Slip Tanks? You Won’t Believe How These People Save Money on Electricity
As gas prices rise in every state from California to New York, drivers are facing the highest prices they’ve seen at the pump in years.
Already coping with the high cost of living, some are trying to spend less money at the pump, cooling their jets in long gas lines at Costco and Sam’s Club, downloading the GasBuddy mobile app to check for the cheapest gas and tapping fuel rewards programs.
Krystal Goodner, 44, a content creator and freelance media specialist for her church and community, said she couldn’t help but watch as the numbers went through the faucet, beating faster than her heartbeat. He paid $20 more to fill his tank this week than he did two weeks ago.
When gas prices went up in 2020, he downsized to a mid-size Infiniti sedan to save fuel. At first, he missed having a big car. That’s not the case anymore.
“I didn’t think I was paying more than that right now,” said Goodner, who lives in Jefferson, Indiana, on a shoestring budget.
As gasoline prices rise to the bleeding point, his habits change. When he needs to fill up his tank, he opens the GasBuddy app to find the lowest gas prices. GasBuddy said downloads have risen sharply since February and that daily usage of the app has risen by nearly a third since the outbreak of the Iran war.
“The quiet storm is blowing up a lot of people who have health insurance and there are grocery prices right now,” said Goodner. “It’s just another thing that makes our lives more difficult right now.”
Why Are Gas Prices Going Up?
The pain at the pump is the most immediate consequence of the US and Israeli invasion of Iran in Feb. 28, and cost American homes and businesses.
Before the war, President Donald Trump boasted about low gas prices. As the war enters its fourth week, the price of crude oil has risen as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz nears.
The national average for a gallon of regular gasoline is flirting with $4 a gallon — a big jump from the pre-war level of $2.98. Truck drivers are furious with the price of diesel which has just passed $5 a litre.
The Trump administration is looking for ways to lower gas prices ahead of key November midterm elections, starting with asking Congress to suspend the federal gas tax to extract more oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
The International Energy Agency has advised working from home, renting a car or using public transport and limiting non-essential travel to reduce fuel demand and moderate oil prices. But that doesn’t always happen.
How Drivers Fight Back
Shawn Carey, 60, a corporate events manager and wildlife photographer, sighed as he paid $3.45 a gallon to fill up his Subaru Outback. Three weeks earlier at the same gas station, the cheapest near his home in Braintree, Massachusetts, he paid $2.49 a gallon.
“I don’t like to overpay for things. It’s that simple,” he said.
Carey put 240,000 miles on his first Honda Element and 340,000 on his second. And he has been buying gas. With six stations near his house, he often drives 3 kilometers to shave 10 to 15 cents – and sometimes more – off the money.
“Even in my office, people are talking about it now,” Carey said. “A lot of young guys have a few kids, a mortgage, a car payment and one of the things they talk about is how it eats into their paycheck every week.”
Never underestimate the lengths some people will go to save money while filling up their tanks – both inside and outside the United States.
James McCabe, a 46-year-old loader operator from Edmonton, Canada, owns five older vehicles, including a hot 2010 Toyota Tundra, but drives a subcompact to the construction site each work day because of its fuel efficiency.
About 10 years ago he bought two slip tanks – a portable 90-gallon gas container on the back of one of his trucks and a 40-gallon container he keeps in his yard – so he can get gas when it’s cheap and get through the tough times when prices go up.
He hunts for the cheapest gas using the GasBuddy app and fills up twice using slip tanks so he has enough gas to last three months behind the wheel of his 2003 Toyota Echo.
“It’s a definite savings,” McCabe told USA TODAY.
This article first appeared in USA TODAY: Slip tanks? You won’t believe how these people save money on electricity
Reporting by Jessica Guynn, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
