Some people will drive several blocks, or even across town to find the cheapest gas. The joke has always been that you'll spend more money in gas getting there than the amount you'll save shopping there. Usually, gas prices don't vary more than a few cents from store to store in the same town. Me? I just buy gas where ever I am when the car runs out. I don't have time to be filling up all the time, so I just wait until I think it's about to shut off and then pop into a station. When I got to that point yesterday I had the choice of two gas stations. One was a local "cheap gas" option and the other was a Shell station.
Shell was TEN CENTS higher than their cheap neighbor. Really? If Shell was two cents higher, I might have chosen them. Partly because of their advertising about how awesome they are. But for a dime a gallon I'll just stay on this side of the intersection.
It would have cost me more to fill up at Shell than driving across the street.
2 comments:
I'm the same way. If I know gas is cheaper at a particular station and I happen to be going to that way, that's where I'll stop. But if I have to go out of my way to save a few cents, I won't do it.
Let's say you have a 14 gallon tank. The difference between $3.19 and $3.12 per gallon works out to about 98 cents, which would be eaten up in time, effort, and the extra gas to get to the cheaper station.
I heard someone say that if you spend 10 minutes trying to save a dollar, you're working for minimum wage.
Given the increased risk of fuel shortages Courtney of Iran shenanigans, I never get below a quarter tank (if that) of gasoline. Sure, I stope for gas more frequently, but don't need another Atlanta fuel shortage to wreck my short term plans.
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