The Annual Whine Has Begun . . .
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It seems like about this time every year the whining starts, both in print and online. The articles, from places like AAA and DOT, all hammer at a common theme – people are traveling less this summer due to the high cost of gas . . . or diesel.
And now I’m seeing Facebook posts about people aren’t going to travel in their RV near as much this summer, or maybe even not at all. All due to the increased cost of diesel. But when I run the math, this never makes sense to me.
Let’s say a family had been planning a vacation this summer, driving 300 miles to a resort area, and then of course, 300 miles back, for a trip total of 600 miles. Now most family cars these days get at least 20 mpg, so let’s use that figure.
So with a 600 mile trip and 20 mpg, that gives us 600/20 = 30 gallons of gas used for the trip. Now the most recent low gasoline price I remember in the Houston area was $1.93 per gallon last August. And today’s price around here is $2.53, so that’s a rise of 60 cents per gallon.
Then with using 30 gallons on the trip gives us 30 x .60, for an increase of $18. That’s an extra $18 in the total cost of your vacation. If there’s a problem with an additional $18 in your vacation budget, you probably shouldn’t be going on vacation at all.
On the diesel front, I’ll just use our upcoming trip next month up to Illinois and then back down through Alabama and finally home, for a total of about 2200 miles.
Now our rig averages between 8 and 8-1/2 mpg. So let’s use 8 mpg. 2200 divided by 8 gives us 275 gallons used for the trip. And around here, diesel’s gone up about 30 cents per gallon, so that’s give us a total increase of about $83. Or about 4 cents per mile more. Certainly not enough to cause us to cancel our trip.
Or whine about it, either.
Jan and I headed out about 1:30 this afternoon with a first stop at our new storage room to drop off some more storage stuff. Jan also went through the genealogy stuff to pull out some things that she wants to take with us up to her sister’s in Illinois.
Then it was up to Webster to have lunch at East Star Chinese Buffet again. Just as delicious as always. And they keep the place spotless, even the restrooms. Jan said that someone was scrubbing the floor with a big soapy brush, and I noticed that they had even scrubbed down the diaper changing station in the men’s room.
Then it was on to my client’s to pick up an Amazon package, then WalMart, and then home.
Another nice day.
Thought for the Day:
“People demand Freedom of Speech as compensation for the Freedom of Thought, which they seldom use.” – Kierkegaard
ghdgh
