Petrol Set to Hit £1.50/litre by Summer
Shocking news out today from multiple sources suggests us poor motorists are already paying over 120.9p/litre and could be paying upwards of 150.9p/litre by the summer. Taking average family consumption of 200 litres a month for a 2 car household (2 fill ups for each car a month), that’s an annual bill of £3,620 compared to £2,900 today at 120.9p, or an additional £60 a month.
Depending on how your financial situation is, this will either go largely unnoticed in your spending, or could land you and your family in a world of hurt.
There are essentially 3 kinds of drivers in the UK: Those who couldn’t care less what the price of petrol is as their income permits them to absorb it without batting an eyelid; those, like myself, who can absorb it but object to doing so because it impacts on other personal financial goals; and those that simply cannot in any way shape or form find an extra £6 a month, let alone £60.
If prices do go that high (and given the reasoned argument for the prediction, I see no reason why they won’t), then some of the earlier frugal driving tips I posted about simply won’t cut it. Yes, they will help, but even if you implement all of them and achieve a 20% efficiency saving, it still won’t absorb the entire increase.
So what can you do?
Firstly, despite the paragraph above, do read over the tips and implement them. Just reading them and agreeing they are a good idea won’t actually save you any money! Get off your butt and away from the computer screen for a few minutes with the list in hand and go do them.
Secondly, if you have a gas-guzzling monster, it might be time to consider downsizing. My 2003 Ford Focus 115bhp TDCi diesel motor lends itself to fun and frugality in a heartbeat. Push the pedal to the floor and you’re launched off into the distance, but use a light foot and she will gladly carry you along at the national speed limit and cover 65 miles a gallon. Some smaller newer petrol and diesel vehicles claim upwards of 70-80mpg, but without the “get out of dodge” punch when you put your foot down. And given the desire to save money, downsizing to a 2003-2005 vehicle is more financially astute than shelling out for a brand new slightly more mpg-friendly vehicle.
Thirdly, it’s seriously time to start looking into lift-sharing. If like me you work a distance from where you live (and moving isn’t presently an option – see my earlier post!), then see if you can lift share with other colleagues. I work 30 miles from where I live, resulting in a 60 mile round trip every day. However, less than 6 miles from me lives another colleague who I will be hooking up with to share the burden of driving to work. After all, even with the additional weight of another passenger, driving 12 miles is more fuel efficient than driving 60.
Lastly, use the car less. This doesn’t necessarily mean inconveniencing yourself by having to use other modes of transport – of course, if you don’t mind walking or cycling, this is a great motivator! – but simply taking the time to plan out your miles. I kicked myself the other week when I drove the 2 miles into town, did a thing at the bank, drove back, then found a letter I had meant to post recorded delivery. This involved driving another 4 miles back down town to do so. Had I taken a minute, I could have shaved 4 miles off that day. If I’d had the time and energy, I could have walked down the town and saved 8! It might not sound worth the additional effort, but if you do that 3 or 4 times a month that’s 144 unnecessary miles travelled a year.
Do you have other ways to beat the rise? Share them in the comments!
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It’s no coincidence that gas prices go up like crazy after each ‘accident’ these company’s have while drilling for oil. Prices went way up after Hurricane Katrina and now since this most recent incident in the Gulf of Mexico I’m certain they will explode as you mentioned in your post. I wish that ‘A’ these company’s would be held more accountable and ‘B’ that gas prices would be more regulated by our governments.
Thanks for the post.
The thing i find strange is that when fuel prices were around 90p per litre there were massive protests across the UK – they are now well over £1.00 (local to me £1.12) and it seems to have gone largely unnoticed. Either the usual British apathy or pressure has been brought to bear behind the scenes?
I have drive long distances with my work. My recommendations are:
1. Empty the car – check and remove all those unnecessary bits and pieces you carry in the boot, footwells etc.
2. Don’t fill your petrol tank – it costs money to lug an extra 20-30 litres of “unneccesary” fuel around. I only ever keep mine topped up to half a tank.
3. Ease of the accelerator. My car has cruise control – I always use it whenever I can – this overcomes the urge to speed – simply set the speed and go.
Nice article Lee.
I try to do as little mileage as possible, and when I do drive anywhere I try to get maximum miles per gallon.
I’ve motivated myself to do this by working out how much each mile costs, so I can decide if the journey I’m thinking of making is worth the cost of the fuel.
On a journey where I get an average of 30mpg it costs 21p per mile, 40mpg it costs 17p per mile, and 50mpg it costs 13p per mile.
So if I’m thinking about doing a 20 mile round trip in traffic (which would be 30mpg) I know it will cost over £4 – it definitely makes me think about whether the journey is really necessary.