Bargain Hunting

Example

Your average miles per gallon is 24
The price of one gallon of fuel is $3.84
Distance from home to store A is 9.6 miles
Distance from store A to store B is 3.6 miles
The distance from store B to home is 11.4 miles
Going to a different store because the items are cheaper saves you $1.85

First, calculate fuel cost per mile;

3.84 ÷ 24 = 0.16

It cost 0.16 to drive one mile.

Calculate the cost of gas to drive to store A

9.6 * 0.16 = 1.536

The cost of fuel driving from home to location A is $1.54

If you purchase all your items at location A, the total cost in fuel will be 2 * 1.54 = $3.08.

Calculate the cost of driving from location A to B;

3.6 * 0.16 = 0.576

The fuel cost for driving from A to B is $0.58

Calculate the cost of driving from location B to home;

11.4 * 0.16 = 1.824

The cost of gas for returning home from location B is $1.83.

Including location B in your trip will cost a total of 1.54 + 0.58 + 1.83 = $3.95 in gas,
adding 3.95 - 3.08 = $0.87 to the gas cost.

The fuel cost will reduce the savings of $1.85 to $0.98 on the items you purchase there.