Thursday, May 31, 2012

Thoughts on Thursday...

Am I the only one who tries to pump gasoline to an exact, even dollar amount? Why do I do this? Why does it have to be $62.00 or $63.00?

Well, yesterday I revolted against myself and I pumped $62.48. Woo Hoo!!

Then the woo hoo turned to boo hoo, because I just spent $62.48 on gas.  I'm sick every time I fill my tank.

I love this picture...take a look at the price...amazing. Lol



Do you pump to an even dollar amount too? How's the price of gas in your part of the world?

Happy Thursday,
~Karen~

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62 comments:

  1. Yes, but I stop right on a quarter. Gas prices are outrageous, we do all we can including carpooling 4 of the 5 days a week. We paid $4.11 and were happy it was down from $4.25....
    Pokey in Southern California

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  2. I do try to stop on the dollar.....why do we do that? I remember paying 21¢ per gallon. And when my grandfather would get it at the Jenney station 6 gal for $1. Not sure where our world is headed these days.

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  3. I try to round it off, too. I filled up on Monday and it was $1.269/litre Canadian so roughly $5 US/gallon? (In in Saskatchewan) I remember a few years ago it skyrocketed to 1.44/L and the gas station owners had to put in prepay policies to prevent people driving off without paying. I also shook my head at people who had chosen to drive gas guzzlers they didn't need (i.e. - city dwellers with no kids or hobbies driving SUVs for "status" reasons) and then complained about gas prices... Sales for Vespas when up big time that summer. Wish my city was better laid out for walking.

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  4. I have always tried for the even amount, too, but usually it ends more like $30.02 because it doesn't stop in time. I live in Hawaii and so the price here is much higher than you all have. We are at $4.26 here on Oahu but last weekend we went to Kona on the Big Island and gas there was $4.89. It will be good to get back to the mainland when we move this summer.

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  5. hi,
    I´m Illa from Austria (in Europe). Yesterday I paid 1,50 euro per Litre at my gas station. ( 2,3 dollar). (that´s too much `cause I earn only
    700 € money per month.
    Im waiting for cheaper electric-cars, and take my bike everytime I can.
    greetings, illa
    ps: sorry, my english ist not very well

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    Replies
    1. Illa, your english is better than my Austrian/German ;-) I applaud your knowledge of the English language it is NOT an easy one to learn.

      Michelle
      Seattle, USA

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  6. I don't do that but I always have to fill it. I hate doing a partial tank. When I first started driving a long long time ago, and I would only have a certain amount of money on me for gas, I got pretty good at pumping an exact $10 or whatever (like I said, it was a long time ago-$10 worth was a decent amount of gas)

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  7. I always fill my tank but also try to do a full £ as well. How silly am I? :oD

    As for the price - I live in Scotland and ours is £1.35 per litre which works out to $7.92 per US gallon. Now *that's* expensive!

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  8. Yes, I usually try to finish up on an exact amount, not sure why. Currently petrol here in the UK is about $7.75 per US gallon (if my maths is correct - we buy in litres so two conversions to make) Diesel is a little more expensive but the price has come down a little over the last week or so.

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  9. I to am silly because I always try and pump an even dollar amount. My husband just pumps and stops at what ever price it is to fill up.I'm from Washington state and our price is $4.21 a gallon.Down a few cents from the holiday weekend price.

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  10. I always try to pump to the dollar. It makes me crazy when I miss the mark and then I have to go to the next quarter. It's a little obsessive, yes? Right now our neck of the woods we are paying about $3.49 a gallon for regular. Thank goodness it isn't the $5.00 they were predicting a few months ago!

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  11. Here in the Netherlands we pay per litre (that's a quart of a gallon) and the petrol sells for $ 2.07 per litre = $ 8.28 per gallon!!!
    We drive a diesel car, which is a bit cheaper at $ 1.72 per litre ($ 6.88 per gallon)....(but when you drive a diesel, you pay double the road-tax)
    So, I think the petrol in the USA is still *much* cheaper than over here!

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  12. Karen just filled up due to a long trip and I feel your pain it is an astronomical price that we are paying but at Costco you do get it cheaper a few cents! so it was 120.9 a litre. better than 145.6 a litre which we have seen.
    I used to round off the pump but the last couple of years I too have rebelled and just did it till the pump stops I don`t even top up anymore I wondered if others did too or when they closed the till at night my rebellion would stand out due to the odd number...it is like signing I was here..LOL

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  13. Years ago i did pump to a dollar amount when I had to do expense reports. I don't bother now since everything goes on a card :)

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  14. I filled up on my way home tonight. I wasn't quite on empty (still had about 1/8 of a tank), but it cost just under AU$85 (about US$83).
    We are paying AU$1.539/L here in Australia (AU$5.83 per gallon, which is about US$5.68/g).

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  15. Yes I try to get even amounts - my husband's request since he writes that check. :) Unfortunately once the price goes over $3, which it has been for a very long time now, it's hard to get that thing to stop spinning where I want it to! I'm not going to complain any more though about the price of gas. We just returned from a trip where in Italy and Greece gas was $8 a gallon and in Turkey it was $11 a gallon! The only SUVs or trucks you see there are for business deliveries or carrying lots of passengers. Most people, if they have a car, have a tiny one. blessings, marlene

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  16. I try to even it off too. Silly, isn't it? And I'm not going to complain about US gas prices after hearing what other countries are paying. I do still try to conserve though.

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  17. I leave it right where it shuts off. DH always tried to get in a little more, lol. Even in my little car, it always costs me over 30.00 to fill up.

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  18. I had read that those little "clicks" of the trigger to get to an even dollar amount actually wastes gasoline (via fumes/evaporation). So in the sake of conservation I just accept whatever uneven amount the pump stops on.

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  19. I have a wonderful husband who puts the gas in the vehicles. I know, I am spoiled! He always goes to the dollar amount. Our gas prices around here are about $3. 43 (Eastern Iowa).

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  20. Yesterday I paid 72,26€ for 55,08L (90USD for 14,5 gallons if I've made the correct operations) so here in Spain is about 6,20 dollars/gallon of diesel.
    I think is very expensive!! I don't care about the exact amount, better because an employee full the tank, not me and it will be weird to tell him!

    Love the photo ;)

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  21. I use to fill to the dollar until my husband who is a mechanic told me to stop when the nozzle shut off on itself...he says it isn't good to fill it past that point. We are sitting at $3.50 per gallon....not good.

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  22. Hey Karen, this is so true! For Christmas, I was trying to think of what I could send my daughter, and all her friends(my adopted girls) there are about 20 of them. All of their moms and I every couple of months, we send goodie boxes to all of them, we each try to stay around $5 per kid, and we each get 20 of the same thing and fill their boxes. So I thought gas is so expensive I will get them all gas cards. Well when I was announcing to my sons what I was going to do, my older son said, "Mom. you do realize that you will be giving them each a dollars worth of gas!" I was shocked, I realized that was true, I totally thought it was a great idea, in 1983!! So I went back to what I sent them every other time, and I made their gifts for the boxes! Works every time! karen♥

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  23. In Ireland, gas is $9.32 per gallon. Bit of a difference!!

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  24. Here in New Jersey they pump it for you - it is against the law to pump your own gas here (I believe Oregon is another that has this). The price is around $3.50 a gallon at the moment - funny because just a stone's throw over in Bucks County, PA, where one has to pump their own gas, the price is higher. We're about an hour outside Manhattan and I would imagine the price would increase as one gets closer to the city.

    Even if gas prices here in NJ are (on average) lower than other areas they sock it to us with property taxes - oye!

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    1. You're right--Oregon does not allow customers to pump their own gasoline. I grew up there and was so clueless the first time I lived outside of Oregon and had to figure out how to work the pump!

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  25. Believe me when I say I have a lot of little superstitions/quirks but I have not heard of this one. Oh my gosh, I am probably going to have to put to the even dollar from now on.

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  26. Isn't that funny!?! I always do that too. And I have no idea why. Gas in my neck of the woods is at $3.68 per gallon. We are in northcentral Wisconsin. I guess I'm not going to complain though after reading some of these comments and seeing what other countries are paying.

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  27. We have some of the cheapest gas in the country. Right now it's $3.09. I think it is because we don't have a high tax on gas which we probably should.
    I don't round off at the pump but my husband does.

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  28. I used to let the pump cut off at whatever amount (odd or even) because I used a credit card to fill my tank whenever gas was needed, always a full tank. Unemployed now for 4 yrs, I have $10.00 per week to spend for gas, so I must cut off at even number. LOL! Thank God, I have a small car and it gets good gas mileage. Our gas in S. Fla. is $3.41 now. Still a rip off, but don't even let me get up on THAT soapbox!

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  29. I too like even amounts. It is more important to me to fill the tank until it is about to overflow. I do that because I generally snag the lowest possible price at the time. Currently we are at $3.17 in North Alabama, USA. It is down about $.60 per gallon over the last few weeks.

    One of the online tools I use is GasBuddy.com. You just key in your zip code and scroll through to find the cheapest gas. If you have a smart phone, you can use this while traveling too. :)

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  30. I used to even it off to the dollar when all the pumps were the old style with the numbers on the spin! Now that it's all digitized, it damn hard to get it to a even number.....so I don't even try. And here in Maine, our best price is $3.63 a gallon. And aren't we grateful each time we fill up that it's not $4.00 a gallon! Yet! LOL

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  31. hmm...i just allow the pump to turn off by itself...we are paying right at $3.29/gallon in mid Missouri...I do like Casey's gas because we can get Super or Regular at the same price...

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    1. Nancy, that's where we fill as well... for the same reason. :) And in general, it's cheaper than other stations in the area.

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  32. Here is Oregon we don't pump our own, so have no control on where it stops, but usually the attendant try to round it up after the automatic stop of the pump. Our gas is between $4.15-$4.25 depending on where you shop.

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  33. Here in central MN we're paying about $3.50/gal (seems to fluctuate up to $3.70 and down to $3.40). But, don't feel so bad about what you spent on gas... we filled our 15-passenger yesterday for $97.08! Funny thing is, at the time I thought it was odd that my hubby left it at an odd amount. :) He would usually at least go for the $97.10. LOL

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  34. I used to live in Texas where there was a no past fill rule (due to the heat and gas vapors)so I just let the pump turn off on it's own. I now live in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin and our gas is about $3.70/gal.

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  35. I fill it up every time. The price of gas here in Norway is about USD 2.5 per liter Crazy indeed!

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  36. when I first started driving, gas was $.19 a gallon...then when I got married it was $.34 and I remember my dad saying it would go up to over $.50 a gallon soon. Wow, times have changed, I paid $4.39 the other day...I'm in southern California...I don't round up anymore, but I used to.

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  37. Yes, I try to get an even number too, then it'll go over .o1 or so....and I try to go up to .50 and then it goes over to .51. Ack! I leave a cup of change in my van all the time, so then I just grab a penny and call it good! :)

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  38. I don't stop on the dollar. But I'm still reeling from my last fill-up, $85 for a Honda minivan. I'm getting very close to the point where my takehome pay will not cover gas for the month.

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  39. Yes, I usually stop at the even dollar. We have a minivan, too, and $80+ is always a shock.
    Love the photo; I hate to admit it, but I can remember when gas was $.26 (my parents owned a truck stop). My mom was a smoker and she'd put a quarter in the cigarette machine and wrapped in the package would be two pennies.

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  40. I gave up on trying to stop on an even dollar. I was halfway excited yesterday when I filled up -- the pump didn't kick me off at $100 like it usually does! Ah, the joys of having a Suburban. $100+ gas when price is over $3.50 is not uncommon for a full tank.

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  41. San Jose, California.. at around approximately 4.40 a gallon average.

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  42. lol...my daughters and i have had this conversation....i pump to an exact amount....really ocd...if i am at .01 then i go to .10...lol....daughters do NOT do this...thankful....west central illinois...3.59....

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  43. I pump my gas tank full. Right now prices in the Seattle, WA area are High, gas at $4.59 to 4.62 a gallon.

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  44. i am the same way
    i think its just an anal thing.
    prices just went down here from $3.94 to $3.83! woohoo!

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  45. oops forgot to say i am north of chicago

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  46. Good lord I'm amazed at the price ya'll are paying for gas. I gave up stopping on an even number; now I just try to get a full tank. And Karen, I'd get more than two full tanks for the amount you paid! Here in southwestern Virginia it's $3.15/gallon at my local Kroger, but with each $100 I spend at their grocery stores I can take 10 cents off each gallon. So it often comes to under $3/gallon when I fill up. I think we have among the lowest gas taxes in the nation here.

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  47. I am an even number pumper too. I hate it when it is a penny over so then I go to the quarter amount.

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  48. Well yes, I pump an even dollar amount - it never really occurred to me not to. Everyone I ever knew, growing up, did, so I guess I just thought you had to be even. But, we usually pre-pay, here & just hand over $20., etc. & say pump 2, for example. Something new to consider!

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  49. I am an even pumper since I pay cash, but I do remember gas at 27 cents a gallon plus they cleaned your windows, checked your oil and gave you a Cowboys imprinted drinking glass. One time it was a collection of glass poodles. My dad filled up before empty then to get the entire set for my mom. Just an FYI, I am only 50.

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  50. I pump to an even number but if it goes to .01, I let it ride. We are around 3.25 but then I hear that SC has some of the lowest gas prices?? Why is that? And why is it more at the coast (where the gas comes into port) but when we travel into the state it gets cheaper? I'll never understand.

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  51. Our gas (in SC) is down to $3.179 from a high of $3.659. Sure hope it continues to go down!

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  52. LOL!!! My hubby tries to stop the gas pump on the dollar. My son and I giggle when he goes over by a penny. No matter where the pump stops, it's painful to pay to fill up. (Now that I read what prices are in other countries, I shouldn't complain.) Price in my Massachusetts town today is $3.67, that's down from $3.79 about 2 weeks ago.

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  53. Once upon a time when I paid cash for gas, I pumped to the even amount to avoid digging pennies out of my purse or car.
    Now that I use a debit card I let it pump until it is full or stop it right "around" where I have to spend.
    Haha, but, I asked my husband years ago to allow some change on each fill up, it make it easier to keep track of entries in the check book.(he has change in his pocket, right?)
    now I bank on line and I can see it all right away....

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  54. I just let it fill up till it stops. I am in Arizona and we paid $3.59 for gas yesterday. After seeing the prices some others are paying, guess we don't have it too bad!

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  55. I'm feeling much better about our prices now (Texas Hill Country). I paid 3.07 last week in New Braunfels (a bit of a gas war going on with HEB grocery store and Walmart, yay!), but even the local average is about 3.39. I remmeber .19/gallon when I was a little girl (late 60's, lol, dating myself here). Not only cheap gas, but we got pyrex (the real thing) dishes with each fillup. Ahhh, those were the days, lol

    Happy weekend everyone!

    Patty

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  56. In Oklahoma City, we're at 3.17 for 10% ethonal. To get 100% gas, it. Is .05 - .20 cents higher. I usually go for the pure gas since my mileage is better.
    Liz

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  57. In the Seattle area it was $4.29 2 weeks ago and it has dropped down to $3.73 yesterday. I used to just fill it up on my debit card but since the debit/credit is .8c more than cash I do an even amount in cash.

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  58. we were paying R11,85/Litre in South Africa, and considering I earn R2000/ month and it takes R450 to fill my car, It's expensive. News is that prices are coming down tonight.

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  59. I used to fill to the exact dollar amount until we got a diesel car. Diesel froths up and it is a nuisance waiting for it to settle so a little bit more can be added. Diesel is a little more expensive here in Australia, particularly where we love away from the big cities but diesel is more economical per litre. Love your blog Karen.

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