Gas Prices.

[scoutldr]

For tax deduction purposes, the IRS only allows 14 cents per mile. We are lucky in that our council camp is only 80 miles away. I usually take my own vehicle, in case I get called home or want to run into town, so I don't expect reimbursement. For trips longer than that, a gas fee will be figured into the cost per scout.

[flmomscoutw3]

Eamonn asked how the price of gas is impacting our programs. I know that as a family when we were looking at ideas for the coming year I advised my sons to look at what was close by. I drive on a lot of the campouts carrying my sons and a few others, plus whatever gear can fit in the back. Our troop does not really have any plan at this time about personal vechicles and gas $$. They do have access to a van that our CO has, but have not requested it lately. I think that may change as the person who usually pulls our trailer has said he cannot do it any more. Too much wear and tear and no help from the troop with repair costs. We are having a planning conference soon, so I don't know if any other families discussed the issue of raising gas prices. My sons and I always look at places to go on-line prior to the planning campout, talking about what the boys would like to do and see. We are fortunate to live in Florida, so we have warm weather camping all year long and many great places to go. We did live in the Mid-Atlanntic and there are so many get spots there also. (Anarchist have a GREAT time at Assateague Island - one of my families favorite spots on the earth! Don't feed the ponies!) I think that if the boys look around they will find great spots not to far from home, but maybe need just a little encouragement.

I do believe that the boys do need to understand that with the cost of gas going up it will affect the cost of the campouts and boys in families with multiple scouts will feel the pinch more then those with one boy. (Although anyone on a tight budget is feeling it now!)

I know that with the price of gas adding a strain to our family budget there may be less campouts. My boys have always attended nearly every campout, however we have to look at this as a family as well as scouts and scouters. Our budget will only take so much.

As far as the troops budget fom campouts that money is still coming from my pockets to pay for my sons'. If you haven't been to the grocery store lately, try it sometime. We were $8.00 over budget the other week, and did not by anything extra. All the prices had just gone up a bit. But when you added those bits it took a bite.

[anarchist]

flmomscoutw3

 

Assateague is one of our favorite spots also...I suggested this trip to the PLC 10 years ago and it has grown to be the most heavily attended events on our calendar. We don't feed the ponies or the deer and we do take lockable food bins...'course we have to keep the older boys in check -the campfire stories of the blood-thirsty vampire ponies of Assateague have a way of unsettling the younger scouts...

 

back to the thread...

 

One thing I see chronically missing from many of these threads about cost of _______(whatever) -is a real discussion of the scouts earning their own way...more and more it seems to come out of the family budget and I think our children are missing out on something here. A scout is thrifty...scouting used to encourage boys to pay their own way...

 

My boys got the first exposure to any "weird" activity "on dads dollar...first summer camp, first ski trip, first caving trip, first whitewater rafting trip, etc...If they liked it-the next time they had to work out a plan to earn the fees involved...cleaning the barn, helping the widow lady down the lane, extra "duty" at church...taking care of neighbor's animals, cutting grass, hauling firewood etc. Sometimes the chores cost me more than they are worth but the lesson in earning ones own way is important...

 

If they "earn" it- "it" seems to mean more and they are much more careful of "waste"...if its dad's dollar..."heck, lets have rib eye steak instead of pot roast!"

food for thought...

anarchist

[John-in-KC]

I'm at the point where I'm not going to restaurants anymore, and the library has replaced Barnes and Noble.

 

Gas is $2.80 a gallon here in Flyover Country.

 

To go to our Scout Reservation, the distance is 140 miles OW from the parking lot of the chartered partner to the parking lot of the Reservation.

 

My jeep gets 19.1 miles to the gallon. I use ~~7.32 gallons of gas one way. That's $20.50 for a one way trip, or $41 for the RT.

 

At $1.80 (where gas was at Christmas), that same RT refill cost is $26.18.

 

My jeep has four passenger seatbelts. That means the shared cost is $8 per person.

 

Contrast this with two camps that are but 40 miles away.

I use 2.09 gallons of gas OW, or 4.18 for the RT. It's $5.85 for fuel OW, or 11.70 for the RT.

 

We do have to teach stewardship to our young men. To me, going closer in for most trips is better stewarship of natural resources (less gas used), better stewardship of their own resources (less of their money used), and, in planning carloads carefully, better stewardship of both fuel and money!!

 

We've got these young men earning money for annual summer camp ($200 a head for 10 days here), money for HA, money for their dues, money for their personal equipment and uniforms.

 

We need to teach making good choices as well

 

YIS

[packsaddle]

As Rush Limbaugh says, "It's all about money."

[John-in-KC]

No, it's not all about money, but there comes a point where parental budgets hit the far end of the stretch.

 

Do we, as unit serving Scouters,

- look at what we CAN do?

 

- or do we let the youth have license, and then...

- the parents pull them because they are spending too much time raising money for their activities?

- or the family budget has reached the breaking point?

 

I've already made a substantial choice in my personal and scouting life, given my budget!!!

[scoutldr]

Gas here is running from 2.919 to 3.079 for UNL regular. I paid 2.939 yesterday and felt like I scored a bargain!

 

The reality of the situation is harsh, but necessary. The scouts and their parents need to understand there is no free lunch. Every activity needs to be budgeted and paid for somehow. Our biennial winter trip to Gettysburg and Ski Roundtop will not be done with donated gas next time. Or maybe it won't be done at all.

[packsaddle]

Eamonn, I think I was confused at first. Are you towing the vessel that far? Or are you driving to a destination and sailing on another vessel? At first I was thinking your trip on the boat was going to be 1500 miles r/t and I was so envious. My personal rule is if I tow, I have to sail an equal or greater distance when I get there. So far the wife won't let me tow it to FL...she knows she'll never be allowed to go and I'll probably never return. But one can dream...

[funscout]

Maybe we'll see lots of bicycling merit badges earned this summer, as some may choose to bike rather than drive so much. I know someone who bikes 30 miles to work every morning (he is able to shower at work), so he isn't as concerned as the rest of us about gas prices.

 

I drive my younger son to school every day, because his Ritalin wouldn't last for the whole school day plus both bus rides. I joked that we were going to have to start riding our bikes the 7 miles to school. He thought that would be fun until I pointed out how much earlier we would have to get up!

[Lisabob]

Well and here's another one for you. My son is off camping this weekend and when we all assembled in the parking lot for the pre-camp check off we noted how many fewer big SUVs and vans were in the car pool. Several people mentioned they had recently bought smaller, more gas efficient cars - that also happen to seat fewer people and have smaller trunks. What this meant for us was...more people needed to drive to/from the camp site (thankfully not that far away) in order to get all the guys and their gear there.

 

For me...this meant that FINALLY my little sedan fit right in...but I begin to wonder whether, if gas stays this high or goes higher (likely to happen), is anybody going to own a vehicle big enough to tow our troop trailer!

 

Lisa'bob

[MaScout]

Ahhh...now that depends on where you live! I drive an SUV, and am not likely to be giving it up soon. However, mine is NOT a luxury vehicle! In the winter, we need it to make it to the highway. On the farm, we pull things with it (like farm equipment) and haul things in it (like calves). So even though I drive the higher mileage car when I can, the SUV will be around. Just recruit a farm kid for your Scout troop!

 

Ma Scout

[rat1571]

gas hasent really affected us as of yet since almost all of our camping is close by or with-in 15-30 miles. since our troop is still very young, being our oldest boy is 13, we havent really taken that step toward long distance camping.

 

Just for a point of reference. gas here is $3.19/Gallon at its cheapest.

 

Rob

Dutchess County NY

[Eamonn]

Boy am I good!!

When we first looked at pricing the summer adventure,I said it would cost $285.00.

The parents and Scouts seemed happy with this.

In part because our Council had raised their camp fee to $225.00.

The feeling was that the extra $60.00 was worth it.

Being the old worry goat that I am, I asked everyone to add another $15.00.

No one moaned, groaned or said a word.

When we did the final accounting, everyone got their $15.00 back. - Well almost.

I gave them the option of either paying 3 months dues or having the $15.00 put toward next years Summer Adventure.

Of course if anyone had requested the return of the $15.00 they would have got it -No one did.

But when I presented the costing for Florida Sea Base, with a price tag of $1,000. That didn't sit very well.

The Quarterdeck is now thinking about making Sea Base a two year plan.

Part of our problem is that we have a very expensive program and the Scouts don't seem to want or be able to do fund raising.

For 2007 I have now presented an idea of going to Pamlico Sea Base, in North Carolina's Outer Banks. They offer a Sailing School program for $300.00. So I think we can do it for about $385.00 depending on how many want to attend and the price of gas.

Eamonn.

[baden]

We are leaving Saturday for the Boundary Waters. This will be a 1400 mi. round trip for us. We have been trying to budget as close as possible to make participation easier for all. Budgeting gas prices beginning last December has been a challenge. The gasbuddy web site posted by evmori is a good resource. We budgeted $3.00 p/gal in our planning last winter thinking that we would be OK. Looks like that will be close. We always budget an amount for contingency ($25.00 for this trip) and refund it after all accounts are settled. This year we may get into the contingency fund for gas. Hope not.

 

We don't pay gas for local events or for transport to summer camp. It is 85 mi. to Camp. The only thing we budget gas expense for is High Adventure trips.