Yes, I am fiddling with the blog design in all of my free time. Needless to say, it is still a work in progress.
I digress.
I feel like I’ve been talking about money a lot lately. I can’t help it, it’s on my mind all the time. I will make an effort to not talk about it so much for a while.
I paid $4.18 for gas this week. This morning, my cheap-o station was at $4.27 for regular. It cost me almost $43.00 to fill my tiny little hybrid earlier this week. Thankfully, I’ll probably get around 450 miles out of that, but still….
We almost had an orgasm when we pulled into B.Js last weekend and were able to fill up the SUV for a mere $3.86 per gallon! Wahoo!!
How the hell are these people with H.ummers and S.uburbans affording gas?
And, by the way, don’t THOSE people realize that when they drive their respective monstrosities 90 mph up a hill on the highway, they are only getting around 3 miles per gallon? I mean, if they drove around 70, they would probably be getting close to 10 mpg. But seriously, who drives 70 anymore?
I also have been paying close attention to the price of everything else.
Isn’t it interesting that all the media seems to be focused on the price of gas. Why hasn’t anyone talked about how the price of gas affects EVERYTHING ELSE???
A regular grocery store trip is going up significantly. Everything is going up, not just fruits and veggies. Check out this article.
Hell, just in the last 6 weeks, a large coffee at D.unkin D.onuts has gone from $1.99 to $2.11 to $2.32. Mommy H. is no longer buying coffee at DD but is actually taking coffee to go from home – daily expense approximately $0.12.
When dollar stores are raising their prices to $1.25, what is the world coming to? How much further will it go?
What about rising home heating/utility costs? Energy costs are going up at a much higher rate than anything else.
Health care? Hell, my monthly health insurance cost is going up starting June 1 from $438/month to $643/month.
I also am noticing a rise in crime. We’ve been having a rash of bank robberies in our area. Am I just being overly neurotic?
But don’t worry people. There is no threat to the economy (as far as W is concerned). This is all just speculation. Everything is hunky dorey.
Speaking about the SUV, we are going to get rid of it. Not because it’s too big, but because of the cost.
If all works out according to plan, my mother will take our car and give us her J.eep G.rand C.herokee. It’s a 2000, has 160,000, a V8 engine and is actually paid off. The gas mileage is not really a big issue since L. drives probably 5 miles a day on average. If we need to put any money into it, it’s not a big deal since we won’t have to make any finance payments on it.
My mother wanted a new/used car, something nicer and more reliable, but she doesn’t want to take out a loan right now for credit purposes and she doesn’t really want to be driving something too new and pricey since her salary is paid by tax dollars. I just want to be 100% sure that she really wants to do this because she wants the car, not because she’s bailing us out. It’s probably perfect for her. It gets slightly better gas mileage than her J.eep, is newer and has only 40somethingk miles on it and a 100k mile warranty.
Giving up the L.exus R.X is a sore spot in my pride, but it was just too much money. Maybe someday, when I’m a partner at a firm, I could justify driving a luxury car. Plus, Lois is really excited about the swap idea. She likes the thought of driving a car that’s “not so nice.” The L.exus was never her thing. She’s so low maintenance, she would be in bliss if I bought her one of these:
As part of my new outlook on life, I want to make sure every post has a “happy” in it. Not necessarily an affirmation, but something. Something that keeps the ‘woe is me’ at bay and puts things in perspective. Maybe something inspiring or just something I need. I’m not sure what form it will be in but here’s one:
When life gets you down – just put on your big girl panties and deal with it.
Last, but not least…
REMINDER: Monday is the 3rd Annual Blogging for LGBT Families Day!
Check out Mombian for the details!
Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Pray for a buyer for our condo!
meg said,
May 30, 2008 at 6:02 pm
You are so right… it isn’t JUST gas it is affecting everything. There really isn’t anyone I talk to anymore that doesn’t feel affected by all of this. It is scary and I hope we see a change soon. Of course I keep hearing from people it is only going to get worse. I sure hope not.
merr said,
May 30, 2008 at 7:17 pm
The price of everything is going up and it sucks. We have to keep budgeting more and more money for food every month, let alone gas. I am glad that we don’t have to put much gas in my car since I don’t have to drive to work, so that saves us money.
KJ and the kids said,
May 30, 2008 at 11:25 pm
53.00 to fill up my van. and this isn’t even my full sized van. SON OF A…..
I guess we’ll be faced one day with the decision…to drive….to eat ?
Good luck on the condo.
Lisa said,
May 31, 2008 at 1:50 am
You aren’t kidding! Man, I can’t believe how much everything is. The formula can I purchased this week had three different price stickers on it. One was for $23.97, another for $24.39 and the third for $25.13. You can probably guess what I was charged. It wasn’t the cheapest one. Like many people, we are cutting back in several areas of our spending and stretching every dollar. Can’t you just hear the Dominos clinking as they fall around us? Imagine how bad it would be had the government not sent out all of those stimulus checks. I mean, those did help, right??? Whatever, W & Congress.
Mal said,
May 31, 2008 at 12:34 pm
We’re feeling it here too. We have now been trained to expect high gas at the pump (about $62.00 to fill our Volvo s60). Dunk.n D.nuts hasn’t gone up appreciable here (yeah – I’d notice
but we’re getting killed with food. I’ve become a coupon clipper. I feel like my mom back in the 70s!
rhelly said,
May 31, 2008 at 3:24 pm
we are definitely feeling it where i live. it’s crazy bad here. i also hear a lot of californians and new yorkers who are like “we’ve been paying $$$$$ for gas for awhile”. well, yeah, but you also make a lot more than we here to compensate. blah!.
but, i am thankful to have a job in this economy, to have a good one, and i thank god daily that i have a blessed and healthy family, and a house that is not being foreclosed on. i am lucky, even if i pay for high gas.
holly said,
May 31, 2008 at 4:05 pm
Ra – I second that. I keep thinking that I’m lucky to have a house and be able to pay my bills right now. Things may be tight, but it’s just the “bonus” things we are missing out on. We have a roof over our heads, food, clothes, our health and each other. I think we are very lucky.
amy said,
June 1, 2008 at 12:47 am
i just filled up my honda odyssey, $70.50 for REGULAR. Seriously, that’s ridiculous!
Wishing you guys lots of success with the condo this weekend…
welcome2ourworld said,
June 1, 2008 at 4:18 pm
Think about it: In Germany you pay like 9,33 $ (!!!!) per gallon gas !! If we would have to pay 4,18 $ per gallon that would be AWESOME !!
SassyFemme said,
June 2, 2008 at 10:28 am
Like most, we’ve cut back in so many ways. I think the thing that I hate cutting back on the most are our weekend day drives, but we just can’t do it when it ends up being $70 for a tank of gas. We hardly ever go out to eat now. We try to only shop sales and really evaluate whether or not we need something. I don’t see this changing anytime soon, if ever. Just have to get used to it now, I guess.