Justice Alexander posted a video on the internet this spring in which he said he sold his friends car because of high gas prices. Mr. Alexander, a content creator in Los Angeles, declared in the clip that he will now travel on horseback.
The video has been viewed millions of times on TikTok. The sight of Mr. Alexander in stirrups, staring defiantly off into the distance captured a once-in-a-generation moment of angst. The price of gas is at an all time high. They are on average at levels not seen in the last fifty years.
Beyond posting absurd public displays of frustration, many Americans are now grasping for ways to save money by changing work hours or looking for a cheaper pump.
Some people know they have no choice but to pay more, but others have been learning to make new trade-offs. A 25-year-old waitress at a seafood restaurant in East Peoria, Ill. said, "It's all about doing the math."
When she sees her tank running low, she gets out her phone. She checks GasBuddy before she leaves her home to see if she can find a good price. She uses the total price at the station as the basis for calculating the amount of gas she's going to fill up with. Ms.Patterson stops at pumps in small farming towns on her route, where gas tends to be a bit cheaper, and reports the prices to GasBuddy, which will give her points to enter in a contest for free gas.
She can be saved up to $2.30 per tank. She usually pays about 80 dollars to fill her car.
Ms.Patterson is trying to cut down on her driving. About an hour away, she doesn't attend softball practices. She has changed her schedule. Ms.Patterson said that she started doing more doubles because she wanted to make sure that it was worthwhile to drive the distance to work. She said that she makes money as a waitress. It has made me think twice about leaving the house.
When gas hits $5 a gallon, 75 percent of American adults said they would change their lifestyles, according to a survey conducted by the auto club.
The week of June 18 was the first time in the last three weeks that demand for gas dipped. The people who didn't drive much before are cutting back further.
For most of the time, people are driving the same amount as before. It has meant driving more to find cheaper places to fill up, even if it is only saving a few dollars.
In order to take advantage of the lower gas prices, Hall drove 45 minutes from his home in Fort Worth. He buys Walmart gift cards that give him a discount at Walmart gas stations.
Jordan Rowe drove 25 minutes out of his way to get to the Exxon Mobil station that accepts the Exxon Mobil rewards app. An assistant general manager at a Mcdonald's in Virginia travels 45 minutes each day to get to his job. He is giving rides to his friends.
Car-pooling and other shared commute options have become more common due to high costs.
The executive director of the Central Indiana Regional Transportation Authority said that her team operated a fleet of 10 vans during the Pandemic. There are now 30
We are a very drive-by-yourself community in the Midwest. Many employers have contacted her office about setting up van pools for their employees. The cost is shared by the passengers.
Car-pooling is a hack I would like to have. She didn't find a viable option near where she lives in Florida. She has a long commute from her home to her job in Australia. She has cut down on some activities in order to save gas.
Ms. Lopez used to go to the grocery store and not think twice. She doesn't go to the store every two weeks because of the high prices. She used to buy snacks for her son. She said she couldn't buy too much of them anymore.
She said she felt like the average American right now.
Some people who had been doing well are now facing hard trade-offs. Concerns are growing that the U.S. economy may be on the verge of a recession. The people are moving. Family visits are being reduced Future savings are being used to pay for groceries. It has been a big shock.
She is a graduate student in materials science at the University of Colorado at Boulder. She rides her bike to school. She has begun working from home more often, using her parents Kroger fuel points to fill up her 2005 Honda and cutting back on weekend trips.
As she and her partner were returning from a trip to Fort Collins, Colo., she said, "This drive is so beautiful, but it may be something we can't do in the future." She and her family live in New Mexico. She said that it would be great if they could go see them more often.
A medical resident in Horseheads, New York, says she sometimes searches for gas prices in Pennsylvania. She keeps a running note on her phone where she can see what the stations are advertising. She is moving to Sayre next week in order to be closer to her job.
Two years ago, Laura moved into her van to save money and travel. She said that it wasn't saving that much money. She doesn't travel around because her van is parked more.
The last week has seen a decrease in gas prices across the US. The average price for a gallon of gas was $4.93 as of Friday. As the summer travel season continues and the global energy market remains uncertain, economists and industry analysts expect prices to stay high. Fuel costs are having the same effect as high prices on the consumer economy.
Diesel has gone up this year as well. Companies are rethinking how they conduct their businesses due to that.
Eddie Perez is the owner of a party bus company that has vehicles idling while customers are at bars or dinners. He has told his drivers to stop driving the buses.
According to George Jacobs, the chief executive of Windy City Limousine and Bus Worldwide in Chicago, rising diesel price has decimated them. To save fuel, his team has closely monitored software that shows if any of his buses are idling and that flags whether the buses are travelling at the most efficient speeds.
Adding electric buses to his fleet is one of the ways he is looking to make his operations more efficient. He said that his drivers try to buy gas out of state when they are on the road.
He said that they always fuel up outside of Cook County. Money is very serious.
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