Driving Down Spending

By RICH SHOPES The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 21, 2007

The average U.S. household is spending $1,000 more on gasoline each year than five years ago, according to leading consumer groups. That means a lot of motorists are re-evaluating their spending habits and looking for ways to reduce the miles they drive.

Sixty percent of respondents to a recent Florida State University study said the cost of gas is affecting their decisions about other purchases, such as dinners out and new clothing, and 45percent said they are paying off debt more slowly or not at all.

"They're running up the Shell card but not paying off the credit card," said Wayne Hochwarter, an FSU professor who this spring surveyed about 1,000 Florida drivers.

The study's respondents paid on average $2.83 a gallon. Last week, gas prices topped $3 a gallon in Florida. Tampa Bay area motorists paid on average $2.98 a gallon.

Here's a snapshot of how three local families are coping:

THE COUPLE

NAMES: Earl and Karen Gloster

VEHICLES: 2003 Jeep Liberty, 2002 Chevy Blazer

WEEKLY MILES: 500 combined

AVERAGE GAS MILEAGE: 20-22 mpg per vehicle

WEEKLY GAS EXPENSE: $125 combined

VALRICO - Earl Gloster has a 40-mile commute from his home in Valrico to his job in Clearwater as assistant director of the city's Solid Waste and General Services Department.

He fills up twice a week for a total of $75.

His wife, Karen, works as a loan manager for Bank of America and commutes to Lakeview Center in Brandon.

Gloster would gladly ride the bus from a park-and-ride lot off Dover Road and State Road 60 to Clearwater. But the nearest stop is a mile from his job, so that leaves him with a 45-minute commute to work.

That's nearly double the area's average commute of 26 minutes, but Gloster isn't worried about the time behind the wheel so much as the toll high gas prices are taking on the family budget.

Almost 20 percent of the family's monthly expenses are for gasoline, about twice as much as when Gloster bought his Jeep Liberty in December 2002. Now his family is curtailing weekend trips to see friends in Pinellas County and talking about getting a hybrid.

They try to make the most of their weekend errands, combining into one outing what used to be separate trips to Publix, the dry cleaner and Home Depot.

And they go to restaurants about once a month instead of two to three times monthly. When they do go out to eat, they stay local to conserve gas, going to such places as Bonefish Grill on Lumsden and Providence roads and Smokey Bones at the Westfield Brandon mall.

Gloster, 49, is amazed that the family's $500 monthly gas bill now rivals the cost of groceries.

"It's ridiculous. We're talking about feeding a family. We're paying more for gas than we do to eat," he said.

He wouldn't mind living closer to work to cut his 80-mile commute. His wife and 21-year-old daughter, Jade, who lives with the couple, have jobs close to home.

The stagnant housing market and prospect of higher property taxes also cause him to hesitate.

In the end, he figures he can try to conserve gas, when possible, and hunt for the best prices, but it won't make more than a dent in the monthly bill.

THE RETIREES

NAMES: Dorothy and Charlie Barnum

VEHICLES: 2006 Hyundai Elantra, 2002 Nissan Altima

WEEKLY MILES: 220 combined

AVERAGE GAS MILEAGE: 32 mpg (Elantra), 26 mpg (Altima)

WEEKLY GAS EXPENSE: $40 combined

CLEARWATER - Dorothy Barnum says she's losing out on her retirement dream, and she blames oil companies for snatching it from her.

Barnum, 63, and her husband, Charlie, 65, moved three years ago to Clearwater from upstate New York. The couple bought a manufactured home at Hillcrest mobile home park and couldn't afford to completely retire. So Dorothy, the healthier of the two, took a job working three days a week at Tampa General Hospital.

She has a 40-mile commute round-trip. Her dream was to drive across the country with Charlie in an RV. Then it became simply to drive across Florida in a car. Now even that is out of the question.

High gas prices have sidelined both ideas, and lately the only scenery she sees is on the Courtney Campbell Parkway when she's commuting.

"It hurts because when we came to Florida, we thought we were going to enjoy our semi-retirement and have fun, and now we're restricted. The big oil companies want to make millions of dollars, and we suffer," she said. "We can't even get out and see our new state. Many in our park are saying the same thing."

It adds up. The couple figure they spend $160 to $200 a month in gas, or about 10 percent of their monthly budget.

An upward fluctuation in gas prices has been eating into the activities that make retirement worthwhile for them, such as taking trips and going to restaurants.

"We used to go to the beach quite often and go to Tarpon Springs, but we don't do that as much," Charlie Barnum said. The couple go to Steak & Ale but only for lunch. "It's too expensive for dinner."

They shop around for the best gas prices, but the few pennies per gallon savings can't make up the nationwide 43 percent surge in gas prices since January. Other than her income, the couple live off Charlie's Social Security checks and a small pension he received after he retired from selling chemicals for commercial water-cooling towers.

"I'd like to go to Busch Gardens. I feel like I can't even do that," Dorothy said.

Charlie still goes bowling, and the couple see an acupuncturist to relieve muscle strain and circulation problems. They don't eat out as often and confine most of their travels to local places, such as Albertson's, the Wagon Wheel flea market just south of Clearwater and the community clubhouse for bingo.

Still, she doesn't feel so bad.

"What about poor people? People who work at McDonald's or in housekeeping at a hotel?" she said. "It's just unfair."

THE FAMILY

NAME: Antonia Singleton

VEHICLE: 2001 Ford Windstar

WEEKLY MILES: 250

AVERAGE GAS MILEAGE: 21 mpg

WEEKLY GAS EXPENSE: $50

RIVERVIEW - With her husband in the Air Force in Afghanistan and three children to raise, Antonia Singleton figures she spends about 90 minutes a day driving: to her job at a gas station at Providence Road and Bloomingdale Avenue, to her children's after-school activities and to her volunteer EMT shifts at Fire Station 27 on Bloomingdale near Little Road.

"I do a lot of driving," she said.

Rising gas prices haven't forced Singleton, 35, to curb her activities, but she's looking for other ways to save.

The $200 to $250 she pays monthly to fill up her Ford minivan is twice what it was a few years ago.

"It's definitely a major factor in our lives," she said Thursday. "I just paid $75 for the first time. That's the highest it's ever been."

Now instead of taking the kids two to three times a month to the Village Inn at Providence and Lumsden roads or to the Sweet Tomatoes at State Road 60 and Falkenburg Road, she takes them once a month.

"One thing I definitely can't do is go to Tampa or Sarasota for some kind of cultural events," she said. "And I can't take the kids to the movies like I used to."

She rarely buys clothes for herself and always shops for bargains at supermarkets.

"I get the store brands, cereal, store-brand bread, frozen vegetables," she said. "The frozen vegetables are cheaper than the fresh vegetables."

She needed to paint her house in Riverview but couldn't afford a painting contractor, so she bought the paint and did it herself. She worked a little at a time - between her job, EMT shifts and training - and did the work mostly on weekends. It took more than two months.

When she thinks about how much she and her husband earn, she figures she's spending as much as 15 percent of the household budget on gas.

She doesn't want to withdraw her youngest from Girl Scouts and karate lessons, nor take her son out of the Boy Scouts to save on gas. She would like to purchase a more fuel-efficient vehicle, but that won't happen for a few years, until the couple can save up to afford one.

"I work all these crazy shifts just to pay for everything and now higher gas prices. I can't imagine having one of those big sport utility vehicles."

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Simple adjustments in lifestyle, vehicle maintenance and driving habits can improve your car's fuel efficiency. AAA Auto Club South recommends:

•Consolidate trips and errands.

•Remove extra weight from the trunk or cargo area.

•Use the air conditioner sparingly, and turn on the "recirculation" settings to reduce the amount of hot air from outside that must be chilled.

•Check your spark plugs. Some last 100,000 miles, but they might need to be replaced before then.

•Check air and fuel filters twice yearly.

•Inflate tires according to manufacturer recommendations.

•Avoid bumper-to-bumper rush hour by leaving for work early.

WHAT YOU CAN DO