I spend less on gas than you do

I'm probably going to have to fill up the gas tank of my car tomorrow.

I know, that news probably doesn't excite you very much, but it's kind of a big deal to me, because it means I went the entire month of September without buying any gasoline. And when I last pulled into my local independent petrol outlet back in August, I only bought about 9 gallons to fill a not-quite-empty tank. Just doing cocktail-napkin calculations, I'm pretty sure I'll spend less than $200 on gas this year.

How do I do it? Well in the interest of total disclosure, the fact that I'm currently unemployed, with no job to go to everyday, helps. But I'm still in school, and even back when I had a job, I didn't use up that much more gas in a month. For one thing, my job was fairly nearby. Granted, few people have total control over the length of their commute, but if you happen to be looking for housing at the same time you're looking for a job, it only makes sense to try to live near where you work.

For several years, I didn't. I was an idiot. I had an apartment 15 minutes away from my workplace, but moved in with friends 30 miles away. And commuted. For two years. I finally had the sense to move closer to work, but then I lost that job. I got another one 30 miles away. But instead of moving closer to it, I went back to commuting. This made no sense, especially since I was a renter, free to relocate with a few months' notice. Now I'm smarter about it, taking care to locate my living place close to where I work (or where I used to, and where I'm most likely to find a new job).

But that's only part of how I spend so little on gas. I also own a car that doesn't guzzle fuel like a fratboy at a kegger. My Geo Metro can't match the latest hybrids for MPG, but it does pretty darn well, thanks. And for a lot less money (though tax breaks for buying hybrids help with those). And I can park it in spaces the driver of an SUV (or even a full-size sedan) wouldn't even glance twice at.

Another thing that helps is that I don't automatically head out the back door (toward the carport) every time I leave the house. I keep my bike just inside the front door, and except for when the weather's lousy, I ride it to school downtown. It not only saves me the cost of running the car, but also the cost of parking it. It gives me exercise, of course. And because I don't get caught in traffic, and can park the bike right next to the school, it actually takes me less time to ride than it does to drive, park, and walk. (On a few occasions when the weather was iffy, but I was running late, I've had to take the bike instead of the car so I could get to class on time.)

For a lot of errands, I pass the bike and instead go directly out the front door, and walk to the little commercial district a few blocks from here. (Another example of strategic neighborhood-shopping). I can mail a package, buy a box of lightbulbs, drop off some film to be developed, grab some brewskis, rent a video, and pick up a carry-out order of my choice of pizzas, subs, Chinese, or world-famous Yesterdogs... all without burning a drop of petrol. If you can't find a place to live that has something like that within walking distance... maybe it's time you wrote a letter of complaint to your local city planners.

It doesn't make a big difference in the annual gas budget, but I've also found a way to avoid burning gas to mow my lawn. I use a mower that doesn't need gas. Or a power cord, for that matter. If you're old enough, you may remember that once upon a time lawn mowers didn't need power: you just pushed them and the turning wheels spun the blades around. They're called reel mowers, and you can still buy them. In fact, today's models are an improvement over the old ones, easier to push and maintain. They're much cheaper to buy than gas or electric mowers (which is why manufacturers and retailers don't promote them: not enough profit per unit), easier to store, and... blissfully quiet. Rakes have some of the same advantages over leaf blowers (which have to be one of the great bone-headed inventions of the modern era).

I'll admit that a snow blower can be a real labor-saver over shoveling, but unless you have a really long driveway and sidewalk or have health problems, it's not that much work to shovel after every snowfall (not even here in West Michigan, home of "lake effect" snow). And keep in mind that "labor saver" rhymes (sort of) with "you are fatter".

Even with as little gas as I spend money on, I'm still looking to do better. Sometimes biking takes too long or is too much effort to get places, but I don't really need to drag a literal ton of metal along to get me there (e.g. going to the movies out in the 'burbs, or picking up something particular I can't buy in my neighborhood). When I have the spare cash, I plan to buy one of them cute li'l scooter bikes, which combine the fun and convenience of biking with the ease of driving. At like 100 MPG.