What share of your income do you spend on fuel?

[dismalist]

The salience of the gasoline price among the public, in the media, and on this board has always amazed me. We even have a fairly popular thread "What does fuel cost in your neighborhood?"

However, I wonder if we are all aware what share of our pre-tax income is spent on gasoline. That would give an objective measure of salience, at least of some kind.

[Sun_Worshiper]

Very little. We do pretty well and don't drive much. If I fill up twice a month - which is probably more often than I do - then I'm spending less than 1%.

[arcturus]

Also very little. I spend on average $11/month. This is post-tax, of course. I only "fill up" every-other-month or so.

Other energy costs are much more significant. My house uses both gas and electricity for various heating/cooling/lights. However, even here I don't spend much. Duke Energy sends me a monthly statement reassuring me that I am one of the most energy efficient homes in my neighborhood.

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

Unfortunately public transit sucks where I am, so I rely on my ancient car to deposit me at work. I spend about $100/month based on where I'm teaching.

[mamselle]

I haven't owned a car since 1984...?5...something like that.

A long time, anyway.

In fact, for a moment, I had to think, did the question mean automobile fuel, or heating oil?

(Which I don't pay for directly, either).

M.

[clean]

It is hard to remember at the moment.  After COVID sent me home, I went from 2/3 fill ups a month to one every six weeks! 

Also I am still a newly wed so I have not yet quite figured out what the bride costs.

However, in normal times, I am sure that gas cost between $100 and 130 a month, but that would also change when we have breaks and take additional trips. 

[Hegemony]

Yes, I deliberately bought a house near the university, and I bike in. I get gas maybe about once every two months.

However, no question that the U.S. is not designed with any regard to reducing driving. When my mother was growing up, in the rural midwest, there were trains and inter-urbans (basically, trollies) linking all the towns. They were all killed off by the 1950s, when heavy federal subsidies of the highway system began. So it's no surprise that most people are very aware of gas prices.

[Parasaurolophus]

Somewhere between 2-4%. We don't drive around much, but filling up is extra-expensive. Like everything here.

[pgher]

Just over 2%. The reason we talk about it so much is that it is a significant and volatile fraction of our variable expenses. That is, we don't notice all of the fixed expenses like mortgage/rent, insurance, etc. We may notice things like electricity and water that vary seasonally. But those are all just background with almost no decisions to make. The things we actually control are groceries, fuel, eating out, stuff like that.

[Ruralguy]

Very little. Everything I need is in town. Even switched all but some specialized medical care there, so minimal trips
most of the time. But for adjuncts teaching a full load at scale via three schools across freeways, I can see how it could be thirty percent of pay or worse.

[downer]

I use public transport.

I guess I must spend of the order of $1000 a year on it. Maybe more. I don't keep a record. Occasionally I use Uber these days, so probably more.

That's not including flights.

[Hegemony]

Okay, I did the actual calculations. I spend 0.141% of my income on gas for the car. That wasn't one of the options in the poll.

[mahagonny]

Somewhere between 2-4%. We don't drive around much, but filling up is extra-expensive.

Same. During the semester I will commute some 100 miles per week for teaching and another 100 for other employment. My worst expenses now are food, heating the house  and health care.

[lightning]

I clock in at 2%-4%, pre-tax. 2.1% to be exact. Maybe I should have rounded down.

However, I don't like using gas purchases as a measure of the cost of driving. I like to use the IRS measure of approx. 50 cents per mile as a better measure of the cost of driving my vehicle, which supposedly accounts for the total cost of car ownership spread out over time (maintenance, repairs, taxes, insurance, the purchase price of an average car spread out over the typical life span of the typical car in good condition, and of course gas). Using that, it costs me almost 9% of my pre-tax income to drive my car.

IMO, focusing on gas prices is how a teenager would think.

[Harlow2]

Between $100 and $120 a month though about a third to half is visiting family and outdoor activities. Suburban area with spotty public transport