Reframe Rising Gas Prices Into a Winning Mindset 🚗

Oil prices have gone up, and honestly, it’s no surprise. I came back from my Japan trip to find gas at $1.80/L, which feels absolutely bonkers compared to $1.65/L when I left. It’s easy to see that jump and feel shocked, defeated, or even powerless—as if the outside world is pushing us around and we just have to pay the higher prices. ⛽️

This is where I hope to gently shift your mindset…just a tiny bit, but that small shift can go a long way.

Mindset in the Middle of a Mess🧠

There’s a lot in the economy that’s outside of our control. I try to protect my mental health by stepping back from social media and the news. There’s so much panic in those spaces that it doesn’t help and just piles onto everything else we’re already juggling. When you already have worries, more fear‑driven noise just makes it worse. So let’s set it aside—at least until it stops dragging you down. Those “news” clips and TikToks are built to trigger emotions so you stay glued, so today, not this time. 🚫📱

So much in life is out of our hands—not just wars, the president down south, or gas prices. Even COVID‑19, remember that? 🤧 That hit hard back in 2019, and we got through it. Those were dark days, and just like that, this too will pass. Yes, we can vent about it (and my therapist actually recommends it—it really helps) 😤, but we can also stand up, move forward, and focus on what we can actually control.

Numbers, Not Noise 📊

When inflation, gas prices, and the rest of the economy spike, people understandably freak out about how high their bills are. But let’s run the numbers—it’ll stay simple here, but you can adjust it for your own life. Check your transactions from the last couple of months, add up your gas costs (or any other bills you want to zoom in on), and compare them month‑over‑month.

If gas prices jump by $0.20/L and you fill a 50L tank, that’s about $11 more per fill‑up. If you fill up 3–4 times a month (looking at you with the long commutes), that’s roughly $44 more per month. 💸 Yes, $44 is a lot—I completely get that. That money could go toward groceries, no question. But at the same time, for many of us, $44 won’t break the bank, even if it stings. 🪼

Small Shifts with Big Impact 💡

Now what? My question for you is: where could you save $44 in your monthly budget? $44 is less than a single dine‑out, which usually runs between $50–$120 for two people. If you skip one restaurant meal and cook at home, or even go for a meal‑kit or takeout, you’ll likely save more than $44. It’s just as easy to complain about that extra $44 at the pump as it is to not spend it in another area—especially one most people overspend in. Instead of dining out with friends, maybe swap in a coffee date, stay in, play board games, or host a potluck. 🎲

If dining out is something you rarely do or absolutely don’t want to cut, let’s look at recurring bills instead—things like internet, phone plans, or subscriptions. 📶 This is an area where we often keep paying extra for constant price hikes without even noticing. Is there a subscription you forgot about because you never got around to cancelling it? 🕵️‍♀️ Maybe this is the perfect time to tidy things up and pocket a few extra dollars. Are you paying extra each month for mediocre service that you can easily swap for something cheaper? Those monthly savings will add up!

Or maybe you’ve developed a habit of grabbing coffee at the Tim Hortons drive‑through on your way to work. ☕️That’s about $1.60/day for a small (but let’s be honest—most people don’t just order a small). If you do that every weekday, it adds up to roughly $40/month—hellooooo, that’s almost the same as the extra cost from the oil hike!

Sometimes it’s not easy to change habits, and honestly, why should we have to change them just because oil prices rise? But this is a powerful opportunity to trim back the habits that don’t bring you much joy and just keep going because of routine.

Instead of collapsing under the stress of this oil hike, let’s look at the opportunities it’s creating: a chance to build better habits and say goodbye to the ones that no longer serve you. You can put on a different lens and see this from a new perspective, instead of following the “Negative Nancies” of the world. 🌍 At the end of the day, you’ll grow more resilient by walking through this challenge—you face it, you lean into it, and you come out stronger, wiser, and with better habits on the other side. 💡✨

So my friend, this world isn’t easy, isn’t always fair—but you are strong enough to go through it. 💖 Your real strength comes from the mindset you create and the belief that you can handle this. If you have that, you’ll be okay—even through these economic bumps. 💼✨