Monday, November 15, 2010

Slaves to the Gas Prices

So, there are websites like this one on my local news channel http://www.woodtv.com/subindex/news/business/gas_and_fuel that pinpoint the lowest gas prices in the area.

I could drive 20 miles to the north side of town to save 5 cents a gallon.   Uh, no thank you. 

 And there are people who will wait in a very long line, clogging up the street, just because one gas station posts a price 8 cents lower than the one on the opposite corner.   I could sit in line for a half hour waiting for my turn at the pump, meanwhile breathing in fumes and wasting the precious gas I am in line to replace.  Yeah, that doesn’t seem like a plan either.

I drive by these stations, look at the lines and just shake my head. 

Think about it:  

8 cents x 22 gallons (that is the size of my tank).   That is $1.76.  I would save a whopping $1.76 cents by sitting in line for a half hour.

So next I ask myself what I would spend that $1.76 on.   Cigarettes?  No.  I quit smoking.  And those are like $85.00 a pack now anyway.  ½ pound of hamburger?   Maybe.   Paperback book?  No, those are $6.00 (for a new one). 

No, my sanity is more precious to me than $1.76.  If I am ever hurting for money badly enough that I would idle and burn $0.75 worth of gas to save $1.75 per tank – God help me.

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