How to Beat the Rising Gas Prices

Did you know that the United States uses about the most gas in the world? So then why is it that we have gas prices? They demand is rising, and therefore the prices are following. Of this gas being used daily, 28% is used for transportation, 33% is used in industrial production, 17% is used commercially, and 21% is used residentially.

You probably would have thought that the main use for gas was for transportation. But you thought wrong, we use gas in just about every aspect of life. More than a third of our gas supplies are going towards creating the products in which we use everyday, causing more than just the price of gas to go up, but everything else as well.

Try to name a product which in some shape or form, didn't use any fuel to get to where you have it now. There aren't any! In order to buy anything, you're paying for gas to get it, it was delivered to the store using gas, and more than likely used gas to produce it. This is why our economy is so affected by the price of gas. Fuel prices pretty much have complete control over our economy.

So how do we "beat" these constantly rising gas prices? There are several ways which you as a person can do.

The main use of gas that the "average Joe" consumes is for traveling. They need to get to and from work, pick up children, run errands, pay bills, so on and so forth. In order to save on this gas budget, we'll need to first realize exactly why we need the gas.

Can we not go to work on a bike? Of course we can. Well, the majority of us can easily get to work on a bike. Is it going to take longer? Most likely. Is it going to be more work than driving? Definitely. But is it worth the extra buck? Most people say no, yet complain about the price of gas. People need to realize that if they're going to complain about the price of gas, they should explore all alternatives first.

Public transportation is an excellent way to escape the price of gas. Being in Grand Rapids, I have a very reliable source of transportation around my city, for an extremely low price. Most other cities have public buses in which you can call or find a stop. These are usually less than 2.00 to ride, and they'll take you anywhere in town! Now tell me that's not saving some money.

If you can't find a city bus or they don't cover where you need to go, car pooling is another excellent way to save money on gas. Get a van and pick up several people going the same way as you. Save on gas, have multiple people contributing. If you're all going the same way, why have multiple vehicles paying for gas? It really just doesn't make much sense.

So what's stopping people from trying these alternatives to purchasing massive amounts of gas? Fear of the unknown? I'm not quite sure, but if you're really interested in beating the gas prices, I strongly recommend trying all of the alternatives before giving up and complaining about the price of gas consistently.

Sources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_use_in_the_United_States
http://ridetherapid.com