Tim Whiston asked:


Gas prices just keep going up. It’s no fun and for many people this is making the monthly budget even tighter. But don’t make a tough spot a disaster by listening to the proponents of doom.

It’s not the end of civilization. U.S. fuel prices are raising to the point of being comparable to what people in Canada, Germany, and the UK have been paying for years.

It’s a downer in a lot of ways but it’s not doomsday incarnate and it’s probably not a sign that god is about to wipe humanity off the face of the planet. So your first real step might simply be to get a grip and stop telling yourself and everyone else who will listen that the whole show is on its way down the drain.

Start looking for ways to thrive in the current adversity and stop putting so much stock in what you are told by the news media. The U.S. press is not what it once was and frankly the majority of reporting is hype, drama, sensationalism, and the generation of fear-based social obedience.

The fact is, most ultra-successful people in any society don’t even bother watching the news! You won’t find much legitimate info on the evening news or through the daily paper anyway and you can save yourself a great deal of stress and anxiety by simply cutting these sources of “information” out of your life.

If you want to stay connected to local and national events you can achieve this by browsing the headlines of any news site. Relevant updates such as election results, weather reports, and stock market activity can all be acquired in less than 15 minutes of daily skimming.

In addition to adjusting your intake of pre-packaged “news” it is highly recommended that you avoid being part of the social herd mentality. Fear is the main focus of the public consensus at this time, whether it’s fear of terrorism, fear of higher gas prices, fear of identity theft, or whatever.

Ask yourself these questions:

How did people feel during the Cuban missile crisis?

How did the public react to the oil shocks of the 70’s?

What was the public response to the Y2K scare?

How did the masses respond to the events of Sep. 11 2001?

In the above scenarios there was panic, fear, and extreme anxiety. Yet here we are today, survivors of these and other periods of turmoil.

Problems are part of life. But the nature of life is perseverance and even prosperity. You aren’t going to die if gas prices keep going up, nor will many other dramas reported urgently by the media spell the end of your days.

So decide right now to take charge of your attitude and stop letting the gloom and doom reporting of today’s press beat you into a state of fear and melancholy!

Life is great. Live every moment in as much gratitude as possible and look joyously forward to the next one. This is pretty far from the marching orders you’re currently receiving from your evening news anchor but if you try it on for just a couple of weeks you may never go back to letting the “official” line dictate your attitude toward life.



Constance

Aaron M Phillips asked:


With Gas Prices in the USA going out of sight, here are 7 tips that can have you saving money on gas fast. If you practice them all, you may even double the mileage you get on a gallon of gas! That may seem a bit far fetched but it really is possible with some vehicles. So, in reverse order (the best is last) here are 7 tips to help you conquer high Gas Prices - USA:

High Gas Prices USA - Tip #7 - Use Overdrive Gears

When you use overdrive gears, your car’s engine speed is reduced. The slower engine speed saves fuel and lowers engine wear.

High Gas Prices USA - Tip #6 - Use Your Cruise Control

Using your cars cruise control on the highway helps you sustain a constant speed and, in the majority of cases, will help you save gas. Note that you should not use your cruise control around town or in heavy traffic.

High Gas Prices USA - Tip #5 - Avoid Excessive Idling

While idling your car is getting 0 miles per gallon. Cars with larger engines typically waste more gas at idle than do cars with smaller engines.

High Gas Prices USA - Tip #4 - Eliminate Surplus Weight

Stop keeping needless items in your car, particularly heavy ones. An extra 100 pounds in your vehicle could shrink your mileage by up to 2%. The reduction is based on the percentage of excess weight relative to the vehicle’s weight and affects smaller vehicles more than larger ones.

 Fuel Economy Benefit: 1-2%/100 lbs

 Equivalent Gasoline Savings: $0.04-$0.08/gallon

High Gas Prices USA - Tip #3 - Observe the Speed Limit

While each automobile attains it’s best possible fuel economy at a different speed (or range of speeds), gas mileage usually decreases rapidly at speeds over 60 mph. You can estimate that for every 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an extra $0.30 per gallon for fuel. Observing the speed limit is also safer.

 Fuel Economy Benefit: 7-23%

 Equivalent Gasoline Savings: $0.29-$0.94/gallon

High Gas Prices USA - Tip #2 - Drive Sensibly

Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration and braking) wastes gas. It can lower your gas mileage by 33 percent at highway speeds and by 5 percent around town. Sensible driving is also safer for you and others, so you may save more than gas money.

 Fuel Economy Benefit: 5-33%

 Equivalent Gasoline Savings: $0.20-$1.35/gallon

High Gas Prices USA - Tip #1 - BEST TIP: Convert your car to a Hydrogen Hybrid

When you do it yourself (you don’t need to be a mechanic), you can convert your car to a Hydrogen Hybrid for less than $200 total and no modifications to the engine are required. Your car will run smoother, have less harmful emissions, and you can easily have 20% to 50% better fuel economy. Although one 1990 Jeep I know of went from 17 MPG to 35 MPG with this conversion, that is a bit unusual. The average is a 20-50% increase in mileage. Additional cars can be converted for about $70-$80 per car because the total above includes buying the ‘how to’ instructions.

 Fuel Economy Benefit: 20-50% (or more)

 Equivalent Gasoline Savings: $0.68-$1.89/gallon

 

This collection of tips is just tips unless you use them. Using them will undoubtedly reduce the amount you spend at the pump regardless of what Gas Prices are in the USA.

Note: Cost savings are based on an assumed fuel price of $4.08/gallon.



Oscar

Ron Subs asked:


We’ve all watched them over the past several months and the gas prices just continue to get higher and higher. So what can we do? We don’t want to be dependent on foreign oil anymore, so the option of walking, riding a bicycle, etc is only a temporary solution to our problem. However there are two viable solutions. One is to purchase a hybrid hydrogen or water powered car. The second is to convert your current vehicle into a water powered car. This solution is probably the least expensive of the two solutions. There are several kits on the market, which will enable you to convert you vehicle into a water powered vehicle. You will need to make sure you purchase your kit from a reputable dealer. The kits are simple to install and is just as easy to remove should you want to revert back to gas powered.

The first water powered car was created in 1805 before the creation of gasoline came about in the 1870s. So t he technology for water powered cars has been around for over two centuries. Because the creators have all met with some untimely deaths, t here are speculations as to why and who.

It has been reported by those who are driving the water powered cars their gas mileage has increased by 100%. This is just one of the many benefits of the water powered car. These cars also produce and emit less carcinogens in the air than their gas powered counterparts. Using water powered cars are environmentally friendly. It we release fewer and fewer carcinogens the air will be cleaner, the ozone will heal and global warming will cease. One of the other benefits to using water as fuel in our vehicles is the fact these cars are very quiet and have no vibrations when they are running. Also you might want to remember that hydrogen is the most plentiful element on this earth because it is in the form of water.

If you are skeptical as to whether or not water powered cars actually work, some truck drivers have already converted their trucks to use water as fuel. The freight trucks do a lot of traveling. Our stores would not have any products on their shelves, if the freight trucks did not bring them merchandise. The freight trucks are the lifeline of this country. Life would be much harder on us if the freight trucks stop running. Some models of cars have been made to use water as fuel. So the idea is becoming more and more popular.



Claude

Chuck Bonner asked:


If you knew how much your corner gas station was going to charge tomorrow, you’d be able to save a few cents by beating the increase, or by holding off until the price goes down.  And if you could make such a prediction every day, the savings could add up to several dollars a year.  It’s not enough to change your life, but it helps a bit.  And when the $4.00 per gallon gasoline returns to the U.S. market - as you know it will sooner or later - the small savings on each gallon will be that much more important to your budget.

 

Now, if you could make a reliable forecast of long-range changes in the price of gasoline, you could make a killing in the futures market.  However, that is beyond the scope of this article.  It is, in fact, impossible.  Let’s just stick with saving a few bucks on our yearly gasoline budget.

 

The retail price of gasoline is determined by a number of factors, including, whether we like to admit it or not, human whim.  It is impossible to predict the exact price at any particular gas station unless you are the owner, and it is equally impossible to predict the lowest or highest price within a particular geographical market.  However, what we can predict is the general movement of prices at a large number of gas stations in a given area.  The extremes - highest and lowest prices - are most affected by the truly random factors which can never be predicted perfectly.  But the average price in a given market is driven by some predictable and well-known factors.

 

Here are three of them:

 



Gasoline futures prices.

Local constant factors.

Current local retail prices.



 

Gasoline Futures Prices

 

News media are always reporting the wholesale price of crude oil, and often run stories that describe how it affects the price you pay at the gas pump.  This is an important factor, but it’s a bit removed from the gas pump.

 

A better indicator, more closely coupled to retail gas prices, is the price that investors are paying for “futures” in refined gasoline.  We won’t go into details about what exactly gasoline “futures” are, but you can readily guess the most important thing you need to know:  This reflects what the gas stations will be paying to refill their gas tanks in the near future.

 

Look for reports of gasoline futures prices.  They are published every day in financial news outlets, and the latest price is posted and updated in near real time throughout the business day on many financial news Web sites.

 

Watch the price of gasoline futures over the course of a few weeks and months, and you will see a relationship between this price and the retail price of gas in your area.  Of course, this relationship is not exact.  Sometimes the futures price will go up, but the retail price will go down in the same day.  But over the long term, the two prices will tend to move in the same direction.

 

This relationship is not the same in all places, either.  For example, let’s look at yesterday (as I write this), December 11, 2008, and let’s look at the retail price of gas in two U.S. cities.  The futures price of unleaded gasoline was $1.08 per gallon when the market closed.  In Atlanta, Georgia, the retail price of gas that afternoon was $1.56 per gallon, and in White Plains, New York, it was $2.39 per gallon.

 

So, what is the relationship?  It varies from one place to another, as we can see, but there are local factors to consider.

 

Local Constant Factors

 

By observing the price of gasoline futures and the local retail price of gas over a period of time, you can figure out the relationship between these two prices for your area.

 

Take another look at the examples cited above.  On December 11, 2008, the retail price of gas in Atlanta, GA was 42 cents higher than the futures price, and in White Plains, NY, it was $1.31 higher.  Will these relationships always hold?  Will you always be able to add 42 cents to the futures price and find the retail price in Atlanta?  Probably not.

 

Here’s another way of looking at it.  The retail price of a gallon of gasoline in Atlanta was about 1.44 times the futures price, and the retail price in White Plains was about 2.21 times the futures price.  Proportional relationships like this tend to work better.

 

The difference in retail price between these two cities has to do with several complex factors, including the cost of transporting gas to the gas stations, local business taxes, local employment costs, and the vague “what the market will bear” factor.  Nevertheless, these factors themselves change rather slowly, and therefore you can come up with a proportional relationship between the futures price and the local retail price, and this proportion works pretty well.

 

If you keep track of the futures price and your local retail price over a period of time, you can eventually come up with a proportioning factor that comes pretty close to predicting the retail price of gasoline for your area.

 

Current Local Retail Prices

 

Another important factor in predicting tomorrow’s gas price is, what is the price today?  Gas stations tend to change their prices slowly.  When their costs go down, they want to keep their retail prices as high as they can in order to maximize profits, but they have to follow the other gas stations to avoid being undersold.  When their costs go up, they must raise their selling prices in order to remain in business, but they must be cautious to avoid driving their customers away.

 

So, even if the futures price were to increase dramatically, say 10%, in a single day, the gas stations in a given area will adjust their retail prices a bit more slowly.

 

If you build a mathematical model of the retail price of gasoline based on the gasoline futures price and the local constant factor described earlier, it just won’t work.  Your model must also account for this “drag” factor whereby tomorrow’s gasoline price is held back from moving, either up or down, by today’s price.

 

There are many other factors affecting the price of gasoline, but the three described here are the biggest ones.  You can watch these three factors from day to day and figure out whether you should buy gas today, or hold off until tomorrow and save a few cents.  It won’t change your life, but it feels good to “beat the system,” even in a very small way.



Edith

Alan Peter asked:


Questioning the gas pricing formula by RIL for its Krishna Godavari basin, Anil Ambani’s group on Sunday asked the government to come out with a pricing and allocation policy saying that arbitrary high prices will hurt the power and fertiliser producers. “When the users are subjected to regulation, how can the single gas supplier (RIL) is not regulated, the production sharing contract between the gas producers and the government stipulates that pricing and utilisation policy should be in place but there is none,” Anil Ambani group company Reliance Energy Director J P Chalsani told media here.

Contrary to other regulated sectors where capital expenditure and tariff are defined, how RIL’s capital expenditure was approved in a non-transparent manner, Chalsani wondered and said that high capital cost by gas producer would only lead to lower returns for the government and high prices for the end users. Chelsani’s comments coincide with the on-going exercise in the government for fixing the price of natural gas and the formula by RIL, which seeks to sell gas at up $to 4.58 per million British thermal unit at the land-fall point at Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh. After detailed discussions, the Committee of Secretaries has sent its recommendations to the Petroleum Ministry, amid reports of inter-ministerial differences on the issue, for further action and a decision is expected to be announced soon.

The suggestion by the Anil Ambani Group that arbitrary high prices of Natural Gas will hurt Power and Fertiliser sectors has been contested by many experts who feel that the goalpost cannot be shifted after the terms have been settled while allocating gas field for exploration by the ministry.

When E&P was controlled and under the cost plus fixed return regime the E&P sector could not take off as no one was willing to deploy risk capital in which all the costs incurred in blocks/ wells that did not achieve commerciality is only borne by operator while on striking hydrocarbon the proceeds are shared with govt which pockets the larger

share by the virtue of the “quantum of govt take” being the criterion for award of block.

Further, power based on standard equip and technology available widely. Deep water is a frontier technology with operations and technology akin to exploring the moon/space. Reservoir risk is huge and has hurt the biggest companies as geology 3 km under sea level may differ widely and is specific to that operation only.

Despite this difference and relative simplicity of power sector, private investments are dismal, though tall statements are made of the thousands of megawatt plans even though the existing capacity may not cross 1000 MW.

Small companies with negligible existing capacity and no capacity addition in the past decade are laughably claiming that gas price could affect investment in this area.

Reliance sources added that the serious power companies Tata, AES and Torrent have indicated their extreme satisfaction with price and are ready to pay a substantial premium. Some companies that have never ever executed any large project will keep finding reasons to hide their incompetence.

Despite the regulation that is much touted the consumer are forced to bear costs resulting from poor and careless decision of power companies as was the case recently in which power companies are making the consumer bear the take or pay charges resulting from the poorly planned power offtake commitments.

In contrast the E&P activity in India is moving at great pace and serious investments and money has already been spent on the ground. Perhaps these upstream companies should be invited by the govt to set up even the power projects so that power sector finally wakes up.

On the issue of arbitrary capital cost, the DGH official commented that it seems that REL is not aware that there is a procurement process manual that is comprehensive with extensive procedures and checks and balances on the costing. Any amount that is extravagant or could have been managed prudently will not be approved for cost recovery. The official added that RIL has categorically welcomed any verification or auditing by the govt and CAG or others as they have innovatively finalised the inputs at the lowest cost/unit basis anywhere in the world.

Hence again this is a bogey that should be dismissed.

On the issue of PSC stipulating policy on pricing and allocation, a senior official of the MoPNG commented that the contract required the price to be based on prevailing policy if any and the process of approving / validating the operators price the govt could delegate this function to the regulator when created for the purpose and the operating part is “delegate” clearly establishing the unconditional right of the govt to ensure that

market determined rates are obtained. Even in the current instance, RIL’s submission will be assessed as que per què the pricing committee recommendations.

On the allocation of gas the govt is very keen to implement the same as soon as possible as gas is a national asset that one can allot to another due to non commercial and internal family arrangements. Recently DGH has asked the govt to track the RNRL court case and take appropriate steps as RIL can only sell its portion of the cost and profit gas and any contract to sell the portion of govt’s gas and that of Niko is infructious and cannot pass legal scrutiny and for his purpose govt has added this clause to the PSC.



Monica

bigd asked:


Since students mostly live off of loans, do high gas prices and/or a soft economy hurt the discretionary spending of students?

Leon

Larry Pfeil asked:


The price of oil impacts nearly every part of our lives, but what it means to retailers can be especially profound. More expensive oil translates into higher material costs, higher manufacturing costs, and higher transportation costs for the delivery of goods; but it also translates into higher fuel costs for consumers needed to visit brick and mortar stores. Retailers are caught in the middle between an increasing cost of goods and fewer customers visiting their stores.

 

In order to stay competitive, and in some cases in order to survive, retailers need to adapt to changes in the shopping habits of consumers and continue to meet the consumers’ needs. As gas prices rise, more and more consumers are shopping from home. While changes in consumer shopping habits present obvious challenges, they also present significant opportunities for retailers who are willing to adapt to and meet the changing needs of their customers. Simply put, retailers have to be able to effectively and efficiently serve remote shoppers, and a critical component of serving remote shoppers is handling inbound phone calls.

 

Today, most businesses treat inbound phone calls more as an annoyance than an opportunity. The promise of e-commerce led many businesses to direct limited resources away from phone-based sales toward Internet-based sales. However, it is not web-savvy consumers that make up the bulk of new remote shoppers. The fact of the matter is that as more shopping is done from home, inbound phone calls will necessarily become an increasingly important part of a retailer’s sales prospects. Businesses that embrace the change will benefit to the detriment of those that resist. Retailers who are willing can capitalize on inbound sales calls by establishing a plan to handle the calls and convert them into sales.

 

To a remote shopper, the image projected by a business over the phone is the equivalent of the storefront. It is imperative that retailers project a polished and professional image over the phone. First, every business should have a strict policy for answering the phone. Each person within the business that answers incoming phone calls should follow an incoming call script that is short, cheerful, and professional. The script should identify the name of the business and is an opportunity to thank the caller for taking the time to call. For example, “Thank you for calling XYZ Corporation, how may I help you?” Basic phone etiquette is important and anyone that answers the phone should be trained to be polite, speak clearly, smile while speaking, and use appropriate grammar and language.

 

Second, businesses should have a method in place for keeping callers on the line during call transfers or call queues. A well crafted on hold program is crucial to every business that receives inbound phone calls. On hold programs should be a combination of short, positive messages that emphasize aspects of the business, its products or services; and cheerful, upbeat music. On hold message content may be coordinated with specific marketing campaigns by adding on hold marketing to a company’s overall marketing mix. However, program formatting is important, as a poorly crafted on hold program might project a negative company image and might actually increase the incidence of hang-ups.

 

And last, anyone handling inbound sales calls should be trained in basic salesmanship. The goal of a business in receiving inbound calls is to convert as many of the calls as possible into orders. By adapting to changes in consumer shopping habits; challenges such as the rising price of gas can be turned into opportunities to differentiate a business from its competitors and provide a level of service that will keep current customers as well as attract new customers from business that continue to resist the change. While the increasing price of oil presents a significant challenge to businesses and consumers alike, businesses that anticipate and adapt to changes in consumer shopping patterns can take measures to minimize negative effects, or even benefit from the change.



Marjorie

Janelle Elizabeth asked:


a very simple method for reducing your fuel costs by as much as 20% - its as elementary as getting your engine to run more efficiently. And the great thing is you don’t have to be an engineer, mechanic or know anything about cars, trucks or generators. In fact, if you know how to put gas in your car, or diesel in your truck, then you can do it.

Most of us are wasting 15-20% of the gas we put into our tanks because this is how much gasoline comes out our tail pipes as smog and pollution. In money terms, this is around $8 for every $40 you spend at the pump. There aren’t many of us who are wealthy enough that we can throw away this money on a regular basis, but most of us are doing just that.

You see, engines don’t actually use the gasoline in the form we put it into our cars. It needs to be turned into a vapor and then mixed with oxygen to create a rich oxygen/gasoline mixture. This is what the fuel injection system of your car does. If you have an older vehicle, the carburettor performs this task.

However only around 30-50% of the gas going into your car is properly vaporized for ignition. 15-20% is unburnt because of the size of the gasoline molecules (this is what comes out the tailpipe, leaving the black gunk inside the pipe).

More of the energy created in your engine is wasted because of wear and tear on engine components, heat loss, and cooling energy - up to 80% wasted energy.

That’s technical enough. What it means though is that each time you add fuel to your tank, you are getting ripped off - firstly because of the high gas price, and again because so much of that gas is wasted.

However, by reformulating your fuel, you will almost eliminate this waste and genuinely save on gas. Oil companies know that that by spreading out the gasoline particles, they burn better. By doing this they have created their various grades of gasoline - basic, premium, plus etc. Naturally, the charge a lot extra for it.

By getting more air into the gasoline you can do the same, and it is cheap and easy to do. And the oil companies are not happy that their secret is out.

Using just one ounce of the best quality fuel reformulator, every time you fill up, you will:

* naturally lubricate your engine, increasing its life and reducing wear and tear

* give you a 7-19% mileage increase by reformulating the fuel

* reduce toxic emissions from your engine by at least 30%

Fuel reformuators should not be confused with the ‘fuel additives’ found on automotive shop shelves. They not only cost a lot, but are gasoline or alcohol based and fail to provide the engine-care and results a top-notch fuel reformulator.

By increasing your fuel economy, giving you a 7-19% mileage per gallon increase, you will need to fill up less often and thereby reduce your gas price over a period.



Jeff

Dave Larsen asked:


In a world where gas prices are at record heights, there are lying scumbags who will take advantage of your desire to get more miles to the gallon. Lately there have been a flood of products on the market claiming to boost gas mileage, but very few of them actually work.

First, there are fuel additives like the Platinum Gas Save and the BioPerformance pill. Neither works, and the BioPerformance pill has been proven to be nothing but moth balls, which are toxic.

Then there are the Fuel Genie and Tornado, which are mounted in the air flow meter of your car. They are supposed to affect the way air is ****** into the car, but have yet to be proven effective in improving mileage. However, altering the air flow of your car can make it overheat, possibly causing permanent damage.

There is also the Predator and many similar knock-off products. The predator costs a hefty $400 and reprograms your car to ignite the fuel earlier, which makes the fuel burn longer. Though the initial aim is to increase horsepower, customers have reported getting better gas mileage as a happy side effect. And these products DO work like they say. But, they’re risky. When the engine burns less fuel by this method, there is the risk of overheating it. Since the car is using less gas, it doesn’t have the ability to cool itself properly. Again, this can cause your engine to overheat and perhaps even ruin it completely.

No one want to save a few bucks on gas just to blow their engine!

Many mechanics are wary of all these additives and gizmos. “Yeah, you might get a little better gas mileage out of it, but you might have just taken 50,000 miles of life off the motor by trying to do it,” said Larry Perry, the Magic Mechanic radio host.

The Environmental Protection Agency has been looking for and testing gas-saving products for over thirty years and has found very few that meet its standards. So be careful.



Kyle

MONDAYS FRIEND asked:


$4 - $5 dollar range? I am actually better off now with these lower gas prices than I was in July when they were sky high…

You DO know, don’t ya, that when the economy comes out of the doldrums, gas prices will again rise? And since government will likely see these lower prices leaving room for higher taxes on gasoline, the prices could even exceed what they were before…

Nathaniel