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So I found that library book I was looking for. It was due today. Bummer.
So, do I drive to the library tomorrow and return it? Well... I already owe a 15 cent late fee, because I'm not going to drive out there tonight. So if I wait until Wednesday, when I'm back at work*, my fee will be $0.75, $0.15 for each day it's late. They may or may not charge me a late fee for Monday or Tuesday because they are closed, but at the most it'll be $0.75.
Now, the closest library** is about 5.5 miles away. Gas is hovering around $2.80 a gallon, and my car gets about 20 miles to a gallon with a nice tail wind and if I don't drive like a maniac. There's also that business about the $0.45 per mile 'depreciation' on your car, but we'll leave that out for now.
So to return the book I'd have to drive a total of 11 miles. That would take 0.55 gallons of gas, for a cost of... $1.54.
The smart thing to do is to wait. It's amazing how, even when people are complaining about the price of gas, they don't bother to do the math on things like that. Even when gas was 'cheap' I factored it in to the 'cost' of an evening, especially if it was a trip downtown or north of the river.
Anyway, I found $1 coin on the floor at work today (YAY!). I think I'll just pass that on to the library on Wednesday...
* For those of you who don't know, I work 100 feet from a library, so there is no 'cost' involved in me going there on Wednesday.
** My hubby just informed me that there's a library drop off at the grocery store down the street. It's 0.82 miles away, so the cost would only be $0.23 - a savings of $0.37 over paying the late fee. That, however, is a 'gas alone' cost - if you factor in wear and tear on your car the 'cost' goes up to $0.75. So if we do go anywhere and we're going by anyway, I might. But really I think this just gives me every right and a good excuse to be lazy. ;)
So, do I drive to the library tomorrow and return it? Well... I already owe a 15 cent late fee, because I'm not going to drive out there tonight. So if I wait until Wednesday, when I'm back at work*, my fee will be $0.75, $0.15 for each day it's late. They may or may not charge me a late fee for Monday or Tuesday because they are closed, but at the most it'll be $0.75.
Now, the closest library** is about 5.5 miles away. Gas is hovering around $2.80 a gallon, and my car gets about 20 miles to a gallon with a nice tail wind and if I don't drive like a maniac. There's also that business about the $0.45 per mile 'depreciation' on your car, but we'll leave that out for now.
So to return the book I'd have to drive a total of 11 miles. That would take 0.55 gallons of gas, for a cost of... $1.54.
The smart thing to do is to wait. It's amazing how, even when people are complaining about the price of gas, they don't bother to do the math on things like that. Even when gas was 'cheap' I factored it in to the 'cost' of an evening, especially if it was a trip downtown or north of the river.
Anyway, I found $1 coin on the floor at work today (YAY!). I think I'll just pass that on to the library on Wednesday...
* For those of you who don't know, I work 100 feet from a library, so there is no 'cost' involved in me going there on Wednesday.
** My hubby just informed me that there's a library drop off at the grocery store down the street. It's 0.82 miles away, so the cost would only be $0.23 - a savings of $0.37 over paying the late fee. That, however, is a 'gas alone' cost - if you factor in wear and tear on your car the 'cost' goes up to $0.75. So if we do go anywhere and we're going by anyway, I might. But really I think this just gives me every right and a good excuse to be lazy. ;)