Is there anyone NOT bothered by the price of gas?

[sandisuze]

It just annoys me for many reasons- but I don't panic over it.
I am more thoughtful about driving and watching my budget. No more just hopping in the car to take a drive. OOT driving to Super target and sams is done less often- like 2 times a month instead of 4 or 5... or 6 or 7...

I feel bad for those who have a commute or are really being hit hard by rising EVERYTHING prices.
I guess this whole thing has made me more aware about my habits.

 

[DVC Sadie]

I can honestly say that it does not effect us personally and for that I am grateful.

It does bother me that the average earners are having a real hard time paying the increase for both food and gas and still have enough to pay their fuel bills. (plus rent).

All anyone has to do is go to their local food bank/pantry and see the number of people who have jobs that are in need of extra food to feed heir families. The saddest part is that the food banks/pantries are EMPTY.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

I'm not panicking, not yet anyway, but I am keeping an eye on it. I am being more mindful of my driving habits, combining trips and staying home more. It isn't going to break us financially at this point, but it could certainly make things tight if we aren't careful.

 

[DMickey28]

It bothers me but I don't dwell on it. I figure I was fine with it being at $3.25. I probably don't fill up even twice a month but if I did it would be an extra $36 a month. That isn't going to kill me. Even with DH's car and his commute, it's probably another extra $30 a month.

I have never been a grocery shopper that looks for sales or coupons before. Now that I am a SAHM and I have a lot more time on my hands I shop sales and coupons. Sure the groceries cost more but my bill has gone down because of this.

I figure we live a good life right now. Sure we have challenges sometimes and there are tight times but DH is on the upswing of his career. His income potential is only going up and each year he only makes more money, and will hopefully continue that way. Even if we don't get to live any more extravagant we can still live the way we do.

That is what I try to tell myself ... it's what I believe. However days that I spend too much time on the DIS I get worried and depressed and have to walk away.

 

[Enchanted_Mama]

no, it doesn't really bother me, either. It doesn't really impact us, as my DH works out of the house and I work very close to home, so we just don't do a lot of driving to begin with. I do feel for those who are really being impacted due to long commutes and stuff, but don't really feel too bad for anyone who has chosen to drive a gas hog and is now complaining about the $$ of gas.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

I don't dwell on it from a driving standpoint since we don't drive that much, but I do worry about my parents' heating costs for this coming winter. They live in a cold weather state and own 2 houses there to boot I just spoke with my father this afternoon about the possibility of draining the pipes and closing up the lake house for the winter (not heating it). He thinks that it will cost easily 4K to heat that house alone and it's not very big They can afford it, but they shouldn't be spending that on what is soon to be a fixed retirement income, KWIM?

 

[WaltD4Me]

I am more worried about how the rising cost of gas will effect everything else we have to buy...Although gas is much more expensive in Europe, their communities tend to be organized so that they drive much less.

I agree, I don't drive all that much, but I do worry about how it effects so many other things. The price of food, airfare, really the cost of most everything transported by truck...people cutting out extras, which effects workers at restaurants, hair salons/spas, ect....

I work for an answering service and I can tell alot less people are calling our home improvement companies, re-modelers, landscapers, house painting companies that we answer for. One house big painting company was booming last year, I bet they are only getting 1/2 the amount of calls this year. I attribute that to people putting off painting their house because of gas prices.

 

[tonilea]

We just adjust our budget and go on, but DH and I were talking about this very thing. A year and a half ago, this would have been a disaster for us. We were living pay check to pay check and drowning in debt.

 

[housemouse]

It does bother me that the average earners are having a real hard time paying the increase for both food and gas and still have enough to pay their fuel bills. (plus rent).

I don't like the cost increase, but I can absorb it right now. I drive 70 miles round trip to work. I do work in a hospital though so if it becomes really cost prohibitive to drive, I'll just try to lump all my work days in a row and hunker down there while I'm working.

But Sadies statement is what bothers me the most about it. If it continues rising at the current pace a lot of people simply won't be able to afford to work anymore. If it was taking everything I made to pay for daycare and gas to work, I'd drop out too. Then what happens to the economy?

 

[luv2laugh]

But Sadies statement is what bothers me the most about it. If it continues rising at the current pace a lot of people simply won't be able to afford to work anymore. If it was taking everything I made to pay for daycare and gas to work, I'd drop out too. Then what happens to the economy?

I'm hoping that these fears will lead to new cities closer together modeled after the many of the cities in Europe. I think our country needs a major public transportation overhaul.

 

[DisFlan]

I don't sit around gnawing my nails about it, but it IS a problem that's already starting to ripple through the whole economy. Travel, food, freight, manufacturing, tax bases, education, farming, heating/cooling our homes and offices, fewer charity donations...everything is affected by it. And jobs are next. When businesses have to pay huge fuel bills and/or more for inventory, they raise prices or they hire fewer people - or cut pay or lay people off. And then those folks have less to spend at other businesses...and on it goes. It's not just the cost at the pump to fill our SUVs, it goes much deeper than that.

So yes, I'd say it's worth at least a little bit of worry. It affects us all.

DisFlan

 

[PatriciaH]

We picked Celebration to move to because we knew this gas crisis was coming. I am from NY city and grew up taking the subway and cabs. I hate to drive and did not get my license until I was 25 and moved to MA We have one car and DH drives about 10 minutes to work. I work from home. We can walk and bike all around town. Publix is 5 minutes across 192. Target and Sam's Club are 10 minutes or less up 192. So are a million restaurants We have several Wall-Marts close by. WDW is 5 minutes away. Universal and Sea World are less than 15 minutes away.

We have a farmers market come to town every Sunday. Right in town we have a gas station, Starbucks, library (small but we can order online), bookstore, many restaurants, golf/golf club, several pools, miles of trails, a hospital with a 50,000 sf gym, fire station, several schools, ballfields, basketball courts, tennis courts, vollyball courts, churches, community centers, specialty pet food store, dry cleaners, spas/hairdressers, tanning, doctors, pubs/bars, tea house, barber, clothing stores, jewelry stores, 2 ice cream parlors (Coldstone/Kilwins), Planet Smoothie, Celebration Hotel (nice bar/food), florist, AMC theater, Ace Hardware, etc.. I can walk or bike to all of this.

The places to eat are:
Joes Crab Shack
Mulligans (pub with entertainment)
Siena Flats
Chick fil a
Quiznos
Le China
Shirlocks (tea/wine/live music)
Town Tavern
Market Street Cafe
D'Antinois
Seito
Columbia
Front Street Pizza
Windmill Cafe
Plantation Room
Seasons Cafe (hospital)

A French bakery/coffee house is opening soon (in PJ's coffee place), so is a dance studio and a kids play place. A new restaurant is opening in the Mona Lisa condotel. There are plans for soccer fields, a few new churches, dog park. We lost our Movie Gallery, deli and a boutique not too long ago

I feel bad for people that are far from everything. It is hard. We have a Lynx bus that stops in town and then goes to the Transportation and Ticket Center at WDW. There is also a car service/shuttle here- so that is good for older folks although a bit pricey.

Celebration is not for everyone but there are a lot of things here you can get to on foot/bike/NEV (electric vehicle!)

Several banks (Sun Trust, Nations, Bank of America)
Chiropractor
OBGYN/fertility specialists (most types of doctors- since the hospital just opened a new building and another will be opening soon)
State Farm
Celebration Self Storage
Celebration Vet
Several dentists
Lock and Safe (key/locksmith)
Tax Planning/H and R Block
Personal Training (several)
Carpet One
Monogram Studio
Eye Care
Counseling
Naturally Yours (herbal remedies, vitamins, etc.)
Arcade/game/party/NEV and bike rental store
Celebration Players (community theater)

 

[Tinkerbelle32]

Untill we stop depending on other counties for most our oil consumption things will not be better. I know I will get flamed for this, but we need to start drilling in our own country. I just found out that we have not opened a new oil refinery since early 1970! Obviously, our consumption has changed in the last 30 plus years. I love the environment and the animals, etc. but we need to start drilling!

 

[jenm2878]

I cringe some when I fill up my car, but it hasn't become a problem yet. However, I get irritated with all the fuel surcharges on everything and how the price of food is getting rediculous due to gas prices. We pay for our garbage service every three months and the fuel surcharge has gone up every three months for the last two years. It's maddening.

 

[luvsJack]

Untill we stop depending on other counties for most our oil consumption things will not be better. I know I will get flamed for this, but we need to start drilling in our own country. I just found out that we have not opened a new oil refinery since early 1970! Obviously, our consumption has changed in the last 30 plus years. I love the environment and the animals, etc. but we need to start drilling!

No flames here--you are totally correct! Not only do we need to drill in our own country but we need to USE the oil we drill. The wells that are drilled in the Gulf of Mexico by our drilling companies are mostly capped. Meaning that the oil is just sitting there not being used.

As far as me personally worrying about the price of gas-I don't worry that much about it for my own use. I live less than 10 minutes from my work. What everyone needs to be more concerned about is the cost of fuel for trucks. The big trucks are going to stop rolling when the drivers and/or trucking companies stop making money, smaller companies are already going under. Everything you wear, eat, and use (unless you made it or grew it yourself) has been on a truck. If the trucks stop rolling, the country stops moving forward.

 

[Tissa]

I'm glad it doesn't bother or affect a lot of people, it's great that you do not have a commute or that an extra $20 a tank is no sweat out of your budget but,some of us though are really feeling the pinch. Thankfully I drive a Civic but I still drive over 100 miles a week for work and other things. I'm a single mom with two kids and the extra $ each week is cutting more and more into the budget. My income isn't going up but my grocery and gas bill sure is.

 

[rdrjj5]

Gas for the car I can somewhat control by driving less and doing more errands at once. The price does bother me but not as much as my home heating oil prices. When we filled up the beging of April, the price was $3.37 per gallon. Today it is over $1 more at $4.40. Being from New England I cut back on usage this winter, turning down thermostat, washing dishes by hand, full loads of laundry so next winter I can't do anymore. This is where the price of oil is really going to get alot of people.

 

[luv2laugh]

Untill we stop depending on other counties for most our oil consumption things will not be better. I know I will get flamed for this, but we need to start drilling in our own country. I just found out that we have not opened a new oil refinery since early 1970! Obviously, our consumption has changed in the last 30 plus years. I love the environment and the animals, etc. but we need to start drilling!

Not flaming!! I definitely agree that we need to stop depending on foreign oil, but drilling here would ruin a lot of the environment. Plus, what happens in another 20 years when our supplies run low? Personally, I think that we need to work harder on finding alternative energy sources not just for our cars, but to heat our homes as well. Hopefully the high gas prices will start to help move the process towards a whole different way of life faster. If the whole country is suffering with the high costs, then the whole country is more likely to help find the solution.

 

[CarolA]

I am lucky in that I have taken the subway to work since I moved to Atlanta several years ago to avoid the traffic. As a result, I don't use a lot of gas.

I also have seen gas prices in other parts of the world and always kind of assumed this was coming so I never bought the SUV LOL!

I do think about those who might not be as lucky and I have definitly noticed an impact on other things like groceries!

I don't understand the "get more oil, do more drilling" trend on here. There are problems with that. One there's no refining capacity to turn that into something you can use and two what about your kids and thier kids?

 

[luvmy3]

I am lucky in that I have taken the subway to work since I moved to Atlanta several years ago to avoid the traffic. As a result, I don't use a lot of gas.

I also have seen gas prices in other parts of the world and always kind of assumed this was coming so I never bought the SUV LOL!

I do think about those who might not be as lucky and I have definitly noticed an impact on other things like groceries!

I don't understand the "get more oil, do more drilling" trend on here. There are problems with that. One there's no refining capacity to turn that into something you can use and two what about your kids and thier kids?

What about our kids and theirs? Do you think things are going to be better for them if we don't do anything?