Even though we can afford the cost of fuel right now, we are cutting back on our usage.
The price is just too high — and it seems wrong not to cut back when others are suffering from the high cost of buying fuel.
I only use the truck to travel to and from work and for occasion trips to pick up something too large for the car.
I’m driving more conservatively, too: taking a few minutes longer to get where I’m going, slower and smoother acceleration from stops, and staying off the interstate locally where the driving distance is essentially the same — which eliminates acceleration to and driving at higher speeds. This has resulted in an fuel economy improvement of over 1 mpg in the truck — and, with a total fuel tank capacity of 63 gallons, it’s the equivalent of saving almost 4 gallons of diesel fuel, or about $18.00 at today’s prices.
We’ve also cut back significantly on our travels around the state on days off.
I believe that the price of oil is largely being caused by investors and speculators and is an investment bubble similar to the tech bubble of the 90s and the housing market bubble that burst so recently. I don’t think this bubble will burst like those, but I do think that, given time, prices will moderate to more manageable levels.
I, for one, would not consider investing in oil or natural gas futures — or any other commodities, for that matter — as they are too risky. On the other hand, it isprobably a good time for investments in oil or natural gas production. The demand is there and, regardless of the end price, the producers are going to make money. With the current prices, there are a lot of new wells being drilled in a lot of different places across the country and some formerly marginal wells are being placed back into production.
How are you coping with the cost of fuel?
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