We answered this question in our personal finance feature today:
Question: I am one of the thousands of people who live in Quezon City but work in Makati City. That means I drive some 20 kilometers to work every day, and that’s just one way. I tried commuting but it’s impossible during rush hour. With the price of gasoline going up, travel to and from work makes a huge dent in my budget. Is there any relief in sight for us? – Josephine P.
We all will have to deal with the rising cost of gas, whether or not we are from Quezon City, Bulacan, Cavite, Cebu or Davao. The most terrible forecast I have heard so far is for a full tank to cost P30,000. That’s almost the take-home pay of senior call center agents.
Full tank at P30,000? Goodbye car, hello MRT for many middle-class families. I see a lot of them in the MRT, even now. You can sense which MRT commuters used to bring a car to work. Pretty soon, Josephine’s “impossible” may turn to “no other choice.”
I like the sneaky tricks to save on gas:
- Lighten up the trunk. More weight in your car trunk will make your car work harder, using up more gas.
- At the gas pump, don’t top off the tank. The excess gas may spill and will amount to waste. Just stop filling at the automatic level.
- When parking, choose a shady spot to prevent gas from evaporating under the heat.
- Fill up your tank in the morning or evening when the air is cooler. At midday, gas may expand due to the heat and you will end up getting a lesser amount of gas.
One oil company has seen an opportunity in this crisis. Seaoil is offering a price lock prepaid card at P1,070 for 20 liters, or P53.30 per liter. They are selling the card only from June 10 to 16.
Good or bad deal?
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My article entitled “Inflation, your nest egg’s silent assassin” came out in the Philippine Daily Inquirer (print version) yesterday. It has a link where you can download the retirement worksheet from Augustus J.V. Ferreria.
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For those who are interested in learning about investing in the stock market, the Philippine Stock Exchange has a seminar called “Demystifying the Stock Market” on June 19, 2008, 6:00 to 10:00 PM, at the Trading Floor of the PSE Centre, Exchange Road, Ortigas Center, Pasig City. For more information please call the PSE Senior Specialist/Project Head at 6887537 or 9130054.
22 Responses to “Sneaky gas-saving tips”
Pages: « 5 [4] 3 2 1 » Show All
Pages: « 5 [4] 3 2 1 » Show All
June 12th, 2008 at 7:45 pm
Omski, I agree trains are efficient and it can ease congestion but I disagree that it is the cheapest and it has less pollution. Trains aren’t really cheap, it seems cheap because it is subsidized by the government plus convenience makes it a cheaper alternative. Less direct pollution but I really wouldn’t say less pollution. It uses electricity and how that electricity is produced would determine the amount of indirect pollution these trains are contributing. Sorry for being too technical. I am an environmental consultant and I can’t help not to correct the notion that because the trains has no emissions means no pollution.
No, I don’t think gas companies gives payola (personal thoughts). It’s win-win for them. Train uses electricity and many power plants uses oil to fire-up their plants. I would say the lack of support of government Officials is the main reason why the train system did not develop. When I was working in the government, I’ve met some LRT/MRT employees. According to them, during the Marcos time, even before LRT was constructed, the government had a Master Plan for developing the train network in Manila. Just imagine if those trains were built according to that Master Plan, we probably don’t have to face the traffic problems we have. Anyways, past is past, just wanna share it.
June 12th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
there’s already a plan for that: the controversial northrail that’ll pass by bulacan…the so called MRT 7 to san jose del monte (but as always the government’s too slow) going to North EDSA
southrail going to calamba is also moving with the relocation of “informal settlers” along the tracks delaying construction (due to that stupid lina law)
Southrail and Northrail will also be inter-connected
SLEX will also improve once completed
and lastly, the construction of LRT-MRT link starts today…i foresee traffic to get worse during construction right smack on the road I take everyday
June 12th, 2008 at 11:23 am
@crystalballs, i manage to escape the rush hours because i work from home and i choose malls for meetings like EDSA Shangri-la and Greenbelt. Trinoma sometimes too, hehe. But during rush hours, you really just have to cross your fingers and wish that your face is not shoved into someone’s armpit.
one time when hubby’s car was being fixed, he took the MRT home and the guard almost had to push people in so that the train could close. two gays kept shouting “sige pa, sige pa!” it dissolved everyone’s crankiness hehehe.
June 12th, 2008 at 11:17 am
@carlo, thanks for pointing that out. 18,000 can buy lots of shoes, bags and kikay dresses!
June 12th, 2008 at 11:16 am
omski, north of manila seems to be a much better alternative these days huh? NLEX is so much better than SLEX. i agree about the trains. i know some senior management people who take their people with them and have last minute meetings on MRT on their way to Ortigas or QC.