Brandon, Florida

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Figuring gas cost per mile

Anyone who hasn't done it yet really should take the time to figure out your gas mileage, including miles per gallon (MPG) and cost per mile (I'll call it CPM).

To do this, simply take the cost of a gallon of gas and divide it by your MPG. (If you don't know your MPG for your vehicle here are the steps.)

For example, my vehicle gets 21 MPG. I recently purchased regular unleaded gas for $4.02/gallon. So my current CPM is about 19 cents per mile.

Knowing your CPM can really help you to put the gas costs into better perspective and associate a real price to all those trips you make.

I have a long commute to work (68 miles round trip). So for my commute to work I’m spending $13 a day in gas. Plus the tolls on the Leroy Selmon Express, another $4 a day. All together my daily commute is costing me $17 a day, not including vehicle maintenance costs. That's a hefty sum of money and it deserves further thought to determine whether or not it is really worth it or if there are alternatives that should be explored.

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