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Over the past six or seven months, higher gas prices have come to put a strain on many of our personal financial situations. To what degree the higher fuel costs have affected quality of life will vary from one person to the next, but, at the very least, we’ve all at least noticed that a larger portion of our budgets has gone towards filling up our vehicles.
In order to try and find out how much our bottom lines have been affected, I recently had a poll up on Daily Fuel Economy Tip which asked: What’s the most you’ve had to spend to fill up your primary vehicle?
Here’s now over 150 people responded:
- 4% said less than $40
- 21% said between $41 and $50
- 26% said between $51 and $60
- 18% said between $61 and $70
- 31% said more than $70
Considering the price of gasoline has climbed over 35 percent over the last year, it’s easy to see why so many drivers have had to pay more than $70 to fill up. For example, if you’re paying $4 a gallon for gas, all it would take is for you to have a 17.5 gallon gasoline tank to hit the $70 mark. Since tanks this size aren’t just reserved for large trucks or SUVs, many owners of “practical” cars – i.e. mid and full sized sedans – are feeling the pain, too.
Fortunately, over the last month or so, the price of gasoline has eased a bit and has fallen a little more than six percent. While that percentage decline might not appear to be too significant, on that 17.5 gallon tank, you’d end up saving nearly $4.50 on every fill up. Over time, that savings would certainly add up.
If recent trends continue, we should begin to see the decline in gas prices gain even more momentum over the coming weeks and months as demand continues to weaken. In order to cope with higher costs, many drivers have switched to cars with better fuel economy, have reduced the amount of miles they drive, or stopped driving all together.
UPDATE – back on July 6, I stated in a post that I believed the price of oil would never drop below $120 again. Turns out, there’s a first time for everything, because I was wrong. Today, the price of oil closed at $118.58, continuing its recent sharp decline.