Friday, March 02, 2012

Fuel's Gold

The Average price of fuel will hit an all time high today.

And indeed it did. Fuel in the UK is now an average price of 137.4, which is pretty much the average in this here bit of London.

Gone are the days when going out for a drive on a Sunday was affordable. If we went out into the country for Sunday lunch it would cost us more for the fuel than the food. So I worked out what likely journeys for me are costing.

To go to work costs me an average of £10.20 depending where on my patch I have to get to. Which means with meetings and self generating appointments, I probably have to spend £100 to earn any money. And my last sale didn't even net me £100 in commission.

To visit my mum costs about £15. Not a lot as a one off but she has been quite I'll for the last six weeks and I can't afford to go see her as often as I would have liked.

My father lives in the Norfolk Broads. That's a £50 round trip before we add on stopping for food because the trip is quite a slow one as the roads aren't great. Anyone who has suffered the Elvedon Forest will know what I mean.

I'd like to do Blackpool again but we are talking about £110 round trip. Luckily I would have at least one other in the car to share the cost if not two.

We were going to go to the Scottish Highlands to see where M's family come from but we are talking nearly £300 on the drive there and back without running around whilst we are there.

For the first time since I passed my test in 1974, I'm starting to wonder if driving is worth it!

4 comments:

Masher said...

But you do have a choice, Dave.
You don't have to use the car: there's always the train (if you're happy to remortgage your house) and public transport (if you don't mind seats covered in chewing gum, noisy kids, impolite passengers and the opportunity for a late-night stabbing).

Thinking about it, yes, driving is still worth it.

kennamatic said...

Indeed, maybe it's travel that isn't worth it, not just driving.

Anonymous said...

I never have any idea of what fuel costs, I need it so I buy it.

The thought of travelling anywhere by coach is awful and I think train fares are horrendously expensive.

Brennig said...

I'm in the same position as Toffeeapple, I need it so I buy it. Living, as I do, in the public-transport-challenged west Oxfordshire, if I had no car I would have no travel. I do keep rigorous records and can produce records for every tank of fuel I've bought in the last handful of years. These records show miles travelled and MPG calculations as well as £/litre costs.

I'm a little anal like that.