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Got in to a discussion with a coworker about gas being cheaper across the state line, and I said that was all well and good if you were going to be there anyway, but it was silly to drive there just to get gas.
He disagreed.
So we ran the numbers, first assuming an erroneous distance of only one mile each way, which I will skip since, in reality, it is about 3 miles each way.
My car gets 20 mpg. Gas is about $3.50/gallon. Gas station round trip is 6 miles. Therefore, it costs me ((6/20)*3.5= ) $1.50 to drive to the closest gas station in Missouri. Gas typically runs $0.05 cheaper there. However, I would have to buy 21 gallons of gas to break even. Since my car only holds 15.7 at a maximum (I admit to once filling up with 15.3), that might be difficult.
So by paying more at the gas station on my way home, I'm actually saving an average of $0.37. Okay, okay, not a huge deal, but that's discounting the extra wear and tear on my car for the extra 6 miles, not to mention the 20+ minutes I wasted driving out of my way (not insignificant in my mind, even if there had been some savings).
I finally convinced him of the soundness of my math, and he even mention having to rethink their coupon strategy - at what point is it not worth running all over town to save $0.10 on your toothpaste?
(your millage may vary, in a 40 mpg car you'd actually save $0.15 on a tankful, but still be out the time, and 20+ minutes of my life is worth a lot more to me than $0.15)
He disagreed.
So we ran the numbers, first assuming an erroneous distance of only one mile each way, which I will skip since, in reality, it is about 3 miles each way.
My car gets 20 mpg. Gas is about $3.50/gallon. Gas station round trip is 6 miles. Therefore, it costs me ((6/20)*3.5= ) $1.50 to drive to the closest gas station in Missouri. Gas typically runs $0.05 cheaper there. However, I would have to buy 21 gallons of gas to break even. Since my car only holds 15.7 at a maximum (I admit to once filling up with 15.3), that might be difficult.
So by paying more at the gas station on my way home, I'm actually saving an average of $0.37. Okay, okay, not a huge deal, but that's discounting the extra wear and tear on my car for the extra 6 miles, not to mention the 20+ minutes I wasted driving out of my way (not insignificant in my mind, even if there had been some savings).
I finally convinced him of the soundness of my math, and he even mention having to rethink their coupon strategy - at what point is it not worth running all over town to save $0.10 on your toothpaste?
(your millage may vary, in a 40 mpg car you'd actually save $0.15 on a tankful, but still be out the time, and 20+ minutes of my life is worth a lot more to me than $0.15)