Coping with Rising Fuel Cost

The oil price hasn't stopped rising for a few years now and there are few signs that say the price will drop, but almost all experts agree that the current price will stay where it is and will most likely go up even higher. I even heard $5/gallon by the end of summer!

Personally, this is the highest price per gallon I have ever seen in my life. The lowest I've seen was when I was a freshmen in college; back then, it was .99/gallon. Looking back, that seems like an ancient time. At $3.89 where we live, I just can't fathom how trucks and SUV owners are dealing with the rising fuel cost. Frankly, I don't feel bad for them. Unless your work or your life justifies the purchase of a big spacious vehicle that gulps gas like there's no tomorrow, you shouldn't be driving one. Period. Then again, I suppose if you can afford a big truck/SUV, then the fuel cost shouldn't break your bank and therefore, you shouldn't complain. Morally speaking though, by driving these big cars, you're only upping the demand thereby contributing to one of the many factors that increase the crude oil price. In the end, average drivers like us get hurt.

We currently own two vehicles and both are very fuel efficient.

Our 2005 Hyundai Elantra gets around 27-30mpg. I usually drive this car to the nearest T station everyday. Otherwise, it is seldom used during the weekends because....

BAM! This is our 2008 Honda Fit Sport--the most fuel efficient non-hybrid car on the market today! We average around 30-37mpg, which is why we drive the Fit during the weekends.

Adie drive the Fit most of the times for her work. She recently got a job as a real estate agent selling apartments, therefore, she drives quite a bit during the weekday.

We're both really glad to have two fuel efficient vehicles. Even if we had a child, these two cars are practical and reliable enough that we don't need to buy a minivan or a crossover vehicle to transport everyone.

However, the continuous rising of the gas price has definitely curbed my driving habits. I'm not your average driver because I love to speed (have many tickets to prove it!). Everyone knows that speeding only makes your car consume more gas. So, here are some of the following things I've done to curb my appetite for speed.

- travel only 5mph over the speed limit
- no punching of the gas pedal at the stop
- always use cruise control on the freeway at 65-70mph
- absolutely no idling
- no stepping of the gas when cruising down hill
- limit the time of driving

The list seems pretty obvious and self-explanatory. In fact, I should've been practicing these since I got my license but I was just stupid and reckless. I've been following my new habits for a few weeks now and already, I see 2-4mpg gain in my Elantra.

And you know what? I think the high gas price will only do good for our environment and our government's energy policy. It will encourage a lot of people to drive better (like me!), buy more fuel efficient cars which will help the environment and it'll force our politicians to overhaul our energy policy.

Even if Adie and I had enough money to purchase a sports car or a big SUV, we feel obligated to purchase a hybrid or an electric vehicle (hopefully in the future) to do our part to decrease the overall demand of foreign oil. We don't want our financial status to be directly correlated to the rise and fall of oil price. That's the goal. I'd much rather save money for other things than to fuel a totally impractical sports car or an SUV regardless of how attractive or practical they may be.

We think globally and act locally by doing many other things such as recycling. I just hope that people understand the need for all of us to change our thoughts and behavior around vehicles, because at this rate, our future looks pretty grim.