Penny Pinchers at the Pump

I drove past a petrol station last night and almost ran into the back of a car because it was parked in the left lane out front. Reasons being, the petrol was discounted to 119.9 cents from the Melbourne average of 124.9 cents per litre. These people were lining up out the driveway in search of cheap petrol. So let me break down the maths for you to see if it was worth the time wasted. Buying a full tank of fuel for a typical 70 litre capacity family car at yesterdays average of 124.9 cents per litre would set you back $87.43. If you were to get the cheaper 119.9 cents it would cost $83.93. This is a saving of $3.50 or maybe a 600ml coke in store at the service station. So if you go inside and buy a coke that you really don't need, then you've lost your saving. On the other hand, what is your time worth to you? Personally, if I have to sit in my car for 20 minutes, then I'd consider the saving too little to warrant the wait. My time is worth more to me than $3.50. It gets even worse when people drive to another suburb to get that cheap fuel, so then you get to add wasting fuel to the equation.

I once said to my dad, I would pay him the potential saving if he just avoided the waiting line and travel distance. If the $3.50 means so much to your budget then your in trouble and saving at the pump isn't going to save you, it will only delay your demise, enjoy.