How far would you drive for a diaper deal? According to AAA's data, paying $9.99 for a jumbo a mile from your house is the same as paying $8.99 at a store 5.88 miles away. Driving just 6 miles out of your way to pick up a pack of diapers (or anything else) that's a dollar cheaper actually ends up costing you.
The American Automobile Association (AAA) says that the average cost of owning and operating a car is just over 54 cents per mile, or $8,121 per year based on 15,000 miles. The cost includes necessary expenses like new tires, insurance, payments and fuel costs as well as depreciation. Hard to believe, isn't it? And these figures are from an organization that's all about driving. MarketWatch points out that these figures may be too low, since the price of gas has risen by about fifty cents a gallon since the study was conducted. Fuel prices are expected to hit $4 per gallon this summer. It gets worse.
Groups like Commute Solutions also include indirect costs that you pay for with taxes and fees like road construction and maintenance, parking fees and tolls, and "societal" costs like pollution, congestion, and accidents. A weekly two-mile trip according to Commute Solutions' calculator more than doubles the AAA cost at $1.19 per mile.
So is driving two miles extra for diapers like adding $1.08 or more the price? Not exactly. A few of the costs factored in by AAA, like car payments and insurance premiums, don't change with a bit of extra mileage. Driving more does mean buying more gas. It also puts extra wear on your tires and and on your car's systems. AAA rates tire wear at .7 cents per mile and fuel costs at 11.67 cents per mile. Routine maintenance is about a nickel a mile. Factor in Commute Solutions' "societal costs" as your conscience prompts you, but according to AAA's data, each extra mile you drive costs you an extra seventeen cents. Drive an SUV or minivan and your operating cost is slightly higher at about nineteen cents per mile.
Running the numbers for my own shopping habits was a real eye opener. According to Google Maps, my nearest CVS is one mile away, but my nearest Target is five miles away. To justify the extra four miles' drive in my Santa Fe, the price of the item at Target needs to be at more than .76 cheaper than the price of the item at CVS. If I drive my husbands Impreza, the item needs to be more than .68 cheaper or I lose money. Bargain hunting just got more complicated.
The bottom line? Driving out of your way to pick up one "bargain" item rather than buying it at a slightly higher price close to home may not make financial sense. Do the math before you go. When you do, buying several necessities at once means making fewer trips later and allows you to split the cost of travel among them. Other ideas: combine errands, go with a friend who would have also made the trip, consider shopping online, and do whatever else you can to save fuel, tire wear, and wear and tear on your vehicle.
For more info, download a copy of the AAA 2008 Your Driving Costs brochure.
What do you think, readers? Is this another case for cloth diapering? Do you consider the costs of driving when you shop? What do you do to reduce your driving costs?
photo by Burning Image via Flickr
May 6, 2008
How Much Does Driving Add to Diaper Prices?
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15 comments:
I absolutely try to minimize my driving, even if there is a SUPER deal. I work in town, which is 25 miles from our home. So I NEVER drive into town on a weekend if I can help it, since I've spent all week driving there. I try to consolidate errands in areas during the week if at all possible.
For instance, I'm getting my oil changed at the dealership on Friday. So, BRU, Target, and Costco are all in that area. I won't make a trip there this week until Friday, when I can do all of that at once.
There has to be some really super deals that I absolutely cannot pass up for me to make trips to just one store on my lunch hour during the week.
I try to minimize my driving anyway, because a) I am too lazy to lug around a toddler and b) hate driving to "south" Tulsa, where it looks like everywhere else in America. I shop within three or four miles of my house 99% of the time. When I need to drive 10 miles to the southeast, I hit all stores in one trip, but I only go out there once a month or less.
We always, always, always combine shopping errands and try to go to 2-3 stores that are near each other. And for Target we wait until we have a pretty big list of things to get.
So we never lose money (or time) by just driving out to pick up one thing.
It helps to stock up during the good sales and when you have coupons. So then you're not running out of things, like diapers, and forcing yourself to run out for then all the time.
I guess I never looked at it as in depth as you did. It totally opened my eyes. I will hop in the car and go pick up one thing if I need to. Now, I will make sure that I get multiple items or wait until I have to go.
Thanks for the tips!
I think this is a very good point that many people seldom think about and it drives me nuts. ;) I agree that the AAA number is too high, but you do also have to take into consideration somewhat the effect to tradein cost as well as how quickly you need to replace the car when you drive more often. I'm fortunate to have several stores to choose from less than 2 miles from my house, but the Target is further away so I only head there if I need several things or am combining trips. Also beware of those trips where you go to purchase your bargain and end up filling up your cart with other "bargains" that you didn't need (or my vice - purchasing Starbucks at Target)!
I wonder in this case how much it would save to purchase items on-line (when their on sale ;-). How much is the price of gas when you compare it to shipping on a product?
Amazon can have some good deals on toys, wipes, diapers, and the suscribe and save means that you really don't have to think about it.
Great question, anon. I believe I've read that having it shipped to you actually uses less fuel. And obviously, you're not putting the wear and tear on your car then.
I try to only go out once a day (zero times if possible) also I try and take the golfcart (we live in Peachtree city) as much a s possible. My husband drives 54 miles ONE WAY to work eachday...we figured it was costing us $16/day in gas and that was .20/gal ago. Now he takes the Express bus and Marta and it only costs him $5/day and he can work on his laptop to and from work. That's a savings of $230 a month.
Cloth diapers are the best way to go. Earth Friendly, No chemicals on the babies skin and reuseable.
With cloth, it depends on a lot of factors as to whether it is "earth friendly." Cotton type. How you wash/clean them (detergent/bleach/vinegar?). Water used. Drying. Electric vs Gas appliance. You might not be driving and disposing, but you are still leaving a "footprint."
We have started to add the grocery store into our afternoon walk route. I can fit a decent amount of groceries into the basket of our jogging stroller. This doesn't work if I'm doing a big shopping trip or have very heavy items (like laundry detergent), but it does cut out driving to the store for only one or two items. I live in a smaller town, though, so this idea might not work for everyone.
Most major retailers are a drive for me so unless its a really good deal, I have coupons AND I need other things in that area - I don't venture down just to stock up on diapers. BUT one thing that I will do is drive to my local WalMart that is the closest store to me (about 7-8 miles away) - and take a competitor's ad with me to price match. I may lose out on, say a 'Target store coupon' but with a sale price and mannies - it helps save the drive, gas and my time!
I don't generally go to a store just for one reason. I used to go out and hit several stores at once. I still TRY to do that... but it has become more difficualt with a baby. He's only got so long he can go-go-go before he needs to go home and get a real nap.
But if we are traveling home anyway *out anyway* then stopping at the Target on the way to pick up stuff is no extra cost. Etc. Going home, then back out again IS.
I've also tried to never go in to one store for one thing that's cheaper and another store for other stuff that's cheaper there. I always see and buy WAY more things that way. I am one of those people who can't just go into a store for one thing.
We currently walk within walking distance from Target, Walmart, Babies R' Us, my gym, and our bank. So, I've tried to walk as many times as I can to buy items. We're moving in a month and will trade all those out for walking distance to our grocery store, CVS, possibly a new gym, and a health food store. We'll tag in trips to the other stores when we're driving past. And bringing our linen bags to put everything in too. ;) I was commenting how I've been doing this for years since living in New York City and seeing the amazing amount of waste and now it's in vouge! (It's amazing how much less you buy when you don't have a vehicle to place it in)
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