Green Minded Wallet

Apparently today is annual ‘Dump the Pump’ Day, which is suppose to encourage people to use mass transit over driving. Until this afternoon I thought it was just a local thing as our bus service had signs up and offered free rides, but turns out it’s national! I’m not sure how successful it was (though I suspect it likely had more of an impact than in prior years), but I think it a great idea. My bus fare is already paid for by student fees, but I still like the concept. I can’t say that I notice increased traffic on the bus, but hopefully some of the bigger cities saw a greater increase in ridership than my little college town.

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With the ever-increasing cost of gas, many people have been offering tips on how to make your gas go just a little bit farther. I thought that I would share some tips that, if I followed, would likely increase my fuel efficiency.

1. When traveling for a particular purpose, make sure to bring any items that you may need. For example, if you are going to the store, bring your wallet. If you are going to the laundromat, remember to bring laundry detergent.

2. If you have a meeting or event, make sure you know the day, time, and location. If you don’t you will waste time and money on travel, plus you will feel silly when you arrive a week early for the party.

3. If your car is prone to be a victim of hit-and-runs and as such has pieces dangling from it, make sure to secure them firmly and re-inforce them from time to time. I don’t have the scientific evidence to back it up, but from firsthand experience it would seem that having pieces of your bumper scraping the highway at 70+ mph causes a loss of fuel efficiency. I find duct tape and string to be relatively inexpensive, yet invaluable for this purpose.

Any tips that you would like to share?

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A couple of months back, I mentioned that one of my prescriptions (Zyrtec) had gone over-the-counter and generic and as a result my co-pay went from $14 for a 30-day supply (brand name) to $7 for a 30-day supply (generic). However, when I was at the allergist the other day he told me that there were some stores that were selling the generic version (cetirizine) for really cheap. So I did some investigating and found that I could get a 350-day supply for just under $33 through Amazon (including shipping). With a $14 co-pay the cost was roughly 47 cents per pill, at $7 it’s 23 cents per pill, and at Amazon it’s now 9 cents per pill!

What’s even better is that the generic I bought is actually the Sam’s club brand and Costco has a popular generic as well. Sam’s Club charges $17.12 for the 350-day supply, while Costco.com charges $15.99 for a 300-day supply. These prices are approximately 5 cents per pill but don’t include shipping or tax. One nice thing about the Sam’s Club version is that there are two bottles (with 175 pills each) so you could split it with friends. However Sam’s Club requires that you have a membership, while Costco charges a 5% surcharge to non-members for online orders. I went the Amazon route since I don’t have a wholesale club membership and I’m not really sure that I would use one (I figured the discount for one item really wasn’t worth it). Still, over the course of a year I will save about $140 over the brand name co-pay and I think that, is a pretty good deal.

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I am starting to realize that there will always be someone “better.” No matter how hard you work there will always be someone who: saves more for retirement, gets a better deal, finishes faster, loses weight more easily, pays down their loans faster, drives less, uses less energy, ad infinitum. Furthermore with the advent of the internet, they might just tell you so. I really can’t tell you how many times I’ve read a pf blog and the author talks about ways you can save in X area, and everyone writes in to say just how much they saved in X area as if it’s a contest. The same goes for other types of “achievements” like recycling and athletics as well. But you know what I’m starting to realize, truly realize: it is not in fact a contest. If you can meet your goals, then you have won. If really doesn’t matter if Jenny in Wisconsin only spent $1625 on a wedding and you spent $6500 if you had the wedding that you wanted and paid for it responsibly. You probably could get married for less than $5o, but would you want that? And even if you are the person who is “better”, what exactly does that get you, in and of itself? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that there aren’t tangible benefits to savings and responsible spending, exercise, conservation, etc., but I think when we are seeking to make achievements at a certain level simply for the bragging rights, we lose sight of what’s really important. For example, if the cost of your wedding is the most important thing to you (whether it be high or low), personally I think that you’ve pretty much missed the point. And if you only run races to win them, you’ll miss out on so many good moments because you’re worried about someone else being better.

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Do you remember when the idea of a college or graduate student was someone occupying a small room in a house, eating pasta and ramen, and commuting to school on an old beater bike? What happened to that idea - because seriously many of the students around me seem very ‘bling’ed out: triathlon bikes, BMWs, fancy restaurants, etc. I know that some students work, but given the increasing cost of gas, food, and tuition it doesn’t seem like there would be a lot left over for such fancy toys. As a student myself, it just bewilders me. While I realize I might be able to afford fancier items it would come at the cost of giving, saving, and debt (student loan) reduction. Personally, I’d rather have those and the self-discipline that comes with them, than a few shiny depreciating assets at this stage of my life. My philosophy is that this is probably the time (or one of the times) I will be making the least amount of money in my adult life; if I can be responsible now, I will have a lot more fun in the future when I do make more money and I don’t have to spend it paying off old debt. While I certainly don’t advocate eating lots of enriched starches or living with questionable strangers if you can afford not to (and it’s not your preference), I think that there’s a rather thick line between a beat-up Huffy and a new Cervelo.

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If I combine the generally upward trend of gas prices with the fact that I’m cheap and I don’t really like to drive, automotive transportation is likely to play a decreasing role in my summer transportation efforts. While I generally ride the bus to my office, I find that I often use the car for errands. Not this summer. For the most part, I doubt that there are very few things that I need to buy that are too bulky to carry while riding a bike. So if I plan right, I hope to be able to seriously limit my car trips and make use of the bus, bike, and feet whenever possible. My plan is simple: unless I am required to look nice when I get there, there’s a threat of inclement weather, or I have to travel rather far away - no car. If all goes according to plan I should be able to keep a little more money in my pocket and a little less CO2 in the atmosphere.

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