What To Do When Gas Goes Up Past $3/gallon
It’s in the news that summer is around the corner and gas may go up to $3/gallon. What used to be an incidental expense has now become another car payment, particularly if you commute more than 15 minutes to work. While this may squeeze your budge so tight that you have to take out a few cash advances to make ends meet, there are other alternatives to review first.
While Americans love their cars, no one likes to pay outrageous amounts of money for the necessities of life. Getting to work is a necessity if you want to earn that paycheck. So, you may want to consider car-pooling with some of your co-workers. Some companies even put up car-pooling bulletin boards to help their employees manage their expenses. If your company doesn’t have one, consider suggesting it.
Another way to help your budget when gas goes sky high is to limit your travel. Instead of going shopping once a week, do it once a month. Instead of picking up your kids and dropping them off to school, have them take the bus. Public schools don’t charge for that service and it can save a lot of gas money. Sell your car and find one that gets better gas mileage if you can manage that. If you must, consider getting a different job closer to home. If that’s not an option and you’ve tried all the other suggestions, then you might want to consider taking out cash advances to help pay the gas bill during the summer months.
Typically gas does sell much higher in the summer than the winter. If you think you can ride it out, then it’s just a matter of time before it drops again. However, if you’re not certain that taking out cash advances is going to be a temporary measure to help you bridge the transportation cost gap, then you will want to either convince your job to let you telecommute or have to find a job much close to your home.
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