Don't Fuel the Fire

The other day while driving, I messaged my sister (I have Bluetooth in my car and used the voice feature so I was legal) and said that I was “stopping for gas in 5 minutes although I might have to refinance my car in order to fill up my tank.”

I don’t know about you, but I am just disgusted with gas prices. I could go down the blame road, but because this is not a political blog, I will refrain from doing so. It is what it is, we just have to make the best of it, and I’m just here trying to help.

Summertime can allow us to do some things that we aren’t able to do when it’s too cold outside, like walk or bike to the store. But because the price of fuel isn’t the only thing that’s at a record high this year (there were 7 days over 100 degrees in Northern Utah IN JUNE–that’s just NOT normal) we need to be smart about it. If you are going to walk or bike to the store, choose a time of day where it’s cool enough that you can do that. And make sure you hydrate well before and after. Wear sunscreen and a hat. Keep little kids out of the heat as much as possible. And if you can’t do any of those things and MUST drive to the store, just be smart about it.

How?

Make fewer trips. Plan your meals for two weeks instead of one. If that hits your grocery budget too hard at first, see what you have on hand (in the freezer or even in food storage) to use to start a meal. And here’s a little trick I learned recently–if you need to fill up your car, do it in the morning. You get more bang for your buck when filling up in the cooler morning hours.

These little ideas might not make a ton of difference, but they do add up. And hang in there–September (which is usually slightly cooler and officially ends the summer travel season that typically sends gas prices skyrocketing) is right around the corner. I never thought I’d say this, but I’m ready for fall.