By Michael Bell
Ok, so this is not my most theological post ever, but one that should save our readers a lot of money. (Particularly the Canadians.)
A Canadian Member of Parliament (American’s think the equivalent of Congressman), Dan McTeague, has a formula which he uses to calculate Gas Prices in Canada. He does this based on the spot price of Gasoline on the New York Mercantile Exchange. He then applies a formula to the price, and presto, he gets the price of Gasoline for each major Canadian city. (Don’t worry we have good news for Americans too!) The neat thing about it, is at roughly 5:00 p.m. EST, he posts what the price of Gasoline is going to be THE NEXT DAY.
So for example: Yesterday the price of Gasoline in my area was 77.7 cents a litre. I saw on McTeague website that it was about to go up to 81.0 cents a litre. So I filled up on the way home, then got our van, and filled up at our neighborhood gas bar. In the process I saved about $2.00. I see today that tomorrow the price is going up to 85.4 cents a litre. If I had waited until my vehicle was empty like I usually do, it would have cost me an extra $5.00 compared to what it did cost me for the same amount of fuel.
The site isn’t quite as helpful for our American friends, in that you won’t know exactly what the price is going to be tomorrow, but you will know if the price is going up or down, and can fill up accordingly.
My calculations are that I will save easily $50.00 to $100.00 a year just by making sure I fill up before prices go up, and doing my best not to fill up while prices are dropping.
Here is Dan McTeague site. You can also sign up for RSS to get the updates delivered to your RSS Reader.
Michael Bell
Joshua Hearne
Tim Melton
Joel Black
Great post!
Unfortunately, now that the Dems. are securely in control of the U.S., no one will be able to afford a car or gasoline.
That will be pleasing to the ‘Greens’ who think we should all walk, and live in tents.
I know what you mean Steve,
In Canada here we are taxed so heavily, I just had to trade in my car for a dog sled!
And in doing so saved a ton in hyperbole!
Mike Bell
Hey Mike
As a Canadian living in the US I try my hardest to tell Americans that they still have it so much better than their neighbors to the north. I just got back from a trip over the border and was stunned at the cost of gas and milk and meat.And even though I do not believe my husbands job will be affected by the economy, I know that our credit must be brought to nil in order for me to feel secure in these rough economic times. So any advice (as in your post) is welcome indeed!
Hi Cynthia,
There are certainly advantages and disadvantages of both systems. It shocked me how the recently deceased Larry Norman had to literally beg for support on his website, so that he could afford the treatment for his illness.
I am more than willing to pay the higher taxes (especially reflected in the price of gas) so that people don’t have to have that sort of experience here.
That is not so say that we don’t have issues here with our healthcare, because we certainly do, but I do like the idea that everyone is entitled to the same basic healthcare.
Mike Bell
Mike, don’t forget, the poor in America get great health care. It is the working class that takes the beating.
I’m afraid I have to agree with willohroots Mike. It is not true that the poor are turned away or refused care en masse. It is true that those who work hard for a living often bear greater burdens though and it may have been that Larry Norman fell into a crack where he was not poor enough or rich enough to get the care he needed. But I don’t think it is a common problem. (I am cringing already in anticipation of the arrows that will be launched in my direction as a Canadian who is daring to defend the imperfect yet functional American system!)
Hi Cynthia,
Don’t worry, my darts are pretty blunt at the end.
You note: “I don’t think it is a common problem”.
45 million cracks is a pretty common problem. That is roughly the number of Americans who don’t have health care coverage.
You must admit that there must be something wrong, when a country as rich as the United States, which spends more on healthcare PER CAPITA than Canada, cannot provide basic healthcare for everyone.
However, I realize the Canadian system isn’t perfect either.
“You must admit that there must be something wrong, when a country as rich as the United States, which spends more on healthcare PER CAPITA than Canada, cannot provide basic healthcare for everyone.”
Most people here (the U.S.) decide if they want to spend money on healthcare.
That 45 million number is very misleading. People are not stuck in that number and move into and out of heathcare coverage.
Most of the young do not need healthcare coverage.
I and all of my friends did not have it growing up in our late teens through our late twenties. We didn’t need it. The vast majority of young people are healthy.
No one is the U.S. goes without medical care. No one. Another great myth. There is ALREADY in place a system of county run facilities to treat people without insurance.
We have a good system where people from all over the world come to get great healthcare.
If the government gets it’s bureaucratic, wasteful, sluggish, political hands on this system…they will destroy it and replace it with an inefficient subpar system. Guaranteed.
Hey I thought we were talking about the price of gas
Anyway , sorry Mike but the oldadam has a very valid point. As a Canadian I had the same myth fed to me about no healthcare for the poor…but, as above, it isn’t so. Life is not fair though. Those who have well paid jobs have better health care. But then again, in Canada, where the inept government runs health care, you have to wait weeks and weeks (even months) to see a specialist. And there is a second tier of health care for Canadians too ,for those who can afford to attach extra health benefits in through their emplyers. Just sayin’
unless the Canadian saved enough money in gas to come down to states to get heath care. see cynthia, full circle.
And Cynthia was worried about darts being thrown at her?
Looks like the only one dodging darts here is me.
Mike Bell
Hey Mike
So many opinions…so little time . Never mind. Canada is an amazing country and you have every right to defend her.
On to the next topic eh?