[wingman]

I would like some feedback as to how board members are effected by the price of fuel.
I do understand that income and perhaps age will come into
play here. As a senior on fixed income it does prevent me from buying
"extras" for my hobbies. However I am suprised that I read or hear very little
about fuel prices, with average household income in the mid 40's I am very
puzzled by how families survive. I know for myself if fuel reaches 3-$4 per
gal I will be limited to food buying trips and doctor. I see talking heads on
tv saying all is well gas price is where it should be however I believe it will
have an impact on the economy if it continues up.
Well for sure the Sig 40cal is on my far away wish list now.

[carebear]

I'm paying about .30 more a gallon. Two fill ups a month, 30 gallons a fill up. It's only $20 more a month. That's 4 lattes.

I notice the difference, it's a noticible change in the per gallon price but it isn't that big of a total expense.

I live a fairly budgeted life right now but $20 is easy to find out of discretionary spending.

[Sindawe]

Gas price for premium (91 Octane R+M/2) is up to $2.75/gallon. It makes hit when I fuel my '72 Monte, since it has a 20 gallon tank and gets about 9 miles/gallon (high performance engine) However, its driven less than 1000 miles a year. :)

The daily driver, a '91 Civic HB still gets 30.5 mph city/34 mpg highway, so daily fuel costs is not that bad yet. The extra $$$ its costing does have to come from the discretionary spending budget, which is pushing out the next firearms purchase. :(

[Control Group]

Frankly, it's killing me. Shortly before we started seeing prices go up a nickel a week, I moved out to Madison from Milwaukee (WI) to be closer to my g.f., roughly a 90 mile move. I was counting on finding a job in or around Madison fairly quickly. Hasn't happened. So now my daily commute is 105 miles each way.

At $2.66 - $2.85/gal, even my 35+ mpg Corolla eats $15-$17 in gas every day.

The plus side is that a job in Madison paying me the same as I'm making right now would be an effective raise of around $4k, so I can afford to be a little less picky than I otherwise might be.

But I haven't been to a range in months, much less considered purchasing a gun. We've got a THR meet set up for Wednesday night, and the cost of the range time and ammunition is a real concern to me.

[Desertdog]

Today the lowest gas price here is $2.75 a gallon and I expect that to go up in the next day or two, due to the fact everybody else is quiet a bit higher.

We try to plan our trips to cover several chores to reduce the amount of driving. Reduced optional driving.

I don't like the higher prices, but I think that in the long run it can be good for the country.

The problem isn't just in the cost of gasoline, it is all energy cost is going up.

Reducing energy cost is NOT a job just for the government

Now maybe the government will let companies start building new refineries, since there hasn't been any built for over 20m years due to enviormentalist opposition. Ditto for drilling in ANWR.

The high prices may cause consumers to look for personal solutions for their own situations such as car pooling, moving closer to work, hybred vehicles, using motorcycles or bicycles, and other long term solutions.

Businesses may start looking for alternate fuels or produce gasoline from coal or other materials such as energy from trash,

Other solutions could include more mass transit, telecommuting, and home based businesses, work 10 hours a day 4 days a week instead of working 5 days.


Maybe we should figure out how to not drive one or two days a week.

[waterhouse]

If I wasn't scared to death of riding around without being surrounded by a steel cage I'd get a motorcycle. Most of my traveling is solo and doesn't require any luggage, so I'm still contemplating it.

[wingman]

[QUOTE]If I wasn't scared to death of riding around without being surrounded by a steel cage I'd get a motorcycle. Most of my traveling is solo and doesn't require any luggage, so I'm still contemplating it.Quote

Rode motorcycle past years will not ride one in Austin.

While I do understand we need to conserve and I do believe companies
can build more fuel efficent cars I always believe fuel companies are
making huge profits but we the consumer hold the key.

[R.H. Lee]

The high price of gasoline will drive up the cost of everything, but that is only the tip of the iceberg IMO. Look around you right now and identify things that are not made/derived from oil. The cost of manufacture as well as the cost of transportation will increase significantly on almost everything.

[Art Eatman]

I'm retired, so daily costs aren't a problem; I just don't drive into town as often. From that standpoint it's a break-even.

I just drove I-10 from Tallahassee to San Antonio and then on west on US 90 to Alpine. The cheapest gas anywhere was $2.42 in east Texas. Mostly, $2.52 or so. West Texas is about 10¢ to 15¢ higher.

It's the "constant dollar", factoring in inflation, that makes it true that gasoline isn't all that high--which doesn't relly help a lot of folks.

A Toyota salesman in Thomasville, GA, said that many are trading in SUVs for econo-boxes. Needless to say, the trade-ins aren't getting high value. Dunno who's gonna buy those trade-ins, though...

Art

[zahc]

As a pizza delivery driver, it's crippling. I now spend more on gas than on rent. Please tip your pizza delivery driver.

or else.

[Werewolf]

$2.50 a gallon here in Oklahoma City which means it costs me about $13/week just to drive to work. A fill up is about $35. With two cars and two fillups a month that's $140 a month just for gas. AND THAT SUCKS. That's about $60 more per month than a year ago when gas was $1.70 a gallon.

So how does that impact my shooting - well - it's a 60 mile round trip to the range I shoot at which means it costs me $7.50 in gas just to drive there and back. AND THAT SUCKS!

To be honest my wife and I never really considered the price of gas into much of anything until the price hit $2.50 and for some reason that price point just pushed a button and we looked at what it was really costing to drive two cars. $140 really isn't that much but the $60 difference between now and a year ago means fewer movies, fewer times out to dinner etc etc (things are cheap in OK - two dinners for two on $60, or 6 movies on $60 or a bunch of a lot of stuff you poor suckers in CA or NYC can only dream about for $60).

Screw the polls that say Americans aren't cutting back on their driving because I am. I mostly go every where on my motorcycle now and my wife and I only use one car and mostly go everywhere together now (combine what once would have been two trips in two cars into one trip in one car). Hmmmmm... maybe the price of gas will have a good effect on American families.

[dakotasin]

because of the gas prices, i have dramatically changed my driving habits, and drastically cut down optional trips. i have also started riding a bicycle and walking more. because of that, in spite of the high gas prices, i spend less on gas now than i did when it was 70 cents per gallon less.

as for guns... i just picked up a 700 lss in 7 rum on saturday... gas prices will not affect my gun/accessory purchases or my hunting trips, but it affects everything else for me.

[dolanp]

The people doing the most complaining tend to be the fiscally irresponsible with the self-inflicted problem of having a huge vehicle they don't need. That's not true for everyone but I am finding that to be the case quite often around here.

"Woe is me, I can't afford the gas for my Canyonero and I need my $5 latte!!"

[R.H. Lee]

I don't wanna hear any whining from anybody paying less than $2.80/gallon; that's the low end price around here. I bought a Toyota Echo in March and it consistently gets 40mpg, though. Can't afford to drive my Ford Ranger 4.0 4x4 @ 16-18 mpg :(

[svtruth]

Just today I read of a Pierre, SD newspaper delivery lady who switched to a scooter. I'll bet those folks operate on a thin margin.
I wish them luck.

[MaterDei]

I hope you guys won't mind my contrarian position.

The high gas prices are GREAT!

While I don't particularly like having to pay more at the pump, in the long run I benefit personally.

1. I work for an energy company in Houston that almost went bankrupt after the Enron thing happened. We layed off more than half of our employees in the two years following Enron's bankruptcy. Because we have an inherent long position on energy we benefit from higher energy prices.

2. The Houston economy as a whole inproves when energy prices are high. Employment opportunities improve, real estate values increase, etc.

3. Even though I work in the fossil fuel industry, I like the idea of alternative energy and as long as energy prices stay high, alternative energy sources will become more and more cost effective.

fwiw, I drive over 50 miles each way 6 days a week to Houston. I drive a Jetta TDI :D

[Carlos]

I'm working harder and getting less. It's starting to anger me.

Thinking of selling the beast, but need a car for groceries. I take public transportation to work.

[R.H. Lee]

It's going to get worse. Any bets on how much gasoline will increase in the next week or two after Katrina is done? How about we nationalize the oil companies and make Mater Dei a gubmint employee? :p

Hey, it makes sense. Highways are public property, why not energy companies? It works in Venezuela; gas is 12 cents a gallon.

[P95Carry]

The hurt is barely beginning - there is one mother load of trouble ahead - all but everything is ultimately costed back to fuel costs.

I am glad I do not have to travel too much and admit too I do have a fairly thirsty truck.

I am tho already not going over to shoot as often as I did at my favorite club, because as a 75 mile round trip, it is simply too expensive. If weather kind then I bike it and can happily accept the gas cost for that.

''Knock-on'' effects will be vast - just think of your utilty costs for starters, they will rise. The economy re spending generally will hit the stores - folks will make fewer journeys and when they do spend less. Disposable income will be decimated over the next several months at this rate.

Not a happy time ahead.

[Control Group]

3. Even though I work in the fossil fuel industry, I like the idea of alternative energy and as long as energy prices stay high, alternative energy sources will become more and more cost effective.
Long term, I agree. Higher gas prices will be good for the country eventually. In fact, you could make a solid case for it being beneficial to the whole world: significantly reducing our dependence on oil would put a whole new face on the Middle East.

But I still purely hate literally burning 15% of my take-home pay.

[AZ Jeff]

I find it amazing at how many persons say the recent increase in fuel prices is making a big impact on their driving habits.

The cost of fuel, as a portion of the cost of overall vehicle ownership, is small, somewhere between 10 and 20 percent, according to all the studies I remember seeing.

Depreciation, insurance, repairs, etc. are FAR bigger portions of the overall cost than is gasoline.

Yet, everyone bellyaches about the gas costs.

My theory is that they complain about the gas because it's the most obvious portion of the cost of vehicle ownership, and you are reminded of that cost every time you go to the pump.

I would bet that, if one had to make a CAR PAYMENT every 5 to 7 days, the price of gas would become insignificant in the overall scheme of things, as that payment cost would DWARF the cost of the gasoline. (Imagine taking your monthly car payment, for those of you who have one, and dividing it up into 6 chunks, payable equally throughout the month, and you see my point.)

[M-Rex]

As a working investigator whose auto is a mobile office, the increase in gasoline prices is starting to really hurt.

[41mag]

Cost of gas around here?$2.70-2.80/gallon.

I parked the Caprice on friday after work & didn't touch it until this morning.
What did I miss?
a)a round of golf $15 for the gas & $25 for the greens fees
b)a trip to the pet store(feeders for my snakes)$8 in gas(I'll incorporate that trip on the way home later this week)
c)A trip to the range-indoors $8 in fuel,$15 range fee,& $30-40 for ammo

I have two handguns on lay-a-way.It's worth it to me to stay @ home & clean on weekends to add that Colt & S&W to my collection.

I'm just glad that I never developed an affection for the grape.

I need to get off of my can & fix the Suzuki too.43mpg vs.17 for the car.

[Control Group]

Depreciation, insurance, repairs, etc. are FAR bigger portions of the overall cost than is gasoline.
I bought my vehicle outright for $600 in 2002. I could probably sell it for ~$400 (possibly more) right now. Depreciation is not a significant cost for me.

I do my own car repairs and maintenance. This does involve some outlay for parts, of course, but the total amount of money I have put into the car over the last three years in repairs and maintenance is ~$1200 (rough estimate on the high end, composed mostly of four tires and one exhaust job I paid to have done). My car's blue book value is below any reasonable deductible, so I only carry liability insurance.

Assuming maintenance costs are spread equally across time, my monthly cost to use the vehicle (not counting gas) is $100 ($200 depreciation + $1200 maintenance + $2100 insurance + $100 for rounding purposes / 36 months). In contrast, I spend almost $350/month in gasoline at my current price of $2.66/gal.

Of course, I'm hardly the typical case. I drive a much older and more fuel-efficient car than average, offset by a much longer commute than average. But not all of us griping about higher gas prices are simply ignorant of the realities of the situation.

[Gordon Fink]

Well, we’re over a barrel—almost literally—on this one, aren’t we? We need gasoline and can only reduce our demand by so much. Simple economics.

Just this morning, I shot down one of those let’s-have-a-one-day-boycott e-mails that always go around when the gas prices go up. I guess a lot of people just don’t understand the situation.

My wife and I bought a hybrid car two years ago. We would have eventually bought a hybrid truck as well, if someone hadn’t wrecked my old Saturn before they hit the market. Vote with your wallets …

~G. Fink

[Daniel964]

Gas prices haven't affected my wife or I very much at all. We're both home bodies. Go to the range 2-3 times a month together. Don't like going to the movies and prefer a home cooked meal to going to a restaurant. For entertainment we watch TV, play games on the computer and read. We also live on my paycheck and save hers. We also try to put $300 a month back from my paycheck to pay for guns, ammo and range time. :)

[stevelyn]

Everyone here is focused on gasoline prices, but as gas prices go up, so does heating fuel and other petroleum products.
Just imagine what could happen if we have a brutally cold winter in the Lower 48 this winter. Would that be enough to cause a consumer revolt?

[wally]

With people paying $3-4 per gallon of bottled water! Hard to see how gas at $2.50-3 per gallon is much to complain about.

It will force the price of everything up, but not as much as you might expect. One stat I saw said enegry costs only run 4-6% so even doubling it is not the end of the world.

I was spending about $100/month for gas, now its $150, sure I'd rather it be less, I shoot Wolf and Blazer ammo cause its the cheapest so I sure ain't happy about burning more expensive gas. We're fortunate that its not a hardship for us, but it sure goes against our frugal instincts (my wife is an avid coupon clipper). I usually spend more on ammo (and/or reloading componets) a month than I do on gas even with the higher prices.

I'd come out further ahead if Houston didn't keep raising taxes to buy more playgrounds for sports multi-millionaires -- Texas, Rockets, Astros & Metro Choochoo-train all have wasted a ton of my tax money which makes the gas increases a pittance by compairson.

OTOH if $4 a gallon gas got half the cars off the freeway so my compute would be safer and less stressful it'd be worth it! :)

--wally.

[AZ Jeff]

Of course, I'm hardly the typical case. I drive a much older and more fuel-efficient car than average, offset by a much longer commute than average. But not all of us griping about higher gas prices are simply ignorant of the realities of the situation.

Yes you are the exception to the rule when it comes to car ownership. Most persons are wooed into buying new, fancy vehicle, and generally have NO idea what it is costing them (overall) once they drive it away from the showroom.

After all, what's one of the biggest sales strategies in new car sales? It's "How much of a payment can you afford?" That's a GREAT way of camoflaging the overall cost of ownership.

[JohnBT]

I'd prefer cheap gas, but I can afford whatever it costs because I only drive around 5k a year and most of that is for recreation. For 25 years people have been asking me when I was going to move to the country. Well, I'm only 5 short blocks from the office and never got around to it. And I remember OPEC. And I remember buying gas for 18.9/gallon once upon a time. Of course, cigarettes were only a quarter, too. Ha, and I'm only 54. Okay, almost 55.

I rode a Yamaha 360 dirt bike during the OPEC embargo. I siphoned gas from my old Chevelle to keep the bike going and only had to fill the car up every 6 weeks or so. Too much traffic and too many airheads on cell phones to ride a bike in the city these days.

Still, it's very strange to buy 14 gallons for the Forester and a jug of milk and only get $1.70 back from two twenties.

John

[kbr80]

gas & guns

Does a burrito in the gut and a 45 on the hip qualify. :evil:


Yes, gas prices are becoming a PITA>

[benEzra]

Very happy to be driving an '87 Camry that gets 34 mpg on the highway. It's funny, with the price of gas going so high, I'm now one of the fastest cars out there. People with the big V-8's are crawling away from stoplights like they're driving '84 Yugos, trying to save gas, while I can drive the Toyota like a rally car and still get 25 mpg around town. :D

If someone ever hands me $30,000 and tells me to go buy a new car, it'd be a Volvo S40 T5 with the 6-speed manual. 0-60 in 6.5 or less, nearly 100 mph in the quarter, and 30 mpg. Gotta love turbos...

[Kim]

I personally find it funny everyone gripes so much. Now the price of oil is not something the President or Congress can do much about. But the thing I find funny is how for a period the MSM and Demos were griping that the President was not asking the citizen to sacrifice anything for the war. He just told everyone to go shop etc. Coarse the Dems were talking about raising taxes. I talked to my Mom about all of this. Older people can give you a better outlook on things. Espically those that were around for that little thing called the Great Depression and WW2. She told me that during the war gas was cheap but of coarse it was rationed severely so you had almost none. All men were allowed ONE pair of rubber soled boots for work per YEAR. Tires? well you never saw so many bald tires and patched tubes as they were very hard to come by. So I find it funny that since oil prices have gone up somewhat the children and grandchildren of the greatest generation are whining.

[Grey54956]

With gas prices currently at the highest point ever, now is a great time to stock up on ammunition and guns. The price of gas is going to get higher, there will be shortages. People will start getting antsy. All it may take to spark a SHTF situation is a singularly devastating blow to the country, beit a man made disaster or something natural.

I would certainly suggest that the Hurricane currently destroying New Orleans might suffice. It is a unmitigated disaster the likes of which Americans have not seen since the Dustbowl. I was just reading some articles on how bad things are down there. Some experts are suggesting that New Orleans will actually be largely destroyed, with 60-80% of houses being rendered completely unliveable. In addition to this, the area could very well be blanketed by sewage and other toxic waste, rendering the entire area largely inhabitable, barring multi-billion dollar clean up efforts. There could be as many as 1 million refugees. Seriously, this is some major bad mojo.

In any case, this could be enough completely destabilize the economy. A good number of our fuel refineries are down along the gulf. Of the hurricane damages them as well, you could see a sudden and very painful shortage of fuel for transportation, and possibly heat. The cascade effects could be completely disasterous to the US, and the ripple effect worldwide could be even worse. The US economy drives all other economies.

I generally am not worried about such scenarios, but this may be a good time to go into crisis mode. Stock up, things could get bumpy. Tomorrow, I am going to the local shooter supply to stock up on ammunition. Afterwards, I am going to go and put up about 30 gallons of gas; enough to get me the heck out of dodge in case it comes to that. I am also sharpening the axe so I have some firewood for the winter.

Hopefully, I am wrong, but it doesn't hurt to batten down the hatches.

[Reno]

I'm a fiscally-disadvantaged college grad student, but this isn't really affecting me directly. I'm a 10 minute walk to both work and my classes, which is about as good as it gets. I drive less, but I have no need to. Make a semi-monthly trip to the costco and I'm set.

On a side note, did you know you can eat for less than 50c a day without starving to death? There are people who spend 10 times on a cup of coffee what I do in an entire day. jeez.

y'all complaining about gas prices, textbooks are the real scam.

[Moonclip]

It doesn't bother me much, even though I'm sort of broke right now but I have noticed I'm less likely to make treks to far away gun shops now.

As I have lived in Europe I'm am quite happy to pay what we do for gas at the moment. I have a MC license, just need a MC to go with it!

[Battlespace]

Twenty five years ago we were paying $1.15 to $1.35 for a gallon on the average. Now we are paying double that, but my spendable income has more than quadrupled in the same time. Before anyone out there gets their shorts in a wad over this, I have TWO Suburbans one with a 40 gallon and one with a 42 gallon tank. One secret is not letting them get below 3/4 of a tank. It makes me "feel" better to only put $25.00 in them rather than the $100.00 fill up it would be if empty.

[dfaugh]

(disability)...any additional costs have an impact on my gun/shooting budget...I drive an econonical car (29 mpg) and don't drive much, except to store and doctors....Even though I live in the "country" there's every store I could ever imagine needing a few miles up the road. And I only see doctors occasionally, and they're not too far. So, the longest trip I make is to the range. (I also shoot on my own property, but that's really just "plinking")which is only a 30 mile round-trip, mostly highway driving....However, lately I'm confined to shooting .22 , as the cost of shells for my centerfires is a little too much for me, with other costs...And I don't go nearly as often as have in the past.

I'm not sure how I'll make it through the winter, as they say natural gas may go up 50%...

Heck, I have 3 acres of lawn (and a few acres of woods)...I just bought gas for lawn mower (My kids do the mowing)and its costing me $10 just to mow my lawn! Luckily with the low rainfall/high temperatures, I haven't had tomow much this summer.

[Zach S]

I drive a 4wd 1990 F150, my Caprice is an econobox compared to this thing.

I'm spending about 25 to 30 bucks more a week on gas compared to when I got the truck a few months ago. I just deal with it. My "gun fund" hasn't suffered (because of gas anyway). I did recently sell my AR15 to pay off one vehicle. Without that payment I should be able to find the parts to fix my Caprice and actually buy them too. Once its driveable I'm going to work on getting my AR15 replaced, with two AR15s...

Twenty five years ago we were paying $1.15 to $1.35 for a gallon on the average. Huh? When I got my driver's license gas was around a buck a gallon. I'm 24.

[saltydog]

With people paying $3-4 per gallon of bottled water! Hard to see how gas at $2.50-3 per gallon is much to complain about.

I think most people don't buy 20 gallons of water every 2-3 days. If they did, I would bet they would gripe about that also.

[JohnBT]

"The gasoline price record was set in 1981 when the Reagan administration removed price controls on the oil industry. If you are old enough to remember paying $1.42 for regular gasoline then, you might have forgotten how much harder dollars were to earn. That 1981 price is equal to $3.05 in July 2005 dollars." - googled up at random

[foghornl]

Our daily driver (Me & Mrs. Foggy) is the 2003 Toyota Corolla. We are lucky enough to mostly work the same shifts, jobs are about 2 miles apart, so we can do our own "carpool" thing.

The 94 Chevy 1500 pick-up gets driven about 1 day a week...30+ hiway MPG vs. about 20 for the Chevy. [But when ya gotta move something big & heavy. . . ]

[petrel800]

Rising prices suck, but this is definately one area where we only have ourselves to blame. We have allowed the past several administrations get off without a comprehensive energy plan.

We have allowed fringe leftists and former communist party leaders hijack the environmental movement and promote the false idea of global warming to try and criple our economy. We have 50 different states with 50 different laws about the "blend of gasoline" one must use. We have not built a refinery since 1979, and we have given up on nuclear power as an energy source.

In the end, it is the peoples own inactivity, and their focus on non issues in national elections that has caused this. We are in the same boat with immigration as well on this one.

Its not the fault of people who drive SUVs, it is the fault of people who will not demand an energy policy that favors consumers and not former communist leaders from their elected leaders.

If you think its bad now, wait and see what happens if we sign the Kyoto treaty, which I read our government is considering again (albiet still a long shot with the current administration).

[Control Group]

"The gasoline price record was set in 1981 when the Reagan administration removed price controls on the oil industry. If you are old enough to remember paying $1.42 for regular gasoline then, you might have forgotten how much harder dollars were to earn. That 1981 price is equal to $3.05 in July 2005 dollars." - googled up at random
Completely accurate, but it doesn't really matter. A decade of cheap gas had people become accustomed to a certain percentage of their income being spent on gasoline. When the relative cost of gasoline spikes, then, people are justifiably disgruntled. Everyone has expectations of how far their money will go (including savings), and when one slice of that pie grows faster than their income does, those expectations aren't met. Even the most fiscally responsible can be irked when they're no longer able to sock away 20% of their income due to a suddenly-increased price for gas.

[Beren]

I walk to work. During the colder months, I walk to the grocery store. (Too warm right now to walk back with frozen goods, meats, and such, but during the winter? No problem.) I used to be able to walk to the movies, but the theater closed, so now I simply see fewer movies.

My car, a 1995 Honda Accord, only sees the road for a couple of regular trips. Class once a week which is going to hurt since it's 30 miles away, and weekend trips to visit the parents out of town. The weekend trips don't hurt since I wash clothes while I'm there and they feed me. It balances out. Plus, there's a decent range nearby. And college girls. :evil:

Hate to say it, but so far, the rising gas prices haven't hit me very hard yet. My gun collection continues to grow. The next purchase will be a refurbished 11.5" Colt upper for the lower receiver I just registered as a SBR.

[41mag]

I just asked on another forum what the folks in Australia were paying for a gallon(liter equivalent) of gas.It looks like they pay about $3.90/US gal.

[thorn726]

i am up to 3.05 for diesel, and my dump truck is my income.
it is statrting to hurt a little , but not much. fortunatley i cna pass on the cost to customers- BUT i think i am seeing less business due to others having to spend so much more on gas they decidee to let the couch or pile of junk stay in their yard another year.......

[feedthehogs]

Fortunatly my local gas guy provides a tub of vasoline for me when I pay the $91.00 to fill my truck every 10 days. That way I feel no pain.

Thank the wall street investors for high prices and pushing the per barrel price $70 bucks and higher.

[CarbineKid]

:banghead: I drive an 04 Mercury Sable. Its not a gas hog by any means, but Im still paying $35 a week. Now add my wifes car to it and the price doubles to $70 a week, for gas. Thats up over 50% for what I wa paying 2 years ago. I have seen gas prices rise and rise and rise. The Oil Companys use EVERY excuse in the books to ratchet up the price.
This winter will be tough. Home heating oil is also skyrocketing. At about $3(rounded up) a gallon for a 200 gallon tank, you are talking $600 to heat your home. This is the real danger. I don't know how my grandparents are going to make it if this winter is like last. Im waiting for the riots, and I really hope some "pays " for this...hell my family already is :cuss:

[Sindawe]

The Oil Companys use EVERY excuse in the books to ratchet up the price. This winter will be tough. Home heating oil is also skyrocketing. At about $3(rounded up) a gallon for a 200 gallon tank, you are talking $600 to heat your home. This is the real danger. I don't know how my grandparents are going to make it if this winter is like last. Im waiting for the riots, and I really hope some "pays " for this...hell my family already is 3rd & 4th quarter earnings and profit statements from the oil companies are going to be VERY interesting, to say the least. Combine that with the dent Katrina is gonna make in our economy, continual outsourcing, closing hospitals, expoding school populations from the children of illegals,rising prices, and you just may see riots in this country unlike any in a long time. :what:

How long does that 200 gallon tank last? Its been 30 years since I lived in a house heated by fuel oil.

[CarbineKid]

Sindawe
The oil company comes and tops it off every so often, so I can't give an accurate guess. I know I had to fil it 4 times last year(that doesnt include the top offs). So thats going to be $2400 for a year...not including the top offs. Im glad I sold that house, but as I said my grandparents are in big trouble. They only get a small pension check.

[Silent-Snail]

If gas prices keep going up the way they have been I wont be able to go to work anymore. :banghead: :fire: :cuss:

[Omaha-BeenGlockin]

I fill my gas hog 4x4 1 to 1.5 times a week at $45-$50 a pop----not counting 500 mile round trips to see my daughter 1 to 2 times a month---take the motorcycle when I can---looking for an econo-box for the winter.

But still have 4 guns on lay-a-way----I just work more to afford to do the things I gotta do and want to do.

[Sindawe]

CarbineKid: Ouch! That more than 2x my years entire energy bill, both natural gas AND electrical with the AC running May-Oct. Any option for them relocating to a more temperate climate?

-looking for an econo-box for the winter. I suggest early/mid 90s Hondas and derivatives. Fuel mileage is good, initial costs is reasonable and the Ricer-boys have discovered some interesting ways to wring more horse power out of those little four bangers. :D

[english kanigit]

Zahc, I've felt your pain bro. :o

I'm a recovering (former) delivery driver for Jason's Deli. At the heighth of my employment, I was averaging anywhere from 700 - 1000 miles/ week. Catering places (such as the deli) do a lot of business with drug company reps. I did a lot of deliveries over an hour and a half away to some little podunk-ville town's doctor's office. The reps would use our food to help 'persuade' the docs to use their drugs. Some of the reps were great and took care of us and some were complete bastards who would do anything to avoid tipping us. :fire:

To be fair, the deli did start paying us a dollar per delivery if it met their criteria (range, time, size...). Unfortunately, us drivers had to fight tooth and nail and even threatended to leave. Management eventually caved but they never really forgot about that. They also neglected to tell us that if we tracked our mileage, we could submit it to the IRS... erm, I meant the GOT (Gubmint Operated Theivery) and get back about (I think) 13¢/mile. :mad:

Folks, please tip your delivery people. My gas bill was about $120/ week when gas was $2.10/g. I thank The Man Upstairs that I no longer have this job, it would kill me nowadays...

[coonan357]

living in the valley of the soccer mommies , i think we are going to see less minivans at the schools and alot more big yellow torture chambers on the road this year ( poor little childrens.....NOT!!!) the 4 wheelers around here are slowing down alittle no more 90mph on the freeway but they still won't carpool or take the bus I guess train ridership is up alittle I laugh when I here someone complain about the gas prices as they drive a suv to work . I live 60 miles from downtown chicago and more of these idiots keep moving out here . I filled up the truck put on the locking cap and locked the fuel door. I have conglomerated all my running around into one trip and the tailgate is off . having a pickup with a bigblock you you know fillups are going to kill you . my boss is letting us take the rigs home (as long as we have a safehaven to park them ) to help beat the cost of gas and it keeps the lot at work more open to and the trucks won't be unguarded (someone broke into a couple of our rigs and stole electronics) I have locking fuel caps on my truck so noone will be tempted to take my fuel there has been a rash of fuel thefts around here with big trucks you think 30 gallons of gas is expensive try 300 gallons of diesel @2.75a gallon !

[DRZinn]

and the tailgate is offhttp://www.google.com/search?q=truck+fuel+economy+tailgate&sourceid=mozilla-search&start=0&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official

[ctdonath]

How does gas price affect me?

Gas is now at $0.
There isn't any here in Athens GA (near Atlanta).
Need I explain how that affects me?

[S_O_Laban]

It's 84 miles round trip to work and back, I drive a 94 CrownVic that I generally get 21/22 MPG .... you can do the math.... ;) Yeah, the increase in fuel prices have hit this family of five hard...