I dislike the phrase "in today's world of $4 gas" almost as much as "post 9-11 world" and "in this economic climate"
Buying Gasoline
@dot_com_vet - ain't it the truth. Let's rollup the net 20 year footprint (overall cost, fuel burned, and overall waste of manufacturing and end of life disposal) of two cases:
A shiny new Prius every 6.6 years (3), parked in the driveway of a 3000sqft house.
A Silverado 2500HD diesel driven for 20 years, in the driveway of a 1500sq ft house.
One of my favorite Simpsons quotes - from Ed Begley Junior:
"I prefer a vehicle that doesn't hurt Mother Earth. It's a go-cart, powered by my own sense of self-satisfaction."
A shiny new Prius every 6.6 years (3), parked in the driveway of a 3000sqft house.
A Silverado 2500HD diesel driven for 20 years, in the driveway of a 1500sq ft house.
One of my favorite Simpsons quotes - from Ed Begley Junior:
"I prefer a vehicle that doesn't hurt Mother Earth. It's a go-cart, powered by my own sense of self-satisfaction."
@JohnnyH: For locking in prices on future purchases, there is this gas service, but its available only in a few places in the mid-west: http://www.firstfuelbank.com/
If this was available in my area, I would have stocked up a few years ago when prices tanked below $2. Oh well.
If this was available in my area, I would have stocked up a few years ago when prices tanked below $2. Oh well.
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George the original one
- Posts: 5406
- Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2010 3:28 am
- Location: Wettest corner of Orygun
You pay a premium for locking in a price. Looks like their best lock-in price during the era of <$2 gallon was $2.35.
If you were paying $1.85 at the pump, would you have gone ahead and locked-in at $2.35? That would have been a tough hedge to participate in since it was a whole year before we saw $2.40 at the pump and the real benefit didn't start happening until 1.5-2 years later.
I don't know if I'd be so foresightful as to have locked at that premium knowing that the benefit could be so far down the calendar.
If you were paying $1.85 at the pump, would you have gone ahead and locked-in at $2.35? That would have been a tough hedge to participate in since it was a whole year before we saw $2.40 at the pump and the real benefit didn't start happening until 1.5-2 years later.
I don't know if I'd be so foresightful as to have locked at that premium knowing that the benefit could be so far down the calendar.
Interesting.
I know a guy once who did the exact opposite - he filled his tank up whenever it was half full. His mother told him he would get better gas mileage that way, and he blindly followed what she said without even questioning it, despite the fact that there was no physical observation of fuel mileage, no experiments, and no explanation as to why.
The fact of the matter is that we're biologically programmed to survive and reproduce. The ability to think logically has only recently been introduced into human evolution, and it's often overridden by some form of irrationality. This irrationality is usually related to sexual relationships, but in this case I think it's more an issue of self-delusion...
I know a guy once who did the exact opposite - he filled his tank up whenever it was half full. His mother told him he would get better gas mileage that way, and he blindly followed what she said without even questioning it, despite the fact that there was no physical observation of fuel mileage, no experiments, and no explanation as to why.
The fact of the matter is that we're biologically programmed to survive and reproduce. The ability to think logically has only recently been introduced into human evolution, and it's often overridden by some form of irrationality. This irrationality is usually related to sexual relationships, but in this case I think it's more an issue of self-delusion...
With insurance (house and car) I get a discount of the equivalent of about 1 month's payment by paying the full year in advance.
With the cell phone, I'm on a family plan where we all share minutes, so I just cut my father a check for my share of the bill each January to cover me for the up-coming year.
Never tried it with internet or electric.
With the cell phone, I'm on a family plan where we all share minutes, so I just cut my father a check for my share of the bill each January to cover me for the up-coming year.
Never tried it with internet or electric.
Thanks, I'm going to try it.
Relatedly, I also found that by paying a deposit I could get internet and electricity without giving them access to my credit score. I think I did give my social security number, but I left the security freezes on and when they ran the credit check, they came up with a blank record. So, now, no matter what happens, they can't ding my credit score (not that I need it). The deposits were $50 for internet and a little over $300 for electricity.
Relatedly, I also found that by paying a deposit I could get internet and electricity without giving them access to my credit score. I think I did give my social security number, but I left the security freezes on and when they ran the credit check, they came up with a blank record. So, now, no matter what happens, they can't ding my credit score (not that I need it). The deposits were $50 for internet and a little over $300 for electricity.