Gas prices and you

[Kyle Love]

Ok, so some areas of the US has seen EXTREME gas prices come in to affect. I heard Indianapolis is now charging $4+ for a gallon of 87 grade. Do you think this will affect the way you drive? How much is gas in the areas where you live?

(For Firefox users, get the Gasbuddy extension, it helped me predict this spike in prices.)

[sanddrag]

I don't think it is going to affect the way I drive (pedal to the metal baby!) but it will kind of inhale audibly since in about a month I will be drving 75 miles a day 5 days a week and getting only ~15mpg.

[Madison]

I don't drive.

[Billfred]

Columbia has some of the cheaper gas in the country--around $2.50 last I checked.

It still inhales audibly, since I'm relying on savings to get through the year. I have started parking about as far away from my room on campus as you can get, since it's a pretty straight shot from (and to) the interstate.

It had better not reach $3 a gallon here, though--if so, I'll probably have to cut back on FIRST driving more than I'd like. And that would inhale very audibly.

[Bcahn836]

I just paid $2.48 for gas a few mins ago, and with prices still going up I have backed off the pedal just a little. . .

[Nick Bailey]

This is the part where I get to laugh at everybody for making fun of my car (1992 Geo Metro) as they put in lots of money into their gas tanks. With about 45 miles to the gallon and a small gas tank (10 gallon), I only have to put in about $5-10 in gas a week. So all you people making fun of the Metro just a short time ago, HA!

Not my car, but the exact same thing

[Lisa Perez]

With Hurricane Katrina shutting down 10% of the nation's domestic supply of oil, I've heard prices may go up anywhere between 20 and 50 cents (for Michigan, at least). We're definitely cutting down on the driving over here.

[sciguy125]

I'm getting a little tired of people complaining about gas prices. They aren't that high. There's a small spike right now, but it's not that bad. (There's also a storm interupting gas production at the moment...) People are failing to take inflation into account. Didn't anyone ever wonder why you could buy a new car for less than $500 in the early part of the 1900's? Inflation my friends. People right now are so happy that their retirement funds may make it over $1 million by the time they need it. But you know what? That's nothing. A few decades from now, a $250k house will be over $1m.

Back to my point about gas:
http://inflationdata.com/Inflation/I..._Inflation.asp
The price of gasoline in the US has been about the same since 1986 when taking inflation into account. The only reason people complain about gas as opposed to the rising bread prices is because gas fluctuates more. Gas stays at a reasonable average, but it has temporary highs and lows. Didn't you notice that people start complaining every few months, then a little while after, the prices start to fall again and people stop complaining? Most other things are still affected by inflation and increase in price, but they are more of a stable increase.

But to answer your question more directly, I think I'll ease up on the pedal a little while the prices are up. In the San Jose area, it looks like gas is around $2.75 at the moment.

[Lisa Perez]

Originally Posted by sciguy125

Back to my point about gas:
http://inflationdata.com/Inflation/I..._Inflation.asp
The price of gasoline in the US has been about the same since 1986 when taking inflation into account. The only reason people complain about gas as opposed to the rising bread prices is because gas fluctuates more. Gas stays at a reasonable average, but it has temporary highs and lows. Didn't you notice that people start complaining every few months, then a little while after, the prices start to fall again and people stop complaining? Most other things are still affected by inflation and increase in price, but they are more of a stable increase.

On a somewhat related note, I was reading a report the other day in which the growth of gas prices and household incomes were compared. The thing that surprised me a bit was the fact that both prices and incomes were growing at a very similar rate.

[sanddrag]

Originally Posted by sciguy125

I'm getting a little tired of people complaining about gas prices. They aren't that high. There's a small spike right now, but it's not that bad. (There's also a storm interupting gas production at the moment...) People are failing to take inflation into account. Didn't anyone ever wonder why you could buy a new car for less than $500 in the early part of the 1900's? Inflation my friends. People right now are so happy that their retirement funds may make it over $1 million by the time they need it. But you know what? That's nothing. A few decades from now, a $250k house will be over $1m.

Back to my point about gas:
http://inflationdata.com/Inflation/I..._Inflation.asp
The price of gasoline in the US has been about the same since 1986 when taking inflation into account. The only reason people complain about gas as opposed to the rising bread prices is because gas fluctuates more. Gas stays at a reasonable average, but it has temporary highs and lows. Didn't you notice that people start complaining every few months, then a little while after, the prices start to fall again and people stop complaining? Most other things are still affected by inflation and increase in price, but they are more of a stable increase.

But to answer your question more directly, I think I'll ease up on the pedal a little while the prices are up. In the San Jose area, it looks like gas is around $2.75 at the moment.

I disagree. It was only like two summers ago when gas was below $1 per gallon and that was in California. Okay, that may have been just a short dip but it was constantly around maybe $1.50.

For whatever reason, as soon as we started the war in Iraq, the gas prices went over $2 and never came back down and they never will.

I don't disagree that the fact that inflation is occurring but I think gas prices are increasing at a much accelerated rate, and most of it I believe to be artificial.

Gas prices are raising far more quickly than salaries, and with how many products depend on gasoline and diesel transportation to dispurse them, their costs are going up too.

However when you do think about it. Gas isn't all that expensive. It just seems like it because we use so much of it.

So look at it this way, where else can you get THAT MUCH combustible energy for less than $3? Actually, the only thing I can think of that you can get for less than $3 per gallon is water and maybe milk (not a grocery shopper so I don't know exactly) and neither of those even have any combustible energy (unless you use some more energy to separate the hydrogen out of the water).

[Jay H 237]

I drive almost 30 miles one way to work so there's not much I can do. No public transportation where I am and with my hours constantly changing carpooling is out of the question. The only thing I've been doing though is using my 4cyl Camry more. I used to rotate at times with my retired eveyday driver, a Caprice Classic wagon.

The Mustang is only a show vehicle and with the amount it's driven (once a week if that) the gas prices aren't really an issue with it.

[Katie Reynolds]

Last week, gas was $2.85 around Brookfield, WI.

Right now, it's $2.65 around Houghton. Should be going up again soon, though.

Rising gas prices affect me, because I live 6 hours away from home. Without a job, I don't know that I'll even be able to make it home for Thanksgiving, if prices keep going up.

[Jeff K.]

Just today, I was getting gas for my mom's car and the price was $3.05 at a 76, and across the street, at a Mobil, $2.95. Sanddrag is right about the price of oil rising after our involvement in Iraq started.

I'm just wondering though, who technically owns the oil that is exported from Iraq? Iraq, the United Nations, or the US?

[Jay H 237]

I just found an article on Yahoo news that prices have dipped slightly but may go back up due to Katrina. It also brings up the point of inflation like sciguy 125 mentioned. Here's the article.

One thing I've noticed is that at several stations near me diesel costs more than gas but gas is refined more...........go figure.

[tiffany34990]

around here i've seen 2.61... up to 2.69... hmm i don't drive so yeah... doesn't affect me much...

walk everywhere on campus or take the bus...yeah... fun stuff...