Every Drop Counts!
by Gary Woods

With the price of gas continuing to rise I thought it would be good to look at ways to analyze how much we’re actually getting out of every gallon of gas. I’m always looking for more to stuff for my PDA so one program I came up with is called Mileage Wizard and runs on a PocketPC PDA.

Mileage Wizard is far more than just a mileage calculator as its name suggests, it’s really more like a complete database and inventory system for all of your vehicles. You start by creating a record for your car(s). That record can consist of as little as just the make and year or it can be as much as a complete inventory and description of every part of your car. With a more complete record you can then look up all the pertinent specifications in one place.

The core of Mileage Wizard is of course keeping track of fuel consumption. You enter odometer readings, cost of fuel, gallons used, how you paid for it and whether it’s a business or personal expense. After you record the first few fuel stops, you’ll be able to look up average miles, highest and lowest mileage, cost of fuel, distance traveled or fuel used by date range, and lots of other statistics.

Mileage Wizard is a must-have reference statistical tool for anyone who loves to keep track of stuff. Mileage Wizard is available online at http://www.pdainitiative.com for $15.00.

If you have any suggestions or questions for me please drop me a note at garyandlaury@santabarbaraproperties.com or see my column on the Internet at http://www.santabarbaraproperties.com or call me at (805) 729-0910

Gary Woods is the Computer Trainer for the Santa Barbara Association of Realtors and a Broker/Associate at Home Realty & Investments, Inc.