Frugality

Gas Saving Challenge

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David from David Makes Cents and Sean from Financial Ramblings recently had a gas saving challenge.  The goal was to see who could get the larger percentage improvement over the EPA MPG estimates.  David managed to get 32.257 MPG which compared to the EPA MPG estimate of 29 amounted to 12.16% improvement.  Sean got 32.088 MPG which compared to the EPA MPG estimate of 26 amounted to a 23.4% improvement.  Both of these are much better than the EPA’s fuel economy estimate which shows that you can significantly increase your MPG by altering your driving habits.

I didn’t participate in the gas saving challenge but I keep track of my mileage anyway so I can do a comparison.  My last four tanks I have gotten 30.2,32.29,33.22 and 34.42 MPG.  All of them except for the 30.2 amount reflect a large amount of highway driving.  Using the 30.2 figure I am doing just a little better than the EPA figure of 29 MPG for combined driving.  This isn’t too bad considering I was using my a/c the whole time and it also includes two shifts of pizza delivery driving.  If I compare my 30.2 MPG to the new EPA estimate for combined driving of 26 MPG than I’m doing really well.  The new EPA MPG figures are 26 MPG for combined driving, 23for city driving, and 31 for highway driving.  The old EPA MPG figures were 29 combined, 27 city, and 34 highway.  The EPA changed the way it calculates MPG because people complained that the old figures were unrealistically high.  I find thought that the old figures more accurately reflect my style of driving.  You can find EPA estimated MPG for your vehicle at fueleconomy.gov.

Passion Saving: Review and Giveaway

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I received a copy of Passion Saving for review last week. This is the first review copy of a book I’ve been sent but if there are any other personal finance authors out there who would like me to to review their book feel free to contact me. I won’t guarantee a good review though. In conjunction with the review I’ll be giving away a copy of Passion Saving. Just leave a comment by noon CDT Monday and I’ll randomly pick a winner then.

The full title of the book is Passion Saving:The Path to Plentiful Free Time and Soul-Satisfying Work and the author is Rob Bennett. Rob managed to retire early and in this book he shares how he did it. This book is more about motivation than nuts and bolts. He distinguishes between what he calls Sacrifice Saving and Passion Saving. If you can change your mindset to see saving as buying you a little bit of freedom rather than something you have to do that you won’t be able to enjoy for many years than saving will become much easier. Another point he makes that I like is that 10% of your income is probably the worst percentage of your income to save. It is just enough to be painful but not enough to quickly see results. If you want to retire early you should be increasing the percentage of your income that you save. The main focus of this book is changing how you think about money and savings.

There are only a couple of things I didn’t like about the book. He seems to like creating buzz words such as Fun Units, The Freedom Store, etc. This seems to be pretty common among personal finance writers now so I won’t fault him too much for that. My other criticism is a mild one that if you have read Your Money or Your Life you really shouldn’t need this book. If after reading YMOYL you still need motivation than this book might work for you. You can only order this book at Passion Saving.com.

If you would like a chance to receive a free copy of this book just leave a comment to be eligible for the giveaway.

Turning Off the Gas Again

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If you’ve been reading this blog for a while then you may remember my post “Taking Cold Showers to Save $45 a Month” which was about my turning off my natural gas last summer to save money.  I’m doing the same thing this year and it will be easier this time around.  I’m staying with my mom during the week since my internship is in a town three hours away from Kansas City so I don’t have to worry about needing gas for hot showers then.  When I’m back in Kansas City I usually spend the night at my girlfriend’s place so hot showers aren’t a problem.  If for some reason that option wasn’t available I could take a shower at the school gym or just take a cold shower.  I need to cut expenses since the internship limits my availability for paid work.  I also need to increase my income and I’m working on a few ways to do that.

A Gas-Saving Device

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On an email list I belong to a member was recommending this gas-saving device.  It apparently works like the fuel economy gauge that many cars have in them already but supposedly is more accurate. It helps you save gas by helping you adjust your driving habits to be more fuel efficient. The reviews I’ve read on the web seem good but at a price of $169.95 it would have to save a lot of gas to be worth it.  It also has other features but since it is only for 1996 or newer cars it won’t work for me so I haven’t looked into them too much.

Another possible device for those with older cars is a vacuum gauge. There are some of them made especially as mpg gauges but you can get regular vacuum gauges for as little as $15.  These aren’t very accurate at telling your instant mpg but they are good at helping you drive more efficiently.  Since these are much cheaper than the ScanGauge it shouldn’t take nearly as long for you to make back the purchase price.

More On the Six Questions

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Sorry for the lack of posts the last few days.  It has been harder than I thought to keep up with my blogging while working during the week and commuting back home for the weekend.

I posted last week about the “Six Questions to Ask Before Spending Money“. This post will give more detail about the six questions.

1.  What is the problem?  The secret to this question is to make sure you’re objectively looking at what the problem is and not just focused on the solution.

2. Who needs it?  This question is asking whether you really need it or is it just that society says you need it.

3. What would change the need?  An example is that if you can get cell phone service cheaper than home phone service than your need for a home phone has changed.

4. How long will it last?  How long your need will last helps determine how you will fill the need.

5. What are the alternatives?  Consider your alternatives before settling on a particular solution.

6. What are the costs?  These are not just the upfront costs but also any ongoing costs.