Today, the French national average for diesel is about 2.40 euros a litre (more than $10 a gallon). For most people that's a number on the news. For us it's a line in the budget, because we live in the motorhome and we fill up all the time.
A fill for us is usually 40 to 60 litres. At 2.25 to 2.45 a litre, that's about 90 to 147 euros. A year ago we were paying 1.50 to 1.75, so the same tank cost 60 to 105. Call it 30 to 40 euros more, every time. Once, in Andorra, we paid 1.10. I still think about that.
So we've changed how we travel.
TotalEnergies first. Since July, TotalEnergies has capped its diesel at 2.25 a litre in its stations across mainland France: that's about 15 cents below today's national average. The catch is that some stations simply have none. Then we go to the supermarkets, where diesel runs 2.30 to 2.45.
Longer stays. This is the change that matters most. Fewer hops means fewer full tanks. Three days in a campsite becomes five. You learn the boulangerie, the walking paths, the corner of the village Jolie prefers.
Jolie, for the record, approves of this policy. She has always thought we move around too much. 🐾
We're in Brittany now, and we're house-hunting, so the route matters more than usual. Slower suits the search too.
Prices will go up and down, and so will our plans. For now, a slower road costs less and, so far, feels better.