What do you consume the most?

[radhak]

After watching a re-run of Seinfeld yesterday (the one where Kramer is granted a life-time supply of coffee), today I was installing new cartridges on my inkjet and grumbled, "if somebody'd sponsor my ink, i could save for my kids' college...
My nine-yr-old over-heard and was surprised - 'are you serious? if somebody would sponsor anything for you, you'd pick this?'

Made me pause, and think - what is it that we consume the most - by quantity, and by cost? For households with kids, maybe milk? Or is it bread?

Nah - I think gas (for the car) should trump anything else, right? We have very small commute(s), but if somebody picked up our gas tab, we should save around $400 a month. Can't think of any one regular item that'd go over that.

Mind - I'm talking consumables, so the mortgage does not count, nor does LOYL's jewelery !

While we are at that, how about the 'shop? Glue? nails for the nail-gun?

[LCHIEN]

Electricity

[pelligrini]

I'd love to get a sponsor for my beer. That would make it taste even better.

[dbhost]

Gasoline.

We fill up my pickup once a week at 27 gallons, and the wife's SL2 twice a week at 11 gallons. So I buy on average (Based on $3.69 a gallon)...

[(27+11+11)*4]*3.69 = $723.24

If you want to lump "energy" completely together including the electric for the house, I am up around $1150.00 a month, higher than my mortgage...

I would LOVE to trade the pickup and SL2 for a Diesel truck and a VW Diesel Jetta, trade the house for a house with some real land, and plant PLENTY of corn to produce corn oil, and other biomass products for conversion to biodiesel. A friend of mine has a 96 Dodge Cummins Diesel and an '04 VW Diesel Jetta that they run on biodiesel from various biomass (corn, stalks, etc...) that he grows on his land. He built a Biodiesel processor off of some plans he found online... He pretty much pays for land. The property already had a crop plot and he had seed on hand... Each crop produces new seed, and a portion of the biomass waste, along with all of their kitchen scrap etc... is turned back into rich planting media via the compost pile, and back through the cycle it goes... I don't think they are anywhere near off the grid, but I wouldn't be surprised if that was partially the goal. He is sick and tired of getting gouged at every turn...

[jackellis]

He is sick and tired of getting gouged at every turn...

I wonder what he spent on equipment to produce his own fuel and how much profit he foregoes by using part of his land to grow fuel instead of a cash crop?

I've been thinking about solar panels for our new home at Lake Tahoe but the local electric utility's price for on-peak energy would have to be about 25 cents per kWh before they made economic sense. Today the price is 12 cents.

Energy is unlikely to be cheap any more, but the high prices for petroleum-based fuels are causing lots of people to look at lots of alternatives, which should eventually limit the pricing power of those with oil to sell.

Meantime, buy a Prius

[dbhost]

Meantime, buy a Prius

Uh. No. Not even a consideration.

I drive a full size pickup for good reasons. I will not get back into a compact car if I can avoid it at all...

[atgcpaul]

Meantime, buy a Prius

This was an interesting segment on CBS Sunday Morning. You're not really
being "green" by buying a hybrid versus a used car:

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2008/08...y4378323.shtml

Paul

[LarryG]

Most of any single item? Probably gasoline, although I shouldn't complain. We mostly use just one, fairly economical vehicle these days, and ride together to work (a whole seven miles). I've never kept close tabs but would guess we fill it up three to five times a month, depending, at a current cost of about $45. So call it $150-225/month, and most months it tends toward the lower end of that range.

Like I said, I can't really complain ... although as one who remembers listening to his father gripe about gasoline costing 29 cents a gallon, I frequently do.

[jackellis]

You're not really
being "green" by buying a hybrid versus a used car:

In the spirit of friendly debate...

I agree with the CBS segment. That's why we drive our vehicles until the wheels fall off and why we're hoping someone will buy the one we just gave away for the cost of repairs because although it is 24 years old, it is still usable (but not terribly reliable).

We also considered a used vehicle to replace the old one but the incremental cost of a new vehicle with a new warranty was irresistible. This truck is likely to be the last vehicle I ever buy.

[Knottscott]

Gas is a given. As far as food goes... cereal would #1. We're consuming 12-15 boxes of cereal per week @ ~ $36-$45. We average ~ 8 gallons of milk @ ~ $22 and 8 loaves a bread per week @ ~ $15. Lunch meat probably competes with bread for cost.

[dbhost]

I don't recall which journal did the breakdown, but it was NOT an auto industry journal, but rather I think an environmental journal. Anyway...

Long story short, there was a story out, about a year and a half ago, showing how with average, to above average mileage driven per year, a Hummer H1 has a lower total environmental impact than a Toyota Prius considering the impact of manufacturing, and maintenance for the hybrid drive system.

I am far from a greenpeace environmentalist, but I do subscribe to the philosophy of waste not, want not.

For the time being, the pickup is getting a full fuel system cleaning, new fuel filter, transmission service, and will soon be getting a new set of tires. (35x12.50/17LT M&S. OUCH!).

I have chipped the truck, done a cat back system, replaced the crankshaft powered fan with an E-fan, and replaced nearly every fluid in the truck with full synthetics, and i have had a major improvement over stock MPG wise. But this IS a lifted 4x4 full size pickup. I don't get great mileage with it...

And unlike so many other trucks in its class, mine actually gets used as an honest to goodness haul that big tool, stack of lumber, etc... pickup truck. A Prius couldn't do what I need it to do.

We own a Ford Focus as well, which has been sitting in my BILs body shop for quite a while now. We need to pour money into that stupid car, but I seriously doubt it would be reliable enough to save us a penny versus spending it on gas in the truck...

I am however, SERIOUSLY considering picking up a second used Saturn SL, or Ion. I am on my 2nd SL2 (my ex took off with the first one), and all total I think we have had 5 in the family, and 20 among family and friends... Well, SLs anyway. A few SC2s, my mom has an SW2, etc...

I really like the drivetrain of the SL2, which did change model change to the Ion, but I hate the interior space on these cars... My knees are always in the dash... The Ion is much roomier... And 30MPG city is a reasonable number to expect out of one of those... About what the SL is getting... 35 on the highway...

[Bruce Cohen]

Toilet Paper

[Uncle Cracker]

It's a dead heat between beer and barbecue...

[pacwind3]

Pizza!!!!!!

[Wood_workur]

food. 6 people eat a lot of food.