From Mike.com

I think I’m going to debunk the “the slower you drive the better your mileage” story.  I have been driving 60 mph for a couple weeks now, and I’ve noticed some great gains.  However, this weekend, I think I noticed something different.

This weekend, I paid no attention to my speed.  Partly because I wanted to hear the Charger roar again, but mainly because we had to haul-ass to Austin to hop a train that the girls and I have been wanting to ride.  I didn’t do anything crazy like 90 on the interstate, but I did go 70-75-80 when appropriate by traffic.

When I got back, dropped the girls off at their mom’s, and made it home, I noticed it was time to fill up as indicated by the excessive beeping and the fuel light.  So I pulled up to my local gas station and filled up, to the tune of a beautiful 26.5mpg ;)

This has me thinking… is the 55 mph-most-efficent-gas-”rule” possibly not correct for all/most vehicles?  Am I leaving mileage on the table for driving 60 mph?  Could 65, or 70, give me more?

I’ll continue this week at 65 to see what becomes of it, maybe it’s just a matter of finding what’s right for my drive?

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I’m still driving 60, and it’s still working out great!

I filled up tonight on my way home after taking the girls out to the park, after rolling the trip odometer over 400 miles again.  This time filled up to the tune of a (relatively) sweet 25.07 mpg.

The bigger thing I noticed though, was my last fillup was on the 21st, and today is the 29th.  That’s 8 days of driving on the same tank of gas.  Whereas before, I would fill up every 5 or 6 days.  So now I’m completing a full week and then some on the same fillup.

This time around though, no one flipped me off (or so I didn’t notice), but I did find myself in a few “WTF?” moments where the highway I drive on merges down from 3 lanes to 2.  It gets kinda hairy when you got a big rig on your backside, fast moving traffic to your left, and an undesirable exit right in front of you.

Otherwise, I’m learning to take it a step further this time around by not applying my brakes when not absolutely necessary.  Since most of my driving is highway, there’s not alot to try and predict; traffic ahead stays moving usually.  However, I know where my exits are, and I know how the exits are situated, and how the traffic generally is at the times of the day that I get there, so there’s no reason I couldn’t use good ol’ gravity to slow me down prior to getting there.  I’ve caught myself several times over the past week turning off cruise control, hitting the exit, naturally slowing down, then pressing the gas to speed up to the light to hit my brakes and stop.  Everything after turning off the cruise control was wasted energy.

So it’s still working for me, so I’ll keep on it.  I’d be interested to see what kind of gains others are getting in more efficient cars, so if you’re trying your own 60mph challenge, please drop me a note and let me know.

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I lost my thumb drive.

You know, the one you always keep with you and transfer data around on?  The one that you don’t necessarily back up all the time, or ever (or is it just me?), the one that contains your budgets and future projections for when you’ll get out of debt, the one you check daily to keep you on track with your goals?

And it friggin’ sucks.

I’m not concerned with anyone finding it, I didn’t put any “secret” information on it like account logins or anything, but still, it’s alot of information that I’ve worked many hours collecting, organizing, presenting, all to make sure I have a nice outlook to look at when I needed it.

It’s depressing.

I’ve spent so many hours on it.  I’ve looked everywhere for it, home, work, car… I don’t go anywhere else with it…

Christ, can things get worst right now?

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I stumbled across a couple sites late tonight organizing people against the corporate welfare initiative that we know as the sub-prime mortgage bailout. I thought I’d take a couple minutes to mention them, because I do believe their good causes, although, like Ron Paul’s campaign, will really just fall on the deaf ears of the masses who are not the least bit concerned with what their government does.

First up, is Angry Renter. Angry Renter is organizing an online open letter and petition to send to congress protesting against the bailout.

The petition reads:

WHEREAS: Most Americans rent or own their home outright, and the vast majority of homes (98%) are not in foreclosure.

WHEREAS: Both banks and borrowers should be reponsible for their actions, and the government should not reward reckless behavior.

WHEREAS: It is wrong to force all taxpayers– including renters who are already subsidizing home owners through the tax code– to pay for additional bailouts for big banks and home flippers.

BE IT RESOLVED: That Congress should not pass any bailout programs that reward risky borrowing and lending. Let the free market sort it out!

As of this writing, Angry Renter sports over 14,000 signatures and comments from people opposing any bailout.

Next up, Stop The Housing Bailout. Stop The Housing Bailout is a site chocked full of information regarding the housing bailout and how it’s going to hurt you and I. They also have pre-drafted letters, all ready to be sent to your representatives up on the hill.

Taxes are a huge part of any budget, whether you specifically budget for them or not. They come out of your check every pay period, whether you know about them or not. And they amount to one of your largest monthly expenditures, whether you count the cost or not.

You live frugally, you save your money, and you regularly read sites like FromMike.com (shameless plug, yes) to better understand how to manage your money and get out of the financial prison that has taken our world by storm. So why should you stand idly by while others who don’t take responsibility for their financial situation gain the benefit of your money because they were so careless with theirs?

Why should anyone stand by while the people on Capital Hill blow your money to help out the very people who have been profiting while the housing bubble was rising? Did you profit during the bubble? Probably not. Did you live in a home fit for a king on a paupers income? Probably not. So why are you expected to bail out those who have already benefited?

Government is not a charity. Government should be taking precautions to spend my (and your) money according to our constitution, not bailing out companies, not bailing out hyper-consumers who live beyond their means. Ron Paul recently posted a story called “Not yours to give”, originally published in “The Life Of Colonel David Crockett”. If you have a moment, drop by and read it. I whole heartedly agree with it.

I am a home owner (now) and I do feel the bailout is a sham. I had to wait to buy my home, and I bought conservatively based on my income. Even though I bought at the tail end of the bubble, and with a buyers market I’m sure I’ve already lost value, I’d still rather lose value in the home as the market “right-sizes” itself than see our government hand out another one of my dollars to those who have no business receiving it.

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According to CNN, the tax rebates will start coming out this Monday.  7.4 million households will get their checks by next Friday.

From the article:

The department had said last month that it would begin giving rebates on May 2.

Instead, 800,000 tax filers daily will get rebates on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. No rebates will be distributed on Thursday, and 5 million payments will be made on Friday.

The payments will go out ahead of schedule because of a new computer program that updates records daily - faster than an older program that updates weekly, according to Andrew DeSouza, a Treasury spokesman.

Yay, money faster.

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Last week I wrote about starting a 60 MPH challenge, where I would keep my speed at 60 while on the highway to and from work to see how it improves the gas mileage in the Charger.

Well, today I filled up, and while I don’t think the numbers are actually representative of my gains, I’m still pretty happy.

First, this is the first time I’ve hit over 400 miles on a tank. Not bad for a (roughly) 16 gallon fuel tank. Last week I reported I had 22.4 mpg on that fill up, and this time, I got 25.24 mpg, for a 12.7% increase.

However, like I said above, I don’t think the numbers are right. I’ve driven almost 40k miles on this Charger, and I check the mileage at almost every fill up. My usual mileage is alot closer to 20 mpg before this experiment, not 22.4. Even at 20.5 mpg assumed prior to this test, the new mileage would indicate a 23.12% increase.

Now for the real stuff, go ahead, ask… “What was it like, Mike?”

1. 60 MPH is PAINFULLY slow. Literally, I get bored driving. And Youngest has successfully fell asleep on EVERY drive to daycare in the morning (they go to school by their mom’s, so we have a 30 mile drive to school in the morning).
2. I’ve received the bird (yes, THE bird) from at least one old man who wanted around me but couldn’t get there (too much traffic to my left). He’s the only one I noticed, it happened early, so I didn’t try to pay attention after that.
3. I noticed OTHER people aren’t used to someone driving 60 MPH.
4. Trucks. Big trucks. Tailgate. Yes, they do. Yes, it’s scary.
5. I did get to see more on my drive, though. This week was the first week I noticed someone put up a Ron Paul sign on the highway ;) Unfortunately, it was on the left side of the highway, and me not noticing it until now shows why he didn’t get much showing (?). Or maybe I just have more time to look around now?
6. I miss the rumble when flooring it on the highway to rev up to speed from an on-ramp or to pass… sorry, I do.

Other than that, it was the same old drive.  But even given all the above, I think I’m going to keep the 60 MPH cap going.  Mainly because of one reason:

1. When I filled up today, it was $3.44/gallon.  My 12.7% reduction equates to a savings of $0.44/gallon, and at the 23.12% reduction I feel I really got, that’s about $0.78/gallon savings.

PLUS, these savings go up as price goes up ;)  So it’s in my best interest to continue the challenge.

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A couple days ago I posted about the payday loans, and how I had my first (and only) experience with them while trying to help out some young hottie. I took out a high-interest loan for which I was liable to help her save her place, effectively helping her out by taking on her burden.

Today, I read an article over at Get Rich Slowly that talked about a family that got hit with credit card fraud by her own family members, and was asking GRS what they should do about it.

For both of these situations, and many that I’m sure I’ll, as you will, encounter in the future, I want to share a story out of one of the best personal finance books I have read, The Richest Man In Babylon.  It’s a story about a farmer that can understand what the animals are saying, as told by a character in the book, Mathon:

“This farmer, who could understand what the animals said to each other, did linger in the farm yard each evening just to listen to their words. One evening he did hear the ox bemoaning to the ass the hardness of his lot: ‘I do labor pulling the plow from morning until night. No matter how hot the day, or how tired my legs, or how the bow doth chafe my neck, still must I work. But you are a creature of leisure. You are trapped with a colorful blanket and do nothing more than carry our master about where he wishes to go. When he goes nowhere you do rest and eat the green grass all the day.’

“Now the ass, in spite of his vicious heels, was a goodly fellow and sympathized with the ox. ‘My good friend, he replied, ‘you do work very hard and I would help ease your lot. Therefore, will I tell you how you may have a day of rest. In the morning when the slave comes to fetch you to the plow, lie upon the ground and bellow much that he may say you are sick and cannot work.’

“So the ox took the advice of the ass and the next morning the slave returned to the farmer and told him the ox was sick and could not pull the plow.

” ‘Then,’ said the farmer, “hitch the ass to the plow for the plowing must go on.’

“All that day the ass, who had only intended to help his friend, found himself compelled to do the ox’s task. When night came and he was released from the plow his heart was bitter and his legs were weary and his neck was sore where the bow had chafed it.

“The farmer lingered in the barnyard to listen.

“The ox began first. ‘You are my good friend. Because of your wise advice I have enjoyed a day of rest.’

” ‘And I,’ retorted the ass, ‘am like many another simplehearted one who starts to help a friend and ends up by doing his task for him. Hereafter you draw your own plow, for I did hear the master tell the slave to send for the butcher were you sick again. I wish he would, for you are a lazy fellow.’ Thereafter they spoke to each other no more— this ended their friendship.

If you didn’t pick up on the moral of the story, here’s the next few lines from the book:

” ‘Tis a good tale,” responded Rodan, “but I see not the moral.”

“I thought not that you would. But it is there and simple too. Just this: If you desire to help thy friend, do so in a way that will not bring thy friend’s burdens upon thyself.“

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