tractor
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Post by tractor on Apr 12, 2011 16:11:03 GMT -5
I try not to think about it. I drive 150 miles round trip every day and my wife drives about 60 miles round trip as well (in the other dirrection). I have to buy gas, so that's what I do. It sucks, but it's one of those things that I can't go without. It hasn't effected my budget much as we don't run our monthly expenses that close, but it does cut into the reserves. Can't worry about stuff I don't control.
As for the point about living so far from the office. My choices were limited. I was living about five miles from my office until we were bought out and consolidated with another office in a different city. I've tried to look for another job, but would have to take a $30-40,000 pay cut to work near home (not white collar area), so the drive is my only option for now.
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wvugurl26
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Post by wvugurl26 on Apr 12, 2011 17:02:04 GMT -5
My roundtrip is roughly 22 miles (going off map site, I've never tracked it). My during the week mileage hovers somewhere in the low 20s. Public transportation isn't really feasible. I've checked and its bus only and waiting a hour after my work day ends to start the trip home. I work in a very bad neighborhood so that's not appealing from a safety perspective and 2 hours to get home on buses versus 30 minutes in my car is an easy decision.
I like my job and our location isn't likely to change. I knew when I took it the neighborhood was bad and that I'd have to get probably 5 miles or further out to get in a good area. I am moving again and hope to move to the next county over and have a commute that flows better. The stop and go either in beltway traffic or at stoplights is hell on the gas mileage. I went to Northern NJ this weekend and my mileage went up to 30 mpg. I take I-95 most of the way.
Things I could cut would be eating out, fancier things that fall into nice to buy at the grocery store, and I suppose trips but staying in this city all the time is bad for me physically and mentally. I'm trying to get a better handle on my budget right now as I recover from being pretty sick and lots of increased costs on that end.
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Malarky
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Post by Malarky on Apr 12, 2011 17:12:57 GMT -5
I have a 12 mile roundtrip commute to work. The gas prices are definitely affecting me because I have to get to work earlier and earlier to get a parking space. The train stop is about 3 blocks away and that lot fills up really early. So they move down the street and park in our lot. Which is perfectly legal, but leaves nowhere for those of us who work in the neighborhood to park.
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cubefarmer
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Post by cubefarmer on Apr 12, 2011 20:21:13 GMT -5
My company is moving my job home in a couple of weeks. My commute is 22 miles round trip now. I live in the city, but this company is in a far flung suburb. ah, the irony.
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TheOtherMe
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Post by TheOtherMe on Apr 12, 2011 21:21:43 GMT -5
I only work part time and that job is 3 miles away. However, I live in a small town because I could afford to buy a house here and I couldn't in town. I do some volunteer work that requires me to be in town a few times a month and I babysit my great niece and nephew once a week. I combine grocery shopping and other errands when I am in town.
I did just get text messaging from my phone and HBO from my Dish.
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RoadToRiches
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Post by RoadToRiches on Apr 12, 2011 21:58:38 GMT -5
You know, I was actually talking about this with my friend. For me, I really don't have anything to cut anymore, but I do budget way over for my gas and groceries. Those are the two categories that are important to me and to have enough money for. I need food and I need gas in my car to get to work to make money for food and gas ;D
I really didn't cut anything different than I already did in order to pay my debt off. I went from paying 140 a month for Uverse TV package and internet. I cut TV and went with outdoor antenna. So that's right there came to 110 bucks a month. That is 2 full tanks in my car.
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Post by not2shabby on Apr 12, 2011 22:20:22 GMT -5
I gave DH my luxury gas guzzler since he works 5 mins from home. I am now driving the beater car which gives me 30 mpg but it is ugly as sin. Do I miss my car? Heck yes but not enough to change cars with DH. It also helps all cars we own are all paid off. That helps when we are paying outrageous gas prices.
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Urban Chicago
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Post by Urban Chicago on Apr 13, 2011 9:12:48 GMT -5
Out here, houses in the city can be less than the nasty suburban McMansions, you just have to live in a working-class neighborhood. I think people need to get over the idea that any neighborhood is "safe".
I've also railed many times about buying a house to get in a "good" school district, so I won't go into that here.
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qofcc
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Post by qofcc on Apr 13, 2011 10:12:56 GMT -5
I think people need to get over the idea that any neighborhood is "safe".
I think “safe” is extremely important, especially when you have children. When I was in 1st grade, my parents divorced and my mom moved us from a small town in rural upstate NY to an apartment in Yonkers. We moved from a neighborhood where people didn’t lock their doors and neighbors felt free to borrow things from their neighbor’s garage and leave a note to a neighborhood where people were attacked at night in the park next door where the children played unsupervised in the daylight and the school had safety glass with bullet holes in the windows. I would say that most of the people in the apartment building were decent working class families and the apartment building itself was not a , but it was in close proximity to where criminals lived. The neighborhood we had lived in the small town was also working class, but the poorer neighbors living in run down trailers on the edge of town weren’t criminals (or at least they weren’t committing crimes against their neighbors). There’s a big difference. I agree that neighborhoods close to the where criminals live might not be “safe” even if they are populated by upper middle class families in expensive homes, but there are plenty of safe places with houses in all price levels. Safe isn’t defined by an income level, it’s defined by proximity to people doing unsafe things. As a result of this experience, I made sure that when I had children, we always lived in a safe neighborhood, which to me in the price range I was looking at, meant rural or outer suburban with a commute to work.
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Urban Chicago
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Post by Urban Chicago on Apr 13, 2011 10:25:01 GMT -5
I agree, qofcc, it's just that so many people here are implying that the only safe neighborhoods are expensive neighborhoods or far-flung suburbs.
Not true, there are affordable and safe neighborhoods in cities too. Moreover, people who do live in the 'burbs often delude themselves about the safety of their neighborhood and become crime victims due to lack of vigilance.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2011 10:52:09 GMT -5
I just looked at my gas usage... I averaged 44 gallons per month so far this year.
Even if gas went up ANOTHER $2 per gallon, that's $88 per month, or $22 per week. Not a budget buster at all!
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Sum Dum Gai
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Post by Sum Dum Gai on Apr 13, 2011 14:46:57 GMT -5
I agree, qofcc, it's just that so many people here are implying that the only safe neighborhoods are expensive neighborhoods or far-flung suburbs. The coastal west coast isn't like Chicago though. I work right on the coast. Like, I can literally turn my head and see waves breaking on the beach from my office window. That means real estate near work is crazy expensive. The only thing we could afford here would be in neighborhoods with gang problems, high crime rates, piss poor schools, etc. Our "McMansion" out in a far flung suburb cost less than a smaller older house would have on the coast, and it's in a FAR better school district and a lower crime area. Sure, we could have found a place closer to work that is actually safe and has decent public schools, but it would cost us way more money. I have two little girls, so please, please, explain to me why I should raise them in a rough neighborhood, going to schools with gang and drug problems, paying more for the privilege, all to save a few gallons of gas? Would our choices make sense in Chicago? Beats the hell out of me, I don't live in Chicago. I do however live on the central coast in California, and I'm telling you that finding affordable housing in Santa Cruz or Monterey is damn near impossible. It's a lot easier to live a bit inland and commute to the coast.
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Apr 13, 2011 14:52:18 GMT -5
I could move closer to my work or DH's work but we'd lose what we save on gas when property taxes come due. Where I live has way cheaper property taxes compared to where I work. Then the gas tax is higher in the state I work in, so I'd be paying 10 cents more per gallon to live closer to work.
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trytofindbalance
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Post by trytofindbalance on Apr 13, 2011 15:22:27 GMT -5
Dark Honor, Drama and qofcc I couldn't agree with you more. I think that this is all about lifestyle choice and where you live depends on many, many factors. We bought our house, knowing that my commute was going to increase about 45 miles a day. We knew we preferred to live in a more rural setting with a great school district. We live in HCOL area and property taxes are obscene here and much worse closer to my job. If I bought a home closer to work, I wouldn't be able to afford to buy the property I wanted nor would I be able to pay the property taxes, so if I'm stuck paying even an extra $200 a month for gas, well then so be it. BTW...my job is actually located in a suburb, not a city. It's just way more crowded and expensive than where I live. I'll spent the extra money in gas, to save tons more on property taxes and to live in a place I love. We decided on an acceptable commute time , purchase price, property tax rate, town services, school system rating, etc. when we were looking for homes and those are the areas that we looked in. Makes more sense to me.
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973beachbum
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Post by 973beachbum on Apr 13, 2011 15:28:46 GMT -5
I am more worried about the cost of fuel oil and propane. I really have no choice on how much I buy or from whom. I guess I could eat some of the dogs food that I have or learn to buy 70 bottles of mustard like they do on TV, but then I would need a carp load of hot dogs and buns to go with it so maybe I am better off not.
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Apr 13, 2011 15:29:42 GMT -5
I actually just mapquested it and I live less than 3 miles away from my work. DH is less than 10 miles away.
So we'd save maybe a couple gallons of gas if we moved closer to his work.
Which would then be negated by the higher property tax, higher gas tax and the fact that now MY commute would be about 8 miles.
What would benefit DH is to give up his truck and drive a more fuel efficent vehicle
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Mardi Gras Audrey
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Post by Mardi Gras Audrey on Apr 14, 2011 0:36:56 GMT -5
My commute is about 50 feet from my house so I just hoof it. My rent is priced accordingly, though. I did have a car and was driving it to the big grocery store that was a few miles away as well as to the mall in the suburbs a few times a week. I have since given it to some relatives who have a horrid commute (They each commute 80 miles one way but they are in opposite directions so they can't carpool). My car is a fuel efficient hybrid so that should help them to decrease expenses while I get more use out of my bicycle. I took public transit to the big grocery store for the first time a few days ago and it was an interesting experience lugging home the food (I did plan ahead and bring several reusable tote bags and a backpack but I made the mistake of shopping while hungry ). All in all, it was a good experience and I am hoping that the increase in walking/bike riding will improve my health while the use of a more fuel efficient car helps my relatives who are more affected by the gas increase.
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