Oh look. Petrol went up….. again.
Far out - that was quick - So obviously I need a refresh on what I’m doing. Well the Russia/Opec are - you may as well come along for my petrol price deep dive ride.
I pulled into the petrol pump yesterday. The local guys there are lovely—friendly, meet you at the car, they offer to wash your windscreen. My cars always dusty as I have a gravel drive and well I dont drive slow enough. He’s alway rather jolly and I usually just say ‘Fill her up," but yesterday at $2.28 per litre, I stopped short. I got $20 worth instead. You see, it was only a few months ago back in June that I worked out the cost of driving to work and wrote an extensive newsletter about it. That’s here . Back then, I had based those prices on $2 per litre. But this wasn't that - and I needed to check - this was more almost 30c more per litre. Time to research and rethink again.
My little car has a fuel tank of 50 litres1 and a few years back a tank full of petrol costs me $50 and I use roughly a tank a week - and mainly to get to work. According to this months graph by the Australian Bureau of Statistics over the last 3 years theres been a doubling of the cost of petrol. So I decided to crunch the numbers and year on year my costs have gone up. See here;
May 2020 $54
May 2021 $68
May 2022 $95
May 2023 $92
Currently $103 ( this is at $2.07- but today was $2.21 a litre - or $110 a tank)
So I follow a bit about the world economics daily on Commsec - basically, Russia & OPEC have cut oil production, and as a knock-on effect down the line, it means that fuel prices are expected to rise. You can see the BBC’s rundown here if you need to know more. But in a nutshell, it means means that our car fuel, the price of veggies, transport, holiday costs & a host of other things will rise. Oh, goodie.
Back that up with inflation on the rise - well things arnt looking pretty. Not sure about how inflation hit us? Here’s a Forbes rundown of the basics
So back on track - what’s our immediate thing we can do to deal with the looming petrol prices going up.
Check where the fuel prices are currently & fill up in the cheapest area. Even if your tank is half full, there's always a saving. The difference for me between filling up at the most expensive local petrol station and the cheapest one for my 50-liter car tank is $12.10 in savings (so even half that, roughly the cost of a coffee). Do that every week? That's a $629 saving per year - thanks very much! And probably the cost of your rego for a year. Turns out that my little local petrol pump was also second highest in the entire state.
Wild. So hunt around.
Pick the best day of the week to fill up. I had a quick check, and to be honest, if you look at the Fuel Check Monthly 28-Day average price, I don't think there has been any lately - the prices seem to be steadily climbing this month in Tasmania. This is not generally the case - but basically over the course of the last 28 days, it’s climbed from 207c to 216c - or around $5 worth in petrol. So, on this trajectory, check the local comparison prices, and go fill up.
Do you need to go? Rethink your trips. A quick trip into town costs me $2.50 now - to do the school run - or $5 day. ( thats up about 50c from a few months back) Maybe get them to catch the bus?
I tried this week & bingo - a $20 ish week saving & I gain an extra 1hr daily. And see if you actually need to go to school. Turn your car off and dont leave it running while you’re waiting - I cannot get over the amount of parents that leave their cars running while they wait for 10 minutes plus. It’s abit detailed, but here is a Video that shows you that if you roughly have to wait in an idling car more than 10 seconds - then turn off your car. You’ll save petrol.
Woolies/ Coles online shopping. It’s roughly 60km to the local town to do a ‘big’ shop - in petrol terms, thats roughly $9 for my car. To do a ‘let’s get stuff today’ delivered - it’s $11. But my local supermarket Woolies have other deals and right now it’s free if I order over $75 worth in one hit. Doing this I also gain 3 hrs back of my life to do something more constructive/productive or just not have to get out of my cottage clothes. Like stack wood or make dinner.
Stock the pantry. Chances are the only reason you’re going out in the car is because you haven’t worked out what to eat. Even detours to the shop cost money in petrol. Stock up on 5 ‘quick + easy dinners’ Like Spaghetti & pasta sauce, or frozen pizza, or eggs for omelettes or even cans of soup or noodles. Shop every 2 days? Try and aim for 3…. Shop once a week? Try and do it for 10 days. For every day you don’t have to do the ‘big shop’ you save especially if you’re a fair drive away like I am. Challenge yourself on this - you’ll soon see value in less runs. And get the extra large bags of onions, potatoes carrots and pumpkin - these veg can last weeks/months and always good basics for a curry, soup, or roast.
Share the lifts. School drops, work drops, shopping drops - I’ve written about this before here as well as lots of other fuel saver. But creating a culture that your friends and neighbours via a group message on messages every time you go somewhere - saves a few $ somewhere else & creates better friendships.
Pack well - Scout up - be prepared. Pack car snacks, towels & bathers, sketching stuff, flower snips, and a car charger and or a notebook + pen. Bottled water. I have a pillow in the car incase I just want a 20 min Power Nap. Take your iPad out & your diary. It may be cheaper to sit in a coffee shop on one coffee for an hour and do some bookwork than drive home to do the same thing to return a few hours later. Work that out - maybe do it once a week? I generally find I’m more productive away from home. Even better pack a thermos of herbal. You can always find a library or a park bench.
Anyway. It’s 7 tips for what I’m coining Frugal Friday. This day is dedicated to the thoughts I often have a 2.30am when I’m working through things. And if it’s anything to do with cutting costs, saving money or being more financially efficient. Well I’m going to put it here.
Have a lovely weekend folks x LJ
You can find out yours by simply entering into Google search, your car's make, model & year, along with "fuel tank size."
Love these tips, thanks!
This was an eye-opener. I've just googled how much it costs me to do my regular trips around the place. Will be tracking this a little more closely in future. Thank you 👍