New Car Insurance Scheme

The gadget!  It's pretty cute, actually.

When I got my new job that's just two miles from where I live, one of the first things I did was reduce my insurance coverage.  This saves me about $400/year, which is awesome.  When I was on the phone with Progressive, I also mentioned that I got a new job, which significantly reduced my commute length, "does that get me any other kind of discount?" I asked.

"No, we don't do that anymore." the girl I spoke to told me.

No so, Progressive lady.  Progressive recently started a new program called Snapshot, where you actually get a small device, plug it into your car, and it records how many miles you drive, how you drive, and what times of day.  You get points off for hard braking (studies show that people who frequently brake hard are more likely to have accidents), traveling between 12am and 4am (which makes sense), and they calculate a new insurance rate based on your actual driving rather than the current algorithm which (I'm guessing a bit here) is based on where you live more than how you live i.e. Rhode Island's rates are sky high because people here drive like assholes.

Considering I drive 1.89 miles to get to work, and often only drive my car four days out of seven, I leaped at the chance to try this out.  This is pretty much what I've been waiting for my entire driving life, and even though I just plugged it in Thursday, I already love it.

Also, I read a rather interesting article a couple days ago about how the state of Oregon is exploring the idea of eliminating the gas tax in favor of taxing people on miles driven.  This may seem unfair as some people (myself included--in the past) can't really help the number of miles they have to drive to work, or they can't really reduce those miles due to lack of public transit options, but on the other hand, this could be enough of an incentive for those who do have other options to take those options.

Of course, the other side of the coin is that if people start driving fewer miles and pay less in gas tax, the government will likely need to make up that loss in some other way, but overall, it does seem more fair, and I'm a big fan of fair.

Regardless of whether or not this is a scheme that takes off, I'm more than happy to potentially get a reduction in my astronomical car insurance rates.  I've often looked at my car sitting in the driveway as I bike off to work and wondered if since I'm paying for the insurance, I should drive it more--stupid I know, but the brain does what the brain wants.  It currently costs me ~$2.5 per day for car insurance, regardless of how much I drive.  Now, I have groovy charts like this to keep me in line:

I love charts!

Note: This is not a sponsored post, and Progressive did not ask to me write anything, I'm just really excited.

Frugal Challenge: Gas Challenge

Gas prices, as everyone knows, are going way up these days.  Since it was 66 degrees in Lil' Rhody today, and daylight savings time either begins or ends this Sunday (we spring forward, I just don't know if that's standard or DST), which means that my bike/walk home from work will be better lit, I have decided to issue myself a little challenge.

I filled up my gas tank on Monday for $38, and that was even with $.20 off per gallon because of grocery points.  Now my plan is to see exactly how long I can make that tank of gas last.

If I'm just going from home to work and back, I will walk or ride my bike--no driving allowed!

Thursdays, I'm filling at my old job while my boss is out on maternity leave, so I will have to drive, because it's 20 minutes away.

I'm going to be extra vigilant about clustering errands to avoid extra trips to the grocery store and other places, plus, I should really just avoid most stores these days since I've still car that stupid car bill to pay off.

I do have some meetings and a doctor's appointment coming up, so that's a factor.

I've asked bf to replace the gas that he used to go to his mom's house the other day.

It's a 13-gallon tank, and when I was commuting six-seven days a week, I usually had to fill up every week or ten days. Anyone want to take any bets as to how long I can get by on a single tank?  My goal is to make it to April, but that might be very wishful thinking.

Other Ways I'm Saving Gas This Summer

I can't afford a super fuel-efficient Smart Car,
so I'll have to think of  something else

Gas prices are going down, but they're still too high for my taste.  Fortunately, when the weather is nice, you have more travel options, so here are a few I'm taking advantage of this summer:

1. Walk while in town.  As soon as it started getting nice outside, I made the vow that if I'm staying in town to go to something, I'm going to walk there rather than drive.  This works out well anyway because parking downtown at night is always a hassle, and plus I live in a pretty city and have a scenic walking route.  The only times this vow backfires is when I need to pick up or drop off a heavy item, which rarely happens, and if it does, see #3 below.
2. Public transit.  This one is a no-brainer, and on particularly hot days, we get one of those lovely ozone advisories and the statewide bus system is free for all!  If I don't feel like walking the whole way to where I'm going, or if where I'm going is just slightly too far to walk and arrive in a presentable (read: not sweaty and out of breath) fashion, I hop on the bus and cut the journey in half.
3. Cluster errands.  I have a friend who told me that she only goes to stores if she has to go to a meeting nearby.  This not only cuts down on her shopping, but it saves gas since she can claim back the miles from work.  I haven't gone that extreme, but I've been clustering my errands more and more and finding it saves me time and gas.  If I have to go to Target, I always go before or after work since it's closer; I go to the grocery store across the street from work; if I have to go to the post office or UPS store, I do it on my way home from work.  It's the one handy thing about having two jobs, the plethora of stores near work.
4. Windows down while in town.  I rhymed it so you'll remember.  When you're on the highway, having the windows to your car open creates drag and actually makes you use more fuel, but when you're start/stop driving in town, having the windows open is much more fuel efficient than running the air conditioning.  If your car is unbearably hot after being parked in the sun (note: park in the shade whenever possible), run the A/C for a little while with the back windows open to vent out the heat, then shut it off and bask in the breezes.
5. Bike. This one is pretty obvious.  I actually don't have a bike and I'm afraid to ride with traffic, so I'll skip this one, but you brave biking folk look so sleek and speedy when you zip by me.  Just obey the rules of the road!

DailyWorth.com has a huge list of other fuel-savings tips on their comment board--see if there's anything else there that can work for you.

Gas: Tank Two

This tank cost $44 as well, at 3.72/gallon.

Tuesday: Bought gas en route to work, drove to work and back home for a total of 20 miles. Average speed, 65 MPH

Wednesday: Drove to work and back 20 miles, average speed 65 MPH. It's hard to remember to slow down sometimes, but I'm doing pretty well.

Thursday: Drove to work and back 20 miles, then bf took the car across town and back 5miles. Average speed 40 MPH--there was a really bad accident on the interstate, so I did a lot of sitting.

Friday: Friday was a bad driving day.  I ended up having to go down south for a library instruction session, which was awesome, but resulted in some road rage-y driving from me as I had to cram in an errand before going to work at the other end of the state (thankfully, it's a small state).  Total miles 88, average speed was 65 MPH on the way there (I set the cruise control!), 75 MPH on the way back.

Saturday: Drove to work and back, 20 miles. Average speed 65 MPH

Sunday: Drove to work and back 30 miles. Average speed 65 MPH--this is getting a bit tedious to record...

Gas Gauge Monday before work

Monday: Drove to work and back 30 miles. Average speed 65 MPH.  Gas is definitely lasting longer, but that may be because I've done less driving.

Tuesday: I stacked all my errands so I could just make one circuit except I failed to print a correct return label and my trip to the UPS store was a waste.  No matter!  I finally dropped off DVD donations at the library, and all those clothes for the Salvation Army that have been in the trunk of my car for about a month.  I felt like such a slacker driving to the library because I run past it almost every day, but I also can't/don't want to carry 20 DVDs while on a run, so I drove.  Total: 7 miles, lots of stops and turns, but I coasted down every hill.

Drove almost to work, and had to fill up the tank--I was at about the same level as last time 1/8 tank. 12 miles total.  252 miles total, where I got 302 miles to the tank while driving like a crazy speeder.  We can say there's about a 20 mile margin of error for the times bf took the car, but even then...  Either I made a mistake somewhere, or this driving slower did me no favors at all.  Gah!  Ok, One more week of driving slowly and I will diligently record every move I make--in the car.

Gas: Tank One

This tank of gas cost $44 at $3.71/gallon. That was a horrible feeling, for sure. I decided that in this little experiment, to be more accurate, I'm going to calculate the miles driven on this tank, and then once I adjust my driving habits, see if I can squeak out a few extra miles.

Monday: Bought gas, and drove 20 miles, mostly highway, average speed 75 MPH.

Tuesday: Drove to work and home again for a total of 29.3 miles--average speed 75 MPH

Wednesday: Drove to work and ran errands afterward for a total of 30 miles 1/2 highway 1/2 in town. Average highway speed 75 MPH, Average town speed 40 MPH.

Gas gauge Thursday morning

Thursday: Drove to work and back 30 miles, average speed 75 MPH

Friday: Drove to work and back 30 miles, average speed 75 MPH

Gas gauge Saturday morning

Saturday: Drove to Wakefield, RI for my first race of the season! 63 miles, average speed 65MPH--it was dry on the way down, but pouring on the way back.

Sunday: Drove to Bristol and back to drop off bf for Easter hoopla, then drove to and from work for a grand total of 60 miles. Average speed to Bristol, 50 MPH, average sped to work, 75 MPH. Gas gauge is dropping like a stone.

Monday: Drove to work and back--30 miles.

Tuesday: Drove almost to work, filled up my tank along the way-- 9 miles.

I did a bit more driving than usual this past week, which is why my tank only lasted eight days. I managed to eke out 302 miles on almost one whole tank of gas--12 gallons, so that's about $.16 per gallon. With this new tank, I'm going to drive slower, and put some more air in my tires. I also need an oil change, but I'm not sure I'll have time for that this week. Let's see if these suggested changes make a big difference in gas consumption, or if I just spend more time in the car on the way to work.

I hate gas

The price of gas is on a lot of people's minds these days, which is understandable. As a commuter with two jobs, I think about it all the time and wonder why it is that I never get to buy anything fun anymore.

Yes, I'm becoming a bit petulant, but since it's not going to change any time soon, I've decided to try a little experiment.

We all know a few tips and tricks for using less gas on the road:

Keep tires properly inflated

Don't speed

I never understood the not speeding one and how that saves gas. I was thinking it was because when you speed, you typically slow down and speed up more, which uses more gas, but it turns out that for every mile over 60, it's like paying $.10-$.24 more per gallon. I've seen different figures floating around the internet, but no one disputes that driving 60 miles per hour will save a person on gas.

So I'm going to put that to the test.

In a typical week, I drive to work six out of seven days. My schedule is a bit goofy in that A week, I work 13 days in a row and B week, I have a day off (huzzah!), so that may factor in, but also really shouldn't since I probably won't be driving on my day off. The distance to job #1 is 17.1 miles, which usually takes me about 30 minutes (depending on traffic), and the distance to job #2 is 13.1 miles, which usually takes me about 25 minutes. In the month of March, I spent $167 on gas, and filled up about every ten days driving like I normally drive.

For this experiment, I'm going to fill up my tank on Monday, and then drive like I normally would taking a picture of the gas gauge at the end of each day. Then, once I need to fill up again, I will get my oil changed, top of my tires, and drive no more than 60. Since it's nice out and I rarely drive when I'm in town, I'm going to make sure for the duration of the experiment that I avoid driving in town whenever possible. The goal is to see if by following all the rules of saving gas, how long I can stretch a tank.

If anyone else has any tips on how to save gas, let me know and I'll incorporate those as well. Wish me luck!