Something's got to give
Courtesy of the fact that they've finally begun construction on the Nine Circles of Hell, my daily commute has increased from 15 miles each way to 18 miles each way with all the detour fun. While my highway gas mileage is somewhere around 23 miles per gallon, my stop and go mileage is considerably less, and it averages out somewhere around 18 miles per gallon. I filled my tank this afternoon at $3.499 per gallon. That means it's costing me about $7 a day just to get to and from work, with the detour itself costing me $1 a day. Three days of part time work a week, and I'm spending around 20% of my take home pay just to get there and back. This just can't go on much longer.
Don't even get me started on what Paul's job is costing us in gas. He gets a $90 gas allowance a month (before taxes, of course). He uses about a tank and a half of gas a week for work. That $90 is covering less and less every day.