SUV for transit a $400-a-month trade
How I'm saving money
Four-dollar-a gallon gas served as a wake-up call to SUV owner Casey Lyszczarczyk.
The 29-year-old Elk Grove Village resident was commuting to his job as a real estate analyst with U.S. Cellular in Chicago and feeling squeezed by the sharp rise in gas prices.
(Al Podgorski/Sun-Times)
"I started looking into options," he said. "I was surfing the Web, and out of the blue I decided to go to the RTA Web site. They had a few handy tools on there, this trip planner. Just for fun, I put in my address, where I start my trip and my destination address for work. I found there's a PACE route that connects me directly to the blue line."
So starting last month he parked his 2000 Chevy Blazer and began using public transportation, saving him roughly $400 a month. He pays $75 a month to use public transportation, compared to the roughly $470 a month he would otherwise be spending on gas, he said.
When he does use his car, he drives differently.
"I now pay attention to the RPM gauge and try not to go over 2000 rpm if I can help it," he said. "I also try to time green lights so I don't have to stop. After one tank of gas doing this, I calculated that my mpg went up from 14 to 18, a 28 percent increase in gas efficiency."
Lyszczarczyk, who lives alone, said to reduce costs he also has changed his grocery shopping habits.
"I'm looking more at private label stuff at Jewel and Dominick's," he said. "I buy corn flakes a lot. I don't notice any difference between brand and private label," in the taste, he said.
But the cost is roughly half, he noted.
Meanwhile, he's also visiting Starbucks much less.
"I'm a bit of a Starbucks fiend," he said. "That was like my religion."
Now he buys and brews his own coffee to take to work.
What are you doing to make ends meet? Write to psmith@suntimes.com