Gamify your Gasoline!!!

Greetings fans of hypermiling, gas savings, and gas tips in general.

Did you know you can "Gamify" your gas pump habits?  Yes!

Easy way:  Each time you save 5 cents a gallon or 10 cents a gallon, put it into a savings with an app like Acorns or Stash.

Hard way:  Calculus.

wait....what?

yes that's right, using calculus methods, game theory, and graphing/statistics will get you the most savings, and the best budget.

How is this possible?

tune in next week, when I talk about...

Gamify your Life!!

Where do i put my money in November?

Gas prices are amazing right now!

I also admit that the gas market is stagnant, tepid, and boring...

I bought Israeli Shekels instead of a. savings account b. Gold c. Silver...

(How is this better?)

In times of trouble, always support Israel.

Normal Gas prices are amazing!

The year was 2002.......

In order to fund the Iraq War and other horrible things, George W. Bush raised gas prices as high as $5.25 a gallon.  I thought that something must be done about this.......and I started to hypermile.

The year was 2020.....

Covid 19 hit the US hard.....

gas prices were as low as $1.29 a gallon.....

(do you see where I'm going with this?)

NORMAL IS OK!

In this matrix...being one of chaos, uncertainty, and hoping that mom and pop gas station shops stay open....

$2.09 a gallon is great!

Price Freeze? Yes Please!

Comparing gas prices and economy prices to last year has been very interesting.  Gas was as low as $1.99/gal roughly last year this time.  As we approach Labor Day, a day where many Americans will be traveling and also thinking about the price of gas and gas efficiency, the worst mistake may be to say "gas is high and there's nothing I can do about it.  Here are some thoughts on perceived high gas prices:  1)  Gas is high but it could be much higher
Historically, comparing the bull market in the DJI and Nasdaq markets,  gas should be at about $3.19 by some estimates.  That's 50 cents higher/gallon
2)  Gas prices are normalizing and have become stable, not volatile
The previous years have seen gas prices go very very low then jump in volatility.  Sometimes the jumps were 20 cents or even 30 cents.  Volatility tends to be bad for many markets so a general "slow down in volatility" should be good for the western economy in ways.
3) Simple Hypermiling techniques should now be use (read other blog posts for ideas)
Hypermiling techniques and proper safe driving will go a long way.  As usual it's quite easy to increase your mpg by 3 mpg for whatever car you are driving. 

Offsettting the high price of gas with Silver or Gold

Buying Silver and Gold is a "defense" commodity.  Traditionally, if the stock market goes down or there is some international turmoil, then people will buy Gold instead of the stock market.

Let's look at a few reasons why it is a good time to include silver in your portfolio

NOTICE:  I am not endorsed by anyone,  I am just stating my opinion about silver and gold.

1.  High Gas price
"If gas is high, then so are other commodities"  Traditionally with the high price of crude oil there will be increases in silver.  It is not a 1 for 1 ratio yet it is seen in many statistics and graphs that high gas leads to high commodities prices.

2. "Buy Low Sell High"  This is worth mentioning.  "Just how low is low" well Silver can technically go as low as $4 an oz.,  Here are the numbers I am referencing:

-after the stock market downturn of 2007 Silver was as high as $48 an ounce
-right now it is about $16.50 an ounce
-There is "much room" for silver to go up.

3.  Buying silver as a long term investment
Realistically You may see this as an investment.  In my opinion it won't be going up (if you buy now) until about November 2020.  The stock market is so strong right now that that is how long you might want to wait.  It is still a good investment.  Remember,  we hope that gas prices aren't going to stay high, but if they do,  "Gold is a hedge against inflation". 

Driving in a "5 year winter" and hoping for the summer

This winter was pretty rough.  "Every fifth year the winter is rough" a friend of mine said.  Briefly, last year was a much comfier winter.  There was snow at Christmas, a cold January, and then we had an early spring.  So it was quite a juxtaposition to be experiencing a blizzard and/or winter storm early April.  Conditions like this make you appreciate rain.  The rain ideally will help melt the snow.

How to get great gas mileage after a hard winter?

The easiest and best way is to check your tires.  Harsh conditions and precipitation can wear down your tires.  1)  Check that the PSI on your tires after this long winter is at the level that is recommended in your car's manual.  If you don't have a manual, I would go to a website like Yahoo Answers to get PSI recommendations for the make and model of your vehicle.
2) consider rotating your tires. This should help with overall vehicle performance, which in turn increases gas mileage.

Winter gas

Filling up at the pump and feeling cold?  not to worry, there is good news.  The gas you are filling up at cold temperatures (preferably 25 degrees or colder) is actually doing you a favor.  There is going to be less water in your gas as you fill up.

Yes it's true, there is a bit of water in each gas line when you fill up.  That water is evaporating,  or something other scientific....

basically you are getting more gas for your buck in the winter. 

Just remember, it's worth it to be really cold and pumping gas!  enjoy that savings at the pump!!!

Holiday travel forecast

I'm expecting gas to rise to the $2.49 level.  Will it reach this height around Thanksgiving? or Christmas?  one of the two...

in the meantime,  keep enjoying this relatively cheap gas!!!!

The New Normal: Living with a "almost $0 gas" budget

For people like me growing up during the Cold war years,  gas prices only went low like this once before.  Many of us thought we wouldn't see them this low again especially during the $4 /gal gas of the GW Bush era.  Yet today I sit here, realizing i was too young to know how to react to the low gas prices that we saw in (was it the late 80s or early 90s).  Heck I didn't even own a car back then. 

Today i realize there "could be" a new normal.  -considering a gas credit card in these low prices?  -still using gas coupons from your local grocery store to get up to $1.50/ gal off?  well,  if you budget,  it seems possible to achieve close to free gas.  Like I said, i thought this day would never come.

A grocery store chain about 200 miles from me advertises $1.50 / gal off of gas when you buy about $100 of groceries .  Yes, of course, "there's no such thing as a free lunch".  But there is now a thing for the soccer mom who paid $100 a week for groceries for her family.  Ladies and Gentleman
"free gas is possible"  in some places. 

case in point:  you find a grocery store with the $1.50 or even just $1/gal off.  step 1:  fully using this sytem.  It's pretty easy to use the gas coupons once you get the hang of it.  step 2:  seems that there are a few of the older gas stations offering 5 cents/gallon or even 10 cents/gallon off when you use  a gas credit card through Shell, Exxon Mobil,  and possibly Visa.  This has been around for quite some time and was very valuable during the high gas price era.  BUT NOW if you , yes you, want to achieve "free gas"  well and you live in , say, Minneapolis you can do this math:
$2.19 /gal gas price as of July 2017
-$1.50/gal gas when shopping at Cub foods
-.10/gal gas when using a gas credit card
_____________________
59 cents/gallon is what you have to spend.  I think with enough time, i could seriously get the price down to about 5 dollars for a 15 gallon tank of gas.  Sure that's not entirely free but it's quite amazing,,,
quite amazing that we can achieve this.  Now,  in the summer of 2017.

All of this!

yes

Using a Stick Shift explained with Death Metal

4 lane highways allow hypermilers to not obstruct traffic

"Hypermilers obstruct traffic by driving slowly on the road" is something I've heard, and i appreciate people being honest with me about concerns of hypermiling.  The solution is:
find your 4 lane highways where you live.  For me there are two if not three.  If I am in a position where I need to really focus on hypermiling (such as carrying a heavy load or gas above $3.50 / gallon) I will consider a 4 lane highway.  2 lane highways/the interstate are fine but it could be risky if you are in rush hour.

Thanks and re: if questions!

Hypermiling for trucks

http://faircompanies.com/blogs/view/mad-max-hypermiler-questions-and-comments-answered/

great stuff!  this guy wrote this on his own.  A special article on how to hypermile your pick up truck is very helpful.

East coast Prices and new target

While visiting the east coast I saw firsthand that prices seem to be around $2.55 or higher.  It's important to know that baselines I use (which currently is $2.11) are for a reference of the midwest.  So I hope you are adjusting whether or not you are considering hypermiling due to the price you see where you live.  If you haven't read my other posts, here is sort of the spectrum


$2.11 not much hyper miling needed (1)
$2.25 introducing hypermiling to save gas (2)
$2.50  hypermile as usual (3)
$3.00 where gas would be in a normal cycle.  consider getting windgusts off of trucks and such, but don't do it all the time  (4)
$3.50  gas is higher than expected.  Look for other hypermilers near you and discuss positive uses of hypermiling  (5)
$4.00 the "highest level", as which was seen from around 2003-2006.  using public transportation, bicycling, walking, at least once a day is required.  (6)
$4.50 or higher.  Hypermiling required.  (7)


having said all this, it has been unusually nice to have a break from hypermiling.  But i also am excited that when $2.50 is the new target I will integrate the usual techniques.  (rolling through not busy 4 way stops, throwing the car into neutral on hills, etc.)

I expect gas to increase to about $2.50 or so late summer and into september.  

NEW OPEC DEAL SIGNED MINUTES AGO! What it means for gas prices!!!

The price holds that pervaded the low cost of gas have just let up! 

http://www.kitco.com/news/2016-09-28/FOREX-Commodity-currencies-firm-yen-sags-after-OPEC-oil-curb-agreement.html

While stocks and Dow/Nasdaq prices may need time to react, it's likely that this will increase gas prices.  A few thoughts come to mind, as is common in this blog.

1.  The low prices are finally over, now it's time to hypermile again
2.  Many people felt the price of gas was lower, undervalued, and are ok to see the higher price of gas boost the economy.

Official targets will not come out for quite some time but an early estimate is $2.49/gal prices by December, especially mid December. 

If you've been reading my blog, then hopefully you were able to save "for a rainy day" during the low gas prices.  Ideally about $10/month more during the undervalue.

If not, it's actually ok.  You may see stocks rise, possibly fed. rates rise, and see some money growth in those areas.

After a busy summer it's a "small cloud" on the hypermiler radar to know that gas prices are likely to rise, but if you want to know how to achieve +3 mpg gas on any car, read this blog!  use the links!  Fortunately there are hypermiling blogs all across the internet.!!!

Pokemon Go and the Stoplight

Unless you live under a rock, you know that Pokemon Go is extremely popular.

Like texting and driving, Pokemon'ing and driving is dangerous.

JUST REMEMBER this analogy for help

Pokemon Go is a stoplight!  Red, Yellow, Green!

Red Light = STOP, don't play pokemon and drive at the same time
Yellow Light = CAUTION:  if you are riding a bicycle make sure you are playing so that you can still see others around you and interact with the real life environment
Green Light = GO  GO walk!  Walking is great for Hypermiling.  How you say? it reminds us that there are alternative methods of transportation besides cars.  Busses, Pedestrian walking, and bicycles are the most popular.  FEEL FREE TO WALK AND PLAY POKEMON GO!

Driving and playing pokemon reduces your ability to be safe mainly.  It also reduces your ability to hypermile due to lack of mindfulness of the road. 

November 2 is the next "correction"

Likely you will see gas fluctuate at this level until about November 2 day of elections.

It's kind of hard to say exactly what will happen...........

But if a Republican gets elected, price will rise slowly (hypothetically)

If a Dem gets elected, honestly about the same will happen for about 6 months or so.

Main point is to focus on the Nov. 2 date if you want to see any movement up or down.

IMHO

Heightened Tension at the $2.00 gas level

I see $1.99 gas all around!

This is great but alot of people are ready for the economy to get back in track.

It's legit to assume many of us aren't hypermiling right now, but might start to bring back the techniques i've illustrated around $2.00 or $2.05 per gallon.



WHAT TO DO UNTIL THEN?

Maintenance, checking your alternator, battery, stuff like that!

Kappa

/^^\

Questions with Answers that aren't concrete!

The X Files is a great show that begs the question, "what is the truth"

in a more and more complicated world, finding an exact truth regarding "proper gas prices" and "proper commodity prices" is much easier when approaching it as a relative truth.

And that's what i'm getting at.

IT:S OBVIOUS THAT GAS IS CHEAP RIGHT NOW.  BUT IT'S ALSO OBVIOUS THAT MONEY IS PAPER, THOUGH WE GIVE IT VALUE (see where i'm going with this)

A few of my other posts have dealt with Real Money v. Fiat Currency, so no need to go into that right now....

But a way to simplify what i'm saying, is to study another market:  GAS v. OTHER COMMODITIES!

(BY THE WAY, as mentioned, this is only a start, not a finish of what i'm trying to say.  Comments, as always, are welcome.)



As you may have seen in previous posts, hypermiling as we know it is changing.  Yet it's not that we have to "throw the baby out with the bath water", bc it's likely we will see "high gas prices" again someday.  Perhaps in a different way.

In the meantime, i ask simply this:  CAN ONE EXTEND HYPERMILING PRACTICES TO OTHER COMMODITIES?  the answer is, YES!

The easiest way i found this out was with Lifehacks.  the Lifehack i think illustrates this best:  Laundry Detergent, Bleach, and other commodities used for cleaning purposes.



You see, Hypermiling in a sense is kind of "straining or yoking your gasoline to go the extra mile".  This is very true when you get to the extra 3 mpg ratio.  Is there a way to "extract" 3 mpg or even more out of other commodities?

YES!

As mentioned, i'm no expert, but if you are like me, you are always interested in new Lifehacks or ways to get "better bang for the buck"

1.  ITEM:  Cold Water Tide or other equivalent Cold Water Laundry Detergent  SAVES MONEY ON:  Electricity

Cold Water Tide seems to have come into use around 2005 or so.  I've used it a few times, and found the clothes it needed to wash were pretty much even.  There were a few differences but nothing i can prove beyond a perceived Placebo effect.  What i mean by this is, you feel the clothes when you move them from the washer to the dryer as colder so you may "think" there are more wrinkles or something, but as mentioned i think it's in your mind, not actually a worse product.  (comments are welcome)

Your electricity bill ideally will go down at a "savings of 3 mpg" give or take a few cents.  Assuming you don't buy laundry detergent as much as you fill your car with gas, the math is not exact.  BUT BOTTOM LINE IS IT:S ALMOST MEANINGLESS TO FOCUS HEAVILY ON HYPERMILING IN THIS GAS PRICE CLIMATE!  THAT:S GOOD NEWS!  So become meticulous! meticulous with saving money using cold water detergent

1.  ITEM:  Regular Detergent (or cold water detergent, or bleach)  WATERING THE DETERGENT DOWN  SAVES MONEY ON:  Less dependence i.e. less need to buy laundry detergent.

This is #2 because it's hard to admit for a hypermiler that a commodity causes health issues.  I likely will not spend much time on "inhaling gas fumes" but i will mention that Corporate sold laundry detergent has alot of additives in it.  SO WHY NOT SAVE MONEY AND BE HEALTHY!  Bottom line is, you don't need to super-wash every single garment.  Get a load of clothes that may smell bad but have no visible stains.  WATER down your detergent by up to half but at least 20%.  This can also be done by measuring 20% to half less than you would normally use.  THIS METHOD saves money in a very -close-to-same way as when you hypermiled (oh how i wish i could hypermile normally again lol) and were able to save equ. 3 mpg

PLEASE PLEASE! RE: if QUESTION!  THANKS!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJe_eIouXf8

What i do to pass the time NUMBER 2

When gas is low and hypermiling isn't as important as it used to be...

I pass the time....!!

by......

playing Blizzard games!

What i do to pass the time (in installments)

1.  To pass the time when Hypermiling isn't as needed as it used to be::::

I....

watch the political debates!