Bargain Hunting

Spike VM

Is it worth your Time and Money?

You go grocery shopping at your favourite store, but then your husband points out that his favourite beer is 4 dollars cheaper if you buy it at another store. How much will it cost on fuel to buy cheaper-priced items at another location?

Purchasing at Different Locations

Average Miles per Gallon mi/gal US
Price per Gallon of Fuel $/gal US
Distance; Home to Store A mi
Distance; Store A to Store B mi
Distance; Store B to Home mi
Money Saved on Purchase(es) $

Results:

Driving Cost per Mile $
Trip Cost; Home to Location A $
Trip Cost; Home to Locations A + B $
Amount you Saved (Negative = Loss) $

Calculation

  1. average miles per gallon of your vehicle
  2. price of one gallon of gas
  3. distance, home to store A
  4. distance from store A to B
  5. distance from store B to home
  6. a price difference of item(s) that makes you go to store B (money you save on the product(s))

Results

  1. cost of fuel driving one mile
  2. fuel cost for a shopping trip at store A
  3. fuel cost including store B in your shopping trip
  4. savings (a negative amount = loss)
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.

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