“I drove almost 4,000 miles that first month. My fuel bill was topping $450. Even with the commissions, I didn’t think I could keep up the car payments and pay off my student loans.

I started to think that maybe my dream job wasn’t viable—all because of fuel prices.”

Over the next month, Derek tried everything to improve his fuel economy: driving under the speed limit, checking his tire pressure every day, using his breaks less, and never turning on the air conditioning.

“I might have saved a couple of bucks on fuel doing all this. But it was miserable. I had to drive around to find a gas station every day to check my tires. I was driving so far under the speed limit that I was struggling to make appointments on time—my boss wasn’t impressed. I got so obsessive about not using my breaks that I almost rear-ended someone on the freeway. And driving with no air conditioning in the middle of an Ohio summer was hell.”

At one point, Derek considered quitting his job and working as a minimum-wage barista at a coffee shop in downtown Dayton.

“At least then I’d be able to take the bus.”

The answer to Derek’s problems came one day when he got a ride to a trade show with one of the other sales reps, named Mitch.

“I was complaining to Mitch about all the driving I was doing and my sky-high fuel bill.”