High Gas Prices Affecting Families, Budgets
High Gas Price Affect Everyone
As gas prices climb to record highs ($3.51/gallon national average) every family is affected financially. Even those who don’t commute to their jobs find themselves paying higher and higher prices for groceries trucked across the country and for airline tickets.
According to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey, Gasoline prices top concerns over jobs, health troubles. Families are more concerned about the rising cost of gas than about paying their mortgage or health care bills.
Lest you think high gas prices are causing problems only for the low middle class, think again. More than 25% of those in households earning $75,000 or more said paying for gasoline at these prices is a “serious problem.”
Truckers are among those heavily hit by the sharp increase in fuel prices from just a few years ago. In fact, truck drivers are protesting the high cost of diesel, which many must absorb, cutting deeply into their income.
How can we save on gas?
There are two ways to lessen your gas consumption, driving less and improving your gas mileage. Do both to maximize your savings.
In Charleston, West Virginia, lawmakers are considering switching government employees to a four-day workweek. Doing so will save commuters 20% of their weekly gas consumption (as long as they don’t drive somewhere else). And by the way, there are other reasons to try the four-day work week, unrelated to gas prices.
We live 15 miles from town. Because of high gas prices, my preschoolers will attend Montessori just one day a week this fall instead of three. I simply can’t afford all of those extra trips back and forth each week.
I combine all of my errands and obligations into one weekly trip on Wednesdays. While the kids attend Atrium, I go to the bank, stores, library and post office and sometimes visit a friend. The only other day I leave the house most weeks is Sunday, for church.
Punny Money argues that a shortage of gas-sign 4’s will curtail high gas prices, but it’s just a joke, sadly. It seems there’s little to stand in the way of rising gas prices and the plunging value of the American dollar.
How are you coping with gas prices? How do you save gas? Could your lifestyle survive gas at $10 a gallon?
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For some of us, it’s not as easy to make one trip per week or cut down with our work schedules. I do try to run all my errands on one day, not counting groceries, but there are times that is not feasible. Grocery shopping is a whole ‘nother thing. I do that on my way home from work. My husband has it worse since he drives farther and drives every other day. Even driving highway almost the entire way to work, he still fills up once a week to every 1 1/2 weeks. Pretty soon he won’t be able to afford even that since they keep cutting his hours at work.
Diane, I know what you mean. I think high gas prices will have everyone examining their schedules and trips more carefully to find any way they can to save on gas. Long suburb-to-suburb commutes won’t be feasible for many if gas prices continue to rise.