Have you noticed how gas prices keep going through a yo-yo effect, but the trend just keeps getting more expensive. If you remember 2008, gas prices were on average at $3 a gallon at the beginning of the year and jumped to over $4.5 a gallon through the summer. The increases in gas prices was taking a big toll on many of my friends and families wallets. But not mine, I purchased a CNG Car (compressed natural gas) that not only saves a load of money (only an average of $0.75 a gallon equivalent through 2008) but is far and beyond a cleaner solution for the environment.

Most people started changing their summer plans last year when the gas prices skyrocketed. But we didn’t have to, we traveled more finding the roads less congested and saving a lot of money too. We went on camping trips, went to Vegas and LA as well and the whole time we saved a lot of cash. A great example is when we traveled to LA from our home in Provo, Utah. The round trip is around 1,300 miles. This would normally cost an economy car about $195 in gasoline alone. Lucky for us there are CNG stations the whole way, and it only cost us $43 and saved the earth from a lot of polution because CNG cars are so much cleaner. That’s about $150 in savings, and in these financial times who wouldn’t want to have an extra $150 in the wallet?

As the fall of 2008 approached, gas prices were still enormously high. Funds were looking slim as my husband and I started our semester of college. With my husband starting his own businesses, and me doing my student teaching and not working, neither one of us would be making much income for the upcoming semester. On top of everything else, gas prices were at their record high, and I would be driving 30 miles to and from my school for student teaching. Our saving grace at this time ” our CNG car. It’s not a Ferrari or Mercedes, but it became our star commuter car. While other classmates carpooled to their schools, having to wait for each other and coordinate schedules, I enjoyed driving myself and going where I wanted, whenever I wanted.

Normally we would be paying $200+ a month for the gas prices, but with our CNG car we were only spending around $40 a month in fuel. This proved to be a huge saver for us and continues to be till this day. Not only was I saving a ton of money, but I also had to accessible CNG stations on my commute to my student teaching.

If I was to answer my smartest purchase over the last few years it would definitely be my CNG car. It saves money, especially when I needed it most, and it has helped keep our planet a little cheaper. Not to mention that it is a domestic alternative fuel, that we don’t have to rely on other countries for. It constantly perplexes me why more people don’t invest in CNG cars like we did. But I guess until more people catch on, I’ll just keep saving a lot of money at the pump.

I’ve been using CNG cars for a couple years now, my husband’s family has been using them for much longer. There are many different ways to go about purchasing CNG cars. There are used and new cars, you can also get your current car converted (costs around $6K). Also, hitting the alternative fuel market soon is the American Roadster, it get 70 mpg and runs on CNG. Reserve it soon though.

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