Archive for the ‘Gas and Oil’ Category

Up to 3% off on the cheapest gas in town

Tuesday, November 11th, 2008

Costco gasoline was going for $1.96 this weekend.  A couple of years ago I didn't think we'd ever see $2 gas again, but the recession is really taking its toll on oil and gas prices. I hadn't been getting my gas at Costco because I could get a better deal with ...

Seven of my favorite ways to save money on driving expenses — and one I don’t use

Wednesday, August 13th, 2008

My tachometer, my friend. Not all vehicles have one of these but it is a helpful monitor of gas consumption.  The relationship between gas consumed and revolutions (cycles) per minute isn't exactly linear but in general, the higher the engine's RPM, the more gas is consumed.  The tachometer gives me ...

I don’t care how much Exxon makes per second!

Friday, August 1st, 2008

Today Exxon Mobil announced an $11.68 billion profit for the second quarter of 2008, which works out to about $1,500 per second, as the media are reporting. This statement reminds me of the kind of envy that dripped from Microsoft articles in the 1990s.  Bill Gates' income was a ...

A 75-year emergency fund?

Thursday, July 17th, 2008

One of No Credit Needed's posts asked people about what exactly constituted six months' worth of expenses, which led naturally to a discussion about emergency funds. The last of four questions he asked his readers to respond to: What is the smallest emergency fund with which you would be comfortable? I ...