Personal Finance
Conserving Fuel and Energy During Poor Economic Times!
By Jason Cunningham
May 4, 2008 - 6:31:24 AM

As the bills “come marching to your mail box,” you probably have become more aware of leaving the lights on in your house or extending a car trip to return to the supermarket for non-essential items, especially during these hard economic times. For many of us that are in our twenties or thirties, this is our first real experience of dealing with an economic crisis in our households.

No matter how the economist community calculates inflation, we are feeling the pangs of ever rising gasoline prices when filling up our tanks or on trips to the supermarket to purchase eggs and milk. In addition, the cost to fly on any major airline has been increasing because airline corporations are passing some of their hefty fuel costs onto us, their consumers. Therefore, our financial situations can differ significantly from the available economic data.

Because of the decrease of income available for savings, it is important that individuals do their part to decrease energy costs. Leaving the lights on and keeping certain appliances plug in can cause your electricity and or gas bill to be higher than necessary. You could use the extra money to save for retirement or add to your emergency fund.

Since higher fuel and energy costs appear to have longevity, it might be time to revaluate our thinking about entertainment. Not only is a trip to the mall or bar costly, but it limits our ability to build more wealth. As a result, we cannot invest money that already has been spent. Still, these economic hard times can serve us well. We should learn to have more spending discipline, especially in the areas of fuel and energy costs, while working towards reducing our current entertainment and food bills. Hopefully, when the economy is back on track, we do not lose focus and keep our newly found “habits of good spending.”

*Disclaimer: This article does not constitute financial advice. Always consult a tax advisor or financial advisor when making investment decisions.