Gas Prices - My 2 Cents - Stop Whining!!

[PureEnjoyment]

Originally Posted by kevenj

Am I living beyond my means? Lets see....

I make $31,000 a year (probably a small fracton of your income and most other on this forum) and yet:
-I own my own home valued at about $160,000 (2 years ago it would have brought $200K plus) and my mortgage balance is $46,000
-my cars are my cars, not the bank's. I'm 44 years old and never had anything close to a 'new' car until the 300C.
-I have absolutely no debt (except my mortgage).
-I have well in excess of your "6 months" living expenses in cash in the bank, plus 2 brokerage accounts (one is an IRA).

I'll admit I've had some very good luck in the past and have made some money in the stock market (due to my dad's financial wisdom that I at least had sense enough to listen to) but I think it's fair to say that I do manage my money extremely well; I am not living beyond my means and yes, gas prices are really starting to hurt me. So far it's just annoying that I worked hard and was able to buy a really nice car and truck that I can no longer afford to drive regularly. But the ripple effect of higher prices for fuel is just beginning to be noticed. The price of fuel effects farmer's costs, and then there's the obvious cost to truckers, who deliver virtually everything we consume. EVERYTHING is going to skyrocket, and it's going to affect all of us, not just the stupid people who do truly live beyond their means.

I guess in a not-so-funny way your are right though; but it's not that my living standard has increased; rather it is my "means" that have decreased, due to our ever more worthless dollar (which is the real root of the problem and the reason, along with the debacle in Iraq, for the price of oil today).

That is impressive that you own all your cars.......perhaps though the cars you own should have been less expensive to begin with. I mean if I were to have a family situation change or something of that matter I wouldnt have any problem selling my current vehicle and buying two cheaper vehicles if it meant adequately providing for myself and my family. Hell if I have to own two base model anythings its better than struggling to keep my head above water with two luxury cars.

[jasonb20]

Cars can be expensive without even realizing it.
1) Monthly payment (If you have a bank loan)
2) Insurance (More than likely 'full coverage')
3) Gas

For me that's totaling around $750/Month!!! That's not including my wifes' car. Damn, what was I thinking?

[PureEnjoyment]

Originally Posted by jasonb20

Cars can be expensive without even realizing it.
1) Monthly payment (If you have a bank loan)
2) Insurance (More than likely 'full coverage')
3) Gas

For me that's totaling around $750/Month!!! That's not including my wifes' car. Damn, what was I thinking?

Thanks for your honest comment Jason, I hope this helps people kind of see more into my point of view.

[IronMedic]

food prices are going up...damn i guess i should stop eating

[kevenj]

Originally Posted by IronMedic

food prices are going up...damn i guess i should stop eating

Everything is going up; due to fuel prices of course and also due to general inflation of our money supply (i.e. lowering the value of our money).

Everything we buy is trucked in from somewhere so the fuel prices are going to show up in those products. Also get ready for tax increases since all your city services (garbage pickup, police, fire protection) use lots of fuel.

[Moose]

Originally Posted by kevenj

Everything is going up; due to fuel prices of course and also due to general inflation of our money supply (i.e. lowering the value of our money).

Everything we buy is trucked in from somewhere so the fuel prices are going to show up in those products. Also get ready for tax increases since all your city services (garbage pickup, police, fire protection) use lots of fuel.

There you go, hitting the nail right square on the head again.

[300C_Chris]

As long as i've been alive people have b*tched about the price of gas, it's because after you use it you have nothing to show for it, So when the price goes up everyones upset, But in 5 yrs you'll be nostalgic for what gas cost you back in 08, It's called perspective. Everything will cost more tomorrow.

[OoTLink]

So here's a curve ball - I've been hearing some news talk show guys ranting and raving about this newfound food crisis.....

Our local stores - and our town has a lot of asians that love rice, well, they'd LOVE it if you went to buy rice from them - Food4Less had so much they didn't know what to do with it.

I think all these stupid red blooded talk show hosts have their heads jammed so far up their butts the only retail stores they know of are Costco and Wal-mart. Ugh.

Am I the only one that thinks the major players in the news media companies are heavy investors that like to influence the market by screaming bloody murder every now and then to attempt and kill a market, throw all their money into it, and then profit off it later?

[oldmac1]

Normally I would agree that in 5 years we would look back and these will be the good old days. In 1973 I remember buying a big Oldsmobile and worrying about the 38 cents a gallon I would need to pay gas at that time. So I expect prices to rise but I do not appreciate the oil companies making 40 billion dollars a year profit at the expense of families needing their cars. I am feeling upset that the oil companies are taking advantage of us and forcing all the prices to rise as their profits increase every year. Where is our government at in this?

[Inferno07]

Badger,

How much does it cost to send your children to "University" ? How much does your health coverage cost? How large is the country you live in? How far is your average commute? And how much of that gas price, is TAX?

Yep that's what I thought...

Remember that in America we will soon be paying $4.00 a gallon on top of 30 to 60 thousand a year tuition for the kids, with an averge commute of 30-45 minutes each way and paying our own health care to the tune of 400+ per human per month.

I pay $0.45 cents per gallon in taxes, not $4.00 per gallon in taxes.

Originally Posted by badger

All I can say is this - I wish my petrol was as cheap as yours is in America, some people just don't know when they are well off. Current UK price is £1.12 a litre and rising rapidly!!!! (That's about $US2.20 a litre, or to put it another way, not far off $9.00 per US gallon!!!!) That's why my Hemi is converted to run on LPG at $1.16 per litre.
Now, before anyone shoots me down, I have NO debts whatsoever (paid off the mortgage), all the vehicles we own are bought and paid for, and yes I do have money in the bank to survive if we have to. Even with an income of roughly $50k per annum, the rapidly rising fuel costs are hitting hard in this country, so why not compare the cost of fuel as a percentage of average earnings then do the same for us poor souls in the UK?