Frugal February #21: Stop Needless Driving

This was not an easy lesson for me to learn.  I was used to jumping in the car and running here or there for this item today, and doing the same for a different item tomorrow.  Then cash got tight.  The economy went sour.  Gas prices soared.  DH's job became no longer a sure thing as the company he worked for struggled with looming bankruptcy. We needed to pinch pennies even tighter than normal.  He had to pound it into my head to stop driving around more than necessary.  I needed to plan my excursions, to be efficient with my gas usage.

Now, however, it's second nature.  Even my kids know there will be no impulse trips to the grocery store.  When they are asked to bring a food item for a school or sports function, they think not of "oh, Mom can run to the store and buy whatever I sign up for", but "I should volunteer to bring such and such because I know we all ready have it at home or have the ingredients to make it."  So they never sign up for the 'easy' things like a couple 2-liters of pop or a bag of potato chips.  They volunteer for the 'difficult' things like 2 pounds of taco meat or 3 dozen decorated sugar cookies.  Or veggie platters in the early fall, when the garden is still pumping out cucumbers, carrots, celery and peppers.  Sweetened whipped cream for the AP English class tea party.  Chocolate sauce for an ice cream sundae party (chocolate sauce recipe to follow; it's another cheap and easy thing to make from scratch).


Think of all the places you go on a regular basis.  How many of those places are not on your normal route to work or school?  How many times a week do you find yourself driving to those places anyway?  Is there any reason you couldn't go to all the places in a certain area once a week (or a few times a month) instead of almost daily? 

From this little place here, there are two main directions I go regularly. One is south, the other is north.  I try my darnedest to do everything needed at the south direction in one trip.   Same for the north.  That way I'm running each way once a week (or less), which saves a bunch of gas.  It also saves time since my closest destination in each direction is about 20 minutes one way.  By running south once a week instead of three times, I'm saving myself 80 minutes (driving time for 2 round trips) and several gallons in gas .  I can use that saved time for other frugal things, like cooking and bartering, and that saved gas money can go toward paying our mortgage down faster, or into a 'fun fund' for a family trip.

Can you reduce trips by planning them more and doing impulse driving less?  How much money and time could you save?  Give it a thought.

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Homemade Chocolate Sauce
1 1/3 cups unsweetened cocoa
2 1/4 cups sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/3 cups boiling water
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

In a sauce pan, mix the cocoa, sugar, and salt.  Slowly stir in the boiling water (must be boiling, not just hot from the tap).  Turn the burner to medium, and stir contents of pot frequently until smooth and slightly thickened, roughly 10 minutes.  It does not have to come to a boil, and shouldn't, because if you let it boil it will splatter and burn you while you stir it.  When thickened, turn off the heat and stir in the vanilla. 

Your sauce is now ready to use.  Store it in the fridge in a covered container for up to 3 months, but I bet you will have used it all up by then.  Especially if your kids discover it makes really good chocolate milk.  ;0)