Monday, November 12, 2007

It's time to get mad

Gas is going up again and we will sit there and take it. And take it and take it. When I bought my car in 1999, it cost $1.27 for premium. It is projected to go to $3.22 for regular in two weeks. That's about $35 more a tank every time I fill up. That's money I could use for food, clothing, rent, power -- anything else. Instead it is going into my tank.

A friend of mine bought a Honda Civic Hybrid. He said he was buying it to stick it to the man. I kind of smiled when he said it, but I am starting to think he was right. The man is sticking it to us -- maybe it's time to give him a dose of his own medicine. I'm going to start by looking for ways to make my car more efficient-- I'm checking the air pressure, putting in a clean air filter, getting a tune-up, watching how I drive (smooth starts and lower speeds on the way to work) and combining trips. And my next car will get better mileage than the one I have now (it gets 24 mpg the way I drive). I'd love a big, roomy monster that gets 12 mpg. Heck, I need the space with my ever-growing brood -- but it's time to wake up and face facts. The comet is about to wipe out the dinosaurs. The era of cheap gas is over.

6 comments:

Stacey said...

All I want for Christmas is a gas gift card... a gas gift card... a gas gift card...

Anonymous said...

When I was in high school gas was 33 cents a gallon. You could ride all day for a $. The gas gift card sounds pretty good!

Susan said...

When I got married we wanted to "register" at the gas stations. Way more useful than dishes, especially when you can't afford to buy food because you just filled up your tank.

BB said...

we've gone to eating pb&j...

Katherine said...

When we lived down there, you could get gas at the Mapco in Pearl for .84 /gallon. I remember being appalled when gas would bump over $1 a gallon (because I drove a LOT and my per mile reimbursement bought food for us lots of months!). I can't even imagine doing that now.

We're lucky that my husband takes public transit to work, and that little man and I can run most of the errands we need to close to where we live. We do drive 35 miles to church, but that's just once a week. :)

I REALLLLLY want a hybrid too, but with a growing family, a Civic just doesn't make sense . . .
:)

Rub said...

For what it's gonna cost me to drive to and from the woods this winter hunting, I could eat a T-bone 3 meals a day. Too bad the "experience" at the grocery store is not as relaxing.