Gasoline Costs

Updated on April 28, 2012
X.O. asks from Naperville, IL
29 answers

I just sat down to calculate how much we spent on gasoline in March--it was $600!

How much are y'all spending on gas each month? It is CRAZY! At this rate, it'd almost be cheaper for us to take a loss on our house and sell it to move closer to my husband's job.

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So What Happened?

Hubby has 3 different job locations:
Clinic is about 30 miles from us - either before or after clinic he has to go to Hospital 1
Hospital 1 is about 15 miles - goes here daily M-F and 1-2 weekends a month
Hospital 2 is 15 miles in the other direction - goes there twice a month

I am thinking if we lived in between his clinic & Hospital 1 we could significantly cut down on the gas consumption. I know he would never sell his car, as it is "his bride," but a commuter car might be in order. Problem is we only have a 2 car garage, so in the winter time 1 car would have to be out, which isn't great in Chicago.

Anyone know how much it costs to store a car during the winter? (think I'll start another thread for that)

Featured Answers

L.A.

answers from Austin on

My husband rides a scooter to work. Only uses 1 gallon a week. I started a new business with lots more driving around. Instead of filling up every 2 weeks, I am now filling up every week so about 120. Per month. But. I charge my clients .55 per mile for gas

3 moms found this helpful
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G.H.

answers from Chicago on

We spend $900 a month for both of us!!!!!!!!!

I just filled my tank up with $100 and still had 11 gallons to go, the pump stops at $100......

Where is the outrage like when it went up under Bush?

2 moms found this helpful
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S.T.

answers from Houston on

About 800 a month! My husband works 60 miles one way, and I go to school 50 miles one way. We drive biggish cars, and they get about 22 to the gallon I would guess. Its a lot!

1 mom found this helpful

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C.S.

answers from Las Vegas on

I made the most ridiculous mistake last trip to the gas station...I pumped premium in the tank! Cost me a C-note.

My husband is one step up from a scooter. He drives a Kia Rio. We bought that car about 4 years ago for mileage and it is still going. Whoever drives the farthest has to drive it!

Normally I spend about $300 - $350 for the month in gas. I drive a Dodge P/U.

4 moms found this helpful

T.F.

answers from Dallas on

I have not calculated it. I pay close to $70 for a fill up on premium and I probably fill up every 2 weeks depending on my schedule.

Our other 2 cars are premium only as well and run about $70 for a fill up. I get about 15 MPG, daughter gets about 22MPG and hubby gets about 26 MPG if he is highway driving.

2 moms found this helpful
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C.C.

answers from Washington DC on

$300 or less but then again i take a commuter into work and drive to visit family out of state often. Is there a carpool he can u get into? I get 17mpg in my car and live in DC so even though I work 12 miles away traffic SUCKS and it would take me 45min average to get home without carpooling.

2 moms found this helpful

A.C.

answers from Sarasota on

We just bought a Honda civic...bless its heart it only costs $36 to fill up and it lasts us a week. My husband has a 30min drive each way to work so he takes the civic. That's $144 per month.

Now, we also have an Expedition that is ridiculous on gas. It costs $100 to fill up and it doesn't last long. It's the primary reason we bought the civic when we moved. I drive the truck around town when my husband is at work and I still spend about $150 per month.

If we didn't live on the B. and have a huge dog, I'd sell that thing so fast. Of course, no one would want that gas hog.

2 moms found this helpful
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J.G.

answers from Chicago on

About 300-400. Hubby has an hour long commute, but he drives a Civic. I drive a minivan, but thankfully I don't drive all over the place, just to the zoo on occasion.

I also do the gas gift card thing at Jewel or Dominicks....Jewel should do it around Father's day. It's usually, if you buy $100 in GC, you get $20 on your next purchase. Last year I bought 2k worth of GC, so we basically got a 20% discount on our gas.

2 moms found this helpful

T.M.

answers from Redding on

I live where I work, but still use about two tanks of gas a month for running errands and such. We have a Honda Element, it gets fair mileage. About 100 bucks a month.

1 mom found this helpful
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I.G.

answers from Seattle on

We probably spend about $250 (maybe even less) total for both of our cars. We both drive very small, economical cars, I only fill up about every other week, hubby probably 3 times a month. We both commute about 30 minutes one way.

1 mom found this helpful
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S.S.

answers from Cincinnati on

Wow, how far away does your husband work? Mine works 30miles away so that is 60 miles 5days a week (and a little extra running errands on a 6th day) we spend about $40 a week, so $160 a month.

1 mom found this helpful

S.T.

answers from Washington DC on

i can't even think what my husband's truck costs. fortunately his work covers his gas or we couldn't do it.
i only drive a couple hundred miles per week and it still costs me around $300 a month. it's just terrible.
:( khairete
S.

1 mom found this helpful

J.W.

answers from St. Louis on

Well my husband drives a company van so I couldn't tell ya there. Doesn't really matter though because when he is home we just use my car. On that front 200 a month.

Oh, six years ago, when I was a stay at home real soccer mom. Sorry but real soccer mom to me is someone who has kids playing competitive where you drive 100 miles a day just for one freaking sport! So even though gas was around 2 a gallon back then I put around 1,300 dollars worth of gas in my car a month. :( Of course that was nothing compared to destroying a car a year.

1 mom found this helpful

J.U.

answers from Washington DC on

Right there with you. $600 is about what we spend maybe a little more. We drive a Honda Accord and a Honda civic too. Pretty sad.

1 mom found this helpful
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M.T.

answers from New York on

I only spend about $35 a week but I work less than 10 miles from home. Of course, I spend more whenever I take my daughter on college visits, but that's not something I figure into my "normal"

1 mom found this helpful

V.W.

answers from Jacksonville on

We're right about $600/month also, and that is with me doing virtual online school with our kids. Next year, if they go back to brick and mortar (which they are likely to do b/c they hate virtual school) it will go way back up again. This is one of the reasons we decided to try virtual. Our kids' school is 30 miles from home.

Yeah.. they can ride the bus, but it picks up at a ridiculous hour in the morning--almost 2 solid hours before the kids actually START their school day. And they don't get home until almost 5 pm--which means they can't see the orthodontist, the allergist or make it to their martial arts classes on time. So I HAVE to pick them up about 3 or 4 days a week.

1 mom found this helpful
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A.V.

answers from Washington DC on

I don't know anymore. I spend a lot less since I gave up the 50 mile round trip. Even if my car averages 32 or more miles to the gallon (better on the highway), it was still a tank every week, at least, when I was driving that FT.

How far does he work from his job? Would it be cheaper to move or cheaper to invest in a more fuel-efficient vehicle for his commute? My DH traded the van for a Mustang because even though the Mustang isn't highly efficient, it gets better than the van. He also got a job closer to home. There are a number of hybrid options out there now if you're not into the Prius and several brands have been around long enough to now have them in the used car market.

1 mom found this helpful
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R.S.

answers from San Antonio on

My husband's office is maybe two miles from our house...he spend $50 a month...I fill up at $65 once a month...so $115 a month on gas unless we take a trip out of town.

I f you lived as close to your husband's work as we do you could save...almost $6000 a year...but what if you husband changed jobs...if my husband's office moved back downtown...our price would go up, but no way would we move.

1 mom found this helpful

M.D.

answers from Washington DC on

Right now we're at about $520. That is with my husband driving a Prius, me driving the Camry Hybrid, and the Armada sitting in the driveway. My husband drives 180 miles per day, so even though he gets 50mpg, he goes through about 3 tanks per week.

I can get 1 full tank every two weeks with the Camry...I drive a lot though. I fill up every Thursday because that's just my routine. I have been making a lot of long distance trips lately too because of my daughter's dance.

When I was driving the Armada, it was about $80 and I was lucky if that lasted me a week.

We traded in a Yukon Denali XL for the Camry in February...best decision ever.

1 mom found this helpful
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B.A.

answers from Chicago on

We did have a van and a pickup the van got 9 miles to a gallon the truck 11. In march we replaced the van for my husbands hour commute with a car that gets around 46 miles average si far. I drive all my errands when he is homw with it and only take the truck when absolutely necessary we walk or bike the rest. We are now naking a car payment and still spending 200.00 less on output for travel a month.

1 mom found this helpful
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A.G.

answers from Provo on

Right now...not as much...I probably spend about 75-100 a month (fill up 1 1/2 - 2 times)...hubby does commute, but not terribly distant...probably 20 miles round trip - he works 4 tens and does not use his truck much other than for work (I guess that doesn't really count as 'commuting...lol...oh well...). However...shortly after we were married, we actually did move...paying almost twice as much in rent...because we were spending 700 or so a month in gas for my husband to commute to work...we moved about 5 minutes away from where he worked...and it was well worth it. Not just $wise...but in time not spent on the road and miles not put on the vehicles.

1 mom found this helpful
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M.P.

answers from St. Louis on

We just traded our van in on a car for this very reason. We were spending about $1,200 a month in fuel. :( My husband and I both work about 20 miles from home. His work truck only gets about 9 MPG. My van was getting 19. We were paying more in gas than our mortgage. I remember a day when it was absurb to pay more in gas than your car payment but, your house. WOW! Thankfully my husband has a company truck that the ONLY thing we pay for on it is the gas. Now with my new car we are probably saving about $200 a month or more. STUPID GAS PRICES!
HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!!

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A.B.

answers from Pittsburgh on

Last month we spent around $400. My husband drives a Chevy pickup that has the old carburetor motor. Down the highway it does great, around 20mpg but him driving the 14 miles round trip to work takes it down to as low as 9mpg. Im a sahm and have a Pontiac grand am that averages 25mpg. We loved the wonderful warm weather we had in March and he was able to take his motorcycle back and forth to work. We then go from the whopping $73 he paid yesterday to fill the truck to only $10 every 2 weeks. Can't wait till mother nature finally realizes it is spring in western PA.

1 mom found this helpful
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C.L.

answers from Chicago on

We have 3 kids and we drive a Jetta Wagon. It cost us about 200$/month, more or less. Since the rise of the price of gas, my husband now use his motorcycle when possible.

We also have a Windstar minvan, but only use it when it necessery. It is cost us about 100$/6 weeks.

We had to change our way of driving. We now, plan more before going somewhere. If we don't need it right away, we will wait until we are going in that area.

We used to drive small car, but the minvan is definitely better for a big family. Even with 3 kids and we do manage to travel with our Jetta SportWagen.
Good lock

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G.B.

answers from Oklahoma City on

We drive an old Mercedes that is Diesel and it is cheaper on gas than our old van that died a couple of months ago. None of our vehicles for years have been road worthy, like on a high way going out of town. So it is just in town, about 35 miles per day, driving.

The diesel is more expensive but it gets better gas mileage. So it has stayed about the same.

I clean house for my FIL and he pays us by giving us a Phillips/Conoco gas card. We can use it as much or as little as we need. It has been around $600 on occasion but is generally around $300 per month.

1 mom found this helpful

J.B.

answers from Houston on

The wife drives a very fuel efficient car. It runs about $50 a tank, 3 times a month. I drive a chevy truck, not fuel efficient, about $90 a tank. Fill that up twice a month.
All I do is run some errands and pick the kids up from school. My wife does moderate commuting. So about $330-$350 a month.

1 mom found this helpful

T.K.

answers from Dallas on

I am putting $180 a month in my car. I only live 5 miles from my job. That's a big chunk of my income. Doesn't seem fair.

I don't know how much my husband spends. He works 20 miles away, but he drives the more fuel efficient car.

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C.W.

answers from Santa Barbara on

I drive a company provided vehicle so the fuel is direct billed but would be 2 fillups per week at $70/each = $560/month. I pay $70/month for personal mileage whether it is one mile or 5,000 miles so I drive my car as much as possible.

I pay for my daughters gas and it is about $300/month.

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N.P.

answers from Chicago on

I went to my last credit card statements to answer this. Hubby drives about 20 miles each way, 6 times a week to work. (he's put 15000 on the car that we got in June 2011, so LOTS of driving in this car) Then we have various other driving around town or the next towns over, etc. with both our vehicles. If the new car is available we use it over our minivan.

We spent $187 in the last 6 weeks on gas. Makes our PRIUS even a better deal when you add that up, huh? Even with a $385 a month car payment our total car costs for two cars was less then your gasoline payment. I LOVE the Prius, it's a great ride and you can't beat 53 mpg. With only a 10 gallon tank we can easily go 500 miles before filling up again, and even then a fill up is around $40 with gas at $4 a gallon.

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