives me another excuse not to drive into work but work from home instead.

I HAVE A NEW GADGETS THAT SAVE GAS
 

Forget that piece of crap!

I have the real solution. The Hi-Po GAS-Mag! For just $59.99 I'll sell you a pair of Cow, ...er GAS-Magnets. Tape them to your fuel line and watch your power and mileage soar! Need more power? Tape on more! These puppies will never wear out. There are no moving parts.

How they work:
The magnets work by stretching the carbon chain in the gas. (Not a Spanish Inquisition torture type stretch. It’s more like Pilaties!) As a result of being stretched, the gas becomes confused. And since it’s confused and bigger, it acts like it’s more powerful! Plus the decreased weight of your wallet will also help lighten the load the car has to carry...

For more info and orders, e-mail us at: Gas-Mags@trolling-for-suckers.com

Thats great, Rob !

Finally a gadget that actually works ! :eek:

Set the cruise on 65 or 70 now. Used to be 80. No heated garage this year as fuel oil for heat will rise by an estimated 60% from where it is now. That means $4500 to heat the house for 6 months????!!!

I don't drive the big truck at 65-70 mph on the highway heading to the rental properties. I now do constant throttle on the diesel engine and try to hold around 55-60 mph. That gives me 22-30 mpg depending on load.

I was planning to install storage sheds at some of the rentals, but I'm holding off due to higher material pricing.

Other than changing cars or driving habits or maybe the thermostat, is anyone cutting back spending on other things? In other words, are energy prices affecting other parts of the life and budget, or are you keeping things contained to the driving/heating part?

local NG company said expect to pay $100 more per month this winter...... OUCH

Used to drive the 911 every weekend and now it is a few times a month. I shift much earlier now when I do drive it and keep right around the speed limit.

My Jetta has been returning 53 mpg now that I shift earlier and moved my commute times to make it easier to keep a steady speed.

Definately cut down on the driving, especially the joyrides on the weekends. My diesel pickup has basically become my daily commuting vehicle. Not bad at 22-24 MPG. My Bronco has become a driveway ornament. Boat has pretty much sat in the dock all yr. It Sucks!!
As far as heating cost goes , with the talk of a 50% increase in the cost of natural gas. The size of my firewood pile has tripled in size!
Hopefully the winter wont be as cold as last yr.
Had to laugh the other day. I was at the counter in a WAWA, buying coffee, this guys *****ing and complaing about the $3.00 a gal gas hes paying for, as hes also buying a $1.50, 12oz. bottle of Evian "tap water".
I said to him "hey at least gas is still cheaper than that water" . The moron says "yeah but its Evian". I wanted to kick him right in his butt.
Overall , I guess the extra fuel cost has put a damper on my other hobbies too. cant spend as much money on my trains and stuff.:(

I wonder what Wayne has seen.

I had plans for a major remodel; adding a fourth bedroom, inside laundry/rec room, converting my office into a third car garage. Put the brakes on that because the building supplies industry is having a record year as far as stock prices are concerned. Prices for wallboard, roofing, etc are going through the roof. I'll wait until the dust settles but still going through with the architectural drawings.

Our household has too many cars. I own an older Mercedes Diesel and a 968. My wife owns a VW Cabrio and Land Rover Discovery. I drive the Mercedes everyday back and forth to work. I get about 32 mpg which is pretty good for a mid sized car. The 968 gets decent gas mileage but I only drive that on weekends so I might burn a tank a month in that car. My wife's Land Rover gets about 12mpg. Since the run up in gas prices she has been driving the Cabrio (I call it "the rabbit") to work and I think that gets 30mpg or so. The Rover sits in the driveway now it is a gas hog. Not to mention that it has sprung a huge oil leak. It is great off road but requires much care and feeding.

We also have a 24' powerboat with a 454. At the end of the summer when the gas prices jumped we spent more time at anchor then cruising. The boat burns about 12 gallons per hour at cruising speed. With gas at $3.50 a gallon on the water the cost of going out on the boat has increased dramatically. The sailboaters are getting a big kick out of the price fuel. The last two weekends I was on the Chesapeake Bay it was like 10 sailboats for every power boat on the water. I guess everyone else stayed at the dock.

We have two heatpumps to heat the house in the winter. When it is really cold outside (20 degrees or below) you really can't call them heatpumps because in reality they just blow cold air around!
So last year I installed a Jotul direct vent propane stove. Of course you have to buy propane which is getting more expensive these days but these stoves are fairly efficient and they provide HEAT! I considered a pellet stove but liked the convenience of propane. Last winter my electric bill went down, but I had to buy the propane...in terms of cost it was a wash, but then again we were warm all winter.

http://jotulflame.com/images/gf300dv.jpg

Here in the San Diego area, we are blessed with the highest prices in the nation. It's been a rip off, historically. It doesn't seem like anybody is driving less. We are lucky. I'm retired and my wife only works two miles from home. I've been refraining from driving my Ford F-350 PSD and have been driving her Camry only when the need arises. At least I feel like I'm protesting the situation by reducing fuel consumption, although I know it doesn't make any difference in the big picture. They're doing it to us because they can !!!

I haven't changed a thing.

Marv - millons of consumers making millions of decisions every day to cut back and use less fuel has a real impact. Lots of Mr. & Mrs Evans out there.. Note the lack of gas lines.

Think I read gas consumption has fallen by almost 3% as compared to last year.

My wife is a stay at home mom and it was a little tight before hand. With prices jumping as they are things are going to get really tight. Can't do too many fun things anymore.

I have a sail boat but it is a 4 hour drive to get to it so she hasn't seen much use either this year.

Higher fuel prices will change consumer habits.

Last month sales of Suburbans fell 56.6% in the US

http://www.mcall.com/business/local/all-suvoct05,0,5236096.story?coll=all-businesslocal-hed

Meanwhile in Saudi Arbia and Kuwait, "The Chevrolet Caprice and GMC Suburban continue to hold their titles as 2005 top selling models into the third quarter, increasing in volume by 33% and 59% respectively over sales from January to September 2004. "

http://www.ameinfo.com/69886.html

I bought a motorcycle, and at 30-35 mpg it's much better than the 911. I ride everyday to work, and the 911 sees action maybe once every weekend.

The funny thing is most people on the board would not bat an eye lid at buying "upgrades" for their Porsches, but $3 per gallon and we cut back...

Personally I drive the same as before, no choice anyway... Even at $3 it's a steal compared to elsewhere in the world, and if it kinda forces a shift in the industry towards smaller and more efficient cars, all the better...

$3 per gallon cuts a lot further than you might think.

This reminds me about my new ritual when filling up my car at the gas station. I look at the other gas pumps to see how much fuel previous customers purchased. I am stunned to see how many people are buying $5 and $10 worth of gas. These folks are not living paycheck to paycheck, but rather day to day. You can't get far on 1.5 gallons of gas these days.

Expensive gas does cut deep. Not too long ago I was paying $1.39 for diesel, I think it was summer 2002. Now it is at $3.29/gallon. In 2002 I'd burn $28 a week in fuel, now I'm burning $66 a week. So my monthly commuting expense for fuel has gone from $112 to $264. It all adds up.

i will buy more sweaters :D

Greg:
You are right. But just like gainjidabe pointed out, it involves millions of people putting gas in millions of gas tanks. Just think of how much more the gas companies are making off of those millions of people who are paying that extra amount for gasoline. It's reflected in their current profit reports.

Things could be worse, imagine paying $6,80 a gallon as we are doing in the Netherlands. I think we already payed 3$ a gallon 20 years ago.

To respond the JYL's question. The retail sporting goods environment has not seen a slow down yet....The Holiday season will be a better measure of where heads are at on spending on pure leisure.... but for 3rd quarter...all is normal.
Wall Street reported record bookings for Holiday travel and resort reservations in the ski/snowboard areas. This is a good indicator that despite bad news and high energy costs, people still want to get out and play.

[Originally posted by Peterfrans ]
Things could be worse, imagine paying $6,80 a gallon as we are doing in the Netherlands. I think we already payed 3$ a gallon 20 years ago.

People in Europe have been driving small, fuel efficient cars for a reason. Some Americans need a large vehicle/ truck for a reason, eg. work, business. I hope the rest will pick up on Europeans example.

In Japan, we would load all the lumber for a small house on one of these 1/4 ton trucks. 550cc and about 50MPG. :eek: http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1129240870.jpg