A WAY TO REALLY LOWER THE PRICE OF GASOLINEWritten by Sandi Moses
Every once in a while, someone starts a campaign to lower gasoline prices by urging everyone not to purchase any gas on a certain date. The chosen date is far enough in future to allow for a massive e-mail and newscast campaign to spread news far and wide throughout land and get everyone geared up for big day. The idea is that resulting surplus of unsold gas would force distributors to lower prices in order to be able to unload stuff. There are two problems with that idea: 1) almost no one participates and 2) those who do participate buy their gas either day before or day after target date, so net result is same amount of gas is sold and price stays too high. I have noticed that most drivers completely ignore speed limit on freeway. Where I live, freeway speed limit in city is 65 mph. It is quite possible to drive that fast in right hand (“slow”) lane and have people come up on your bumper and give you an annoyed look as they go around you because they think you are driving too slowly! 80 mph in left hand (“fast” or “passing”) lane is normal, as are people in hurry braiding in and out of lanes because they think their time is more important than yours and you are in their way. You might not want to hear this, but such driving wastes gas! The same gas you complain and moan about every time you fill out at pump gets wasted out on freeway by such drivers. Maybe even YOU??? (Nah………..) According to website Howstuffworks, best mileage can be achieved by driving between 40-60 mph. Now I’m here to tell you that driving 40 mph on freeway will get you one of three things: 1) a ticket for impeding flow of traffic 2) into - or becoming cause of - and accident 3) killed. However, driving at 60 mph won’t cause any more dirty looks than driving at 65, as long as you stay in right hand lane. You won’t cause any accidents, and you won’t get a ticket for impeding traffic. Again, according to Howstuffworks, gas mileage decreases rapidly at speeds above 60 mph. So you are wasting gas and wasting money by driving faster than 60 mph.
| | How to Plan a Cheap WeddingWritten by Claire Bowes
There’s no doubt about it, weddings can be expensive. The average cost of a wedding today is $20,000 – $25,000, and weddings are estimated to be a $25.3 billion industry. But don’t worry if your budget cannot stretch for most expensive custom-made gown, elegant invitation cards, or top photographer, it doesn’t mean that your wedding will be any less unique or special than anyone else’s. You just need a bit of guidance and a few tips to help you achieve dream of your big day. Here are a few suggestions with tips on how to save on some of more expensive aspects of a wedding. Wedding Gowns Do you really need a hand-made wedding dress with beads and diamantes? This is where big cost is and there are several options in cutting cost. Why not opt for a second-hand wedding dress? It’s probably only been worn once anyway and you can get a once expensive dress for half price. Consider buying an evening gown/cocktail dress from a department store or look into renting your wedding dress for day. The Reception This is where cost of a wedding can get out of hand. The wedding reception is normally biggest expense, but one of easiest to cut down on costs. Statistics show that an average of 189 guests attend a wedding, this is a lot. Try and keep your guest list to a minimum, do you really need to invite family members who you have never seen for years? Instead of a three-course meal why not opt for a hot and cold buffet (even cater for yourself)? Instead of holding reception in an expensive hotel suite or wedding reception, why not consider having it at someone’s home or a club, or even book a restaurant. Keep an open bar to a minimal and only serve beer, wine and soft drinks. Photography The obvious choice is to shop around for best rates, but consider hiring a photographer for ceremony only and ask a family member or friend to take snap photos of reception. Or you could go one step further and ask them to take photographs for whole day and not bother with expense of a photographer at all.
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