In what seems like a counterproductive way of living, workers are funneling more money from their paychecks into their gas tanks so they can get to and from the office.
CareerBuilder asked commuters to identify the ways they have modified their spending habits to afford a full tank of gas, and surveying the answers makes one thing clear: Americans, and especially commuters, have a reduced quality of life because of expensive fuel. It seems dining out is the first thing to go for most of the respondents; below are the ways people are making it work when they have to drive to work. Has the cost of commuting taken a toll on your quality of life?
- Eating out less — 35 percent
- Spending less on entertainment — 31 percent
- Buying less expensive groceries — 27 percent
- Shopping for clothes less — 24 percent
- Not going on vacation — 21 percent
- Eliminating cable, magazine subscriptions, etc. — 11 percent
- Not attending a function where they would be expected to bring a gift — 9 percent
- Cutting back on their child's extracurricular activities — 4 percent
Times like this make me happy I do not have a car and live in a city with excellent public tranportation. I am glad that the public transportation hasn't increased due to the price of gas. I currently pay $75 a month for a monthly pass which enables me to ride as many buses or "L"'s for 30 days before I have to pay again. I make several trips to the grocery store and to get household items but at this point---I am grateful that I came and stayed in a city with this type of transportation.
I have cut back on things, just saving more and paying off (I was going this before) but my goal is to become debt free sans my student loans (I love those), to build my savings, and EF back up.
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