Is driving to the cheapest gas station really worth the savings?
Maybe not as much as you think. The conversation below is one I had with my 11-year-old son recently.
Ryan: “Mom, gas is $3.75 at ABC gas station!”
(alerted by the free GasBuddy app he has on his phone)
Me: “That’s great, but that’s like, 5 miles from here.”
Ryan: “So?”
Ryan: “But it’s five cents cheaper.”
Me: “Yes. But by the time I drive to get it, I’m actually losing money. So I’m good.”
Ryan: “Huh?”
(Disclaimer: Math. Yikes!)
Me: “Let’s say our car gets 25 mpg and holds 20 gallons. 20 gallons x $3.75 = $75.00, compared to 20 gallons x $3.80 = $76.00. I would save $1 by getting gas at the cheaper station. However, in driving the additional 10 miles roundtrip to get to the cheaper station, I am using 4/10 of a gallon of gas. Which would cost me $1.50. So I’m actually spending $0.50 more by driving to the cheaper station. I would also spend about 20 minutes driving there and back, and my time is valuable.” (whew!)
Ryan: “Ooooohhhhhh! I get it! So it SEEMS cheaper, but it really isn’t!”
Me: 🙂
Sometimes, driving around to get a deal on gas isn’t actually a deal at all.
Be sure to take a moment and figure out if it is *really* worth it to drive the extra miles.
Have you done something similar in the past, only to realize that you really weren’t saving money in the end?
--Barbara
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I tend to stick to what’s convenient. Sometimes I miss out on a deal, but my time is valuable.
That’s right! Our time is super valuable! Honestly, I’d rather pay $0.02 more a gallon if it means I can turn right, instead of sitting in traffic to turn left. 😉
LOL!! Love it. A math lesson, and life lesson all in one 😉
Yep! Sneaky mom tricks. 🙂
Great lesson for your son.
I use my Kroger Plus miles and get a 10 cents a gallon discount at Shell. Thank goodness the Shell station OTW home from my son’s preschool has the lowest prices so I time my trips to go there.
I use my Kroger card too, as we have 3 Kroger fuel centers nearby, and you know we have a TON of points from groceries for this brood! Funny story, once Ryan and I were coming back from an event in Atlanta and we were driving on fumes. I refused to stop in town because the gas is so high. I finally made it (fingers crossed) just outside the city to a gas station that wasn’t absurdly expensive. And then I proceeded to select Premium gas on accident, and ended up paying $0.30 more a gallon. Ryan laughed at me the whole way home, lol.
I’ve given up trying to get the best price in town and just go to the closest place to home.
Today I was going to drive to a store to pick up something that I ordered online because shipping to the store is free, then I did the math of what gas and bridge toll would cost and decided that paying for shipping was the better deal.
I LOVE having things shipped to my house. As long as the shipping is reasonable, that means I don’t have to load up all the kids, drive to the store, and do my best to avoid buying anything else I “need” while I am there. Me and Amazon, we’re buddies. Lol.
So true. My husband says that all the time. He won’t even cross the other side of the road for cheaper gas – usually not worth it.