I've Got Gas!...

....or maybe I should say my car has been gassed up :)

I managed to hang in there until gas went down at 3 or 4 stations in London on Friday.  As someone who shops around for the best gas price Fridays seem to be a good day to top up the tank. I was on my last "bar" of gas in the tank so things were getting a little desperate but this past Friday I wasn't disappointed. Prices dropped briefly from weeks of $1.26 per litre to $1.17 per litre saving me a couple of bucks.

$45.00 filled up the Honda's tank and should last me into the month of May. Lowering my gas budget line from $60 per month to $45 per month seems completely doable.

This photo does not reflect today's prices.

BUT...I have a question. A reader who lives north of me, but still in Ontario, says their gas prices have been around $1.18 most of the time.  Why is there such variance in the price of gas? Why isn't gas the same price everywhere in Ontario or anywhere else for that matter? I do understand different places have different taxes applied to gasoline but that wouldn't affect sellers in the same province...would it?

*($1.18 per litre = $4.46 per gallon for those in the U.S. as there are 3.78 litres in a liquid gallon.)

With warmer weather hopefully making an appearance soon I won't worry about the price of gas as much, as I'll use my bicycle at lot, though of course summer activities like beach days will require more gas. 

There is a movement here in Canada pushing for people NOT to buy any gas on April 15th. This has been done before, quite successfully, with gas prices dropping for a period of time after the boycott. I hope it's successful again this year.

**On a more sombre note - I'm sure most of you have heard about the Junior Hockey team in Humboldt, Saskatchewan that occurred this past Friday. It was a horrific accident involving the team bus and a transport truck with 15 players, coaches, media being killed and the other 14 injured, some seriously. The outpouring of support from around the world has been incredible with $4.4 million dollars raised for families through a GoFundMe page. More than 60,000 people representing almost 60 countries around the world have donated.  It's not the dollar amount that is so amazing as it is how many people worldwide have shown how much they care. I feel very humbled by this and it gives me faith that the majority of people in this tiny world of ours are truly decent, kind and caring. 

Solidarity in the hockey world was also shown by NHL teams (Chicago Blackhawks and Winnipeg Jets shown above) with players wearing the Junior Team's team name (Broncos) instead of their own names. 

In the words of our Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:

Tonight we pay tribute. To the team, to the families, to the community: The whole country is behind you. You are loved, and you will be remembered.

All Gassed Up

Two challenges I have been working on in 2018 are 1) use as little gas as possible and 2) eat as little refined sugar as I can. So far I'm doing pretty good, especially where gas is concerned.

Since replacing my truck with a Honda Civic at the end of Sept. 2017 I have been lowering my monthly gas budget line - from a high of $200.00 (when I was driving Dougie the Dodge truck) to $60 now (driving the Honda).  A nifty savings of $140.00 per month! Yahoo!

AND... for the past 4 months I've only been filling the Honda once a month at a cost of $45.00 so I think it's time to reduce the budget line for gas even further - from $60.00 to $45.00 a month. Since buying the Honda the monthly amount I spend on gas has decreased by $155.00/month ($200 - $45). My car insurance and house insurance amount to $156.00 ($124 + $32)!! So by switching from a V8 truck to the Honda I am saving enough in gas to pay for car and house insurance!! That's amazing and has put a big smile on my face!! 

As most of you know I was thinking about going car-free so by driving something a lot more economical and lot more "green" than the truck goes a long ways to making me feel better about still driving.

Once it warms up a little (right now IT IS FREAKING SNOWING!!!) then I won't even be spending $45.00 per month on gas because I'll be biking most places within the city. I have met Goal #1 👍

GOAL #2 - the struggle continues...
I would estimate that I have decreased the amount of refined white sugar in my diet by about 75% (or more).  Which is great! I no longer spend time browsing the candy aisles at Dollarama (there are TWO Dollaramas within a block or two of my house though with me not shopping there as much as I used to I'm sure one of them will have to shut down due to poor returns!!) Since the beginning of January I have intentionally made purchases at Dollarama twice. Once was to buy a little somethin somethin for Valentine's Day which I shared with Kazi. And then one other time when I had a craving for chocolate covered almonds.

Zero Easter eggs consumed this year though I noticed a chocolate bunny on the kitchen counter :) and yes, I had a nibble. But the rest I'll take up to Kazi's room where I won't see it. I'm on the See Food diet, I'm sure you've heard of it - "if I see food, I eat it!"

It's not that I have stopped eating snacks - I have had a few bags of salt and vinegar chips and I have been baking oat scones on a regular basis. In addition, when I have a craving, I eat a few raw nuts which of course are high in fat and calories. BUT, the fat is good fat so they say. We've also turned to avocados (again good fat) and very satisfying. I tried (and failed) to eat one or two squares of dark chocolate a day as there are many health benefits but I couldn't stop at one or two so have had to give that up.

But I'm not giving up wine and beer - you have to draw the line somewhere! Besides...both have health benefits if they are consumed in reasonable amounts!

I've had to face the fact that I can't control myself around sweets. So I try to provide myself with sweet stuff that is somewhat healthier. My scone recipe spreads 1/4 cup of dark brown sugar throughout a yield of 12 scones. I use whole wheat flour instead of refined white flour, large oats, soy milk, butter, one egg and a half cup of currants. They are delicious and filling and use mostly healthy ingredients.

This isn't a diet about losing weight though I have lost 5 pounds over 3 months. It's more about trying to make healthier choices. It's hard though, I admit it. Menopause means I have to eat a lot less to maintain my weight as opposed to when I was a teenager and could eat as much as I wanted without gaining an ounce! NOT FAIR! 

I found a site that calculates your BMI but uses your age as well as gender, height and weight in their calculation. Yippee - on their site I am within the "normal range" - the loss of just 5 pounds and inputting my age (61) and gender has moved me from straddling the line between normal and borderline over-weight. I am going to save the results and look at them everyday for the rest of my life!!!

If you want to check your BMI go to https://www.smartbmicalculator.com/