Off Topic - Gas Prices

Games at our expense!
When you take a person,who only makes and average of $9.00 an hour here in Georgia and you assume his bring home would probably be between $280.00 to $300.00 a week, you take away between $50.00 to $75.00 for gas a week , if he only drives about 20 mile each day to work, that doesnt leave much to live on.

I hear that Eufaula!

I drove by the gas station (luckily) cause it was $4.09 today! For regular unleaded.. no way! this is getting too crazy.

Gas went down a penny today. Guess that means it's going up 15 cents tomorrow.

Mass transit buses and trains are a lot fuller than usual. With the warmer weather, there are a lot more bicycles out, and the attire of some riders indicate they are commuting. This is good, except there have been a lot of vehicle-bike accidents, many with serious injuries to bicyclists. The two main causes are bicyclists riding against traffic and motor vehicle drivers not looking for/seeing the bikes.

Metal thefts are again in the news (they never stop in the poor areas, but when they start hitting well-to-do areas, suddenly it's news).

This economy is turning hard working people into thieves. Desperate times cause people to take desperate measures. Even the Scripture tells us that those who steal for food should not be prosecuted. This despicable U. S. Government has stolen our Nation blind and has allowed the Fat Cats to manipulate things and systems to their own ends...SHAME on them. And I don't care if I get kicked off of the forum either...Hay

The station across from the Sea-Tac Airport is now up to 4.78 a gal. I just got through checking on it. The gas at our outlet is 3.91...Today that is...Hay

I was just thinking when I saw this thread... I don't even want to think about it anymore. It's so depressing. I know you are right Haystack.

Gas is $4.09 here.. I'm sick of it.

I agree with you too Haystack. It's amazing how much it costs just to live. I was thinking how much more things cost now than when I was young. My first car in 1974 cost $3400, now that same car would be more than twenty thousand. My mother rented a fairly nice house for years in the 60s and our rent was $70 a month. That house today would cost $800 a month in this area. Her utility bills were very low too. "Experts", whoever they are, say that we are about to suffer hyper inflation. If I get kicked off for saying this Hay, well, oh well... I would miss you guys.

I don't understand that if people are having such a hard time, why the cost of things is not going down. I'm mostly referring to used cars. Bluebook dictates on what cars and trucks cost, but really items are only worth what a buyer is willing to pay for them. It seems logical to me the price of things will have to decrease. ???

My stepfather used to talk about the prices in the depression. The prices went way down. His example was, for 5 cents you could buy a "huge" hamburger, fries and a large drink. The problem was none of them had 5 cents.

I used to ask my mother, if nobody had any money, where did the money go? She had no answer for me. I still wonder where the money went. Which leads to the topic of the bankers.

Not sure where we are going, but I hope and pray it doesn't get too bad, for the sake of us all, especially the children.

In answer to your question of where did the money go... the government gave a lot of it to the banks, who aren't lending (much). Eighty years ago, the Great Depression was caused, in part, by banks lending out money that could not be repaid and not having enough reserves on hand to cover demand deposits.

The cost of used cars is high right now because there is high demand for them because people cannot afford new cars, cannot get a car loan, or would rather spend the money on something other than a new car payment.

The cost of everything is going up because most things are transported by trucks, which run on diesel, which is exorbitantly priced. Here, except for one place, diesel is 30 cents per gallon higher than gas.

Regarding used car prices, the cash for clunkers took a lot of them out of circulation. That also helps keep the available used vehicle prices higher.

I would care too!!

Yeah, it's depressing. But, I love having this forum to come to see my chicken family. Half of the fun of having them is being able to come here and talk about it, and knowing you all will understand. Today I did a lot of yard work, the chickens were there every step of the way, inspecting everything I did. I ate my lunch outside because it was so beautiful. I couldn't finish it with 14 chickens all begging for some. I ate half and gave the other half to them. The dogs and chickens split my apple.

I love SOFTIES:

I apologize to all of you for sounding off, but I can't help getting angry about the Citizens of this Great Nation getting hosed by the corrupt government from the President on down...OK I said it and now I'm just going to sit down and Sulk just like Jonah did...Hay

In the end, Jonah got over his sulkiness (is this even a word?!!!) and said what needed to be said.

I went and priced a side car for one of those 100 mpg scooters so I could transport the dog. Ai, yai, yai, yai, yai!

Would you believe that the 12" tires for my little Geo Metro cost just as much as the ones for my Ford truck!!! I have to order them special! One of the reasons I put her on blocks until I can get her fixed up to sell!

Did you try buying the tires online Eufaula? My little car tires were super expensive till a very sweet guy friend enlightened me to the fact they were marked up horridly on price & i could save by ordering them online.

our gas jumped to $3.66!!!!!!!! 10 cents in 18 hours! shesh!

The "Economic Recovery" will only be pipe dream, if the Gas situation can't be brought in to control, -- I read,-- that for every 10 cents the gas goes up, -- people are now spending 5% less on other comodities, -- and --since our country is dependant on consumerism [probly not a word] people will continue to buy less, and more companys and jobs will be lost, -- the back to the land movement never looked so good, --

$3.75 today...Mkes the $3.69 of last weekend look good!
Michaelp, I hear ya! Little things like daily 99 cent chicken burgers or Redbox movies or that quick cup of Coffee from mickeyD's are soon if not already a thing of the past! Every penny I used to enjoy for little Splurges now have to go for gas just to get to work to pay for the gas!
Makes a person really think hard about early retirement and having yardsales for extra income!! (sigh)

Off topic but hay is up to $15 bucks a bale.... The brokers are getting it and selling it overseas which bites and so it drives up the price here..

Yeah, it does look like it's going to be crappy for a while. I'd love to know some of everyones favorite cost cutting or conserving ideas, simple stuff, anything actually, that saves a few bucks. It all adds up in the end. We could start another thread for it if you want.

We needed some trees for shade, the house is in full sun and gets hot. My husband traded 75 jars of hot peppers (that he canned last summer) for two big beautiful maple trees. My husband is famous for his canned hot peppers LOL. They did almost 800 qts last summer!!!!! We're expanding the garden so we'll have more room for tomatoes, they'll be canned or frozen.

That is so cool Annie! I am a canning nut.. Love to can!! I haven't done peppers other than a bunch of Jalapenos that lasted me forever.. I love canning tomatoes..

I freeze all of my stuff; I'm leery of canning. Don't have much pantry space for jars, either, although that's what I had a big pantry built for in the beginning. Now it's full of things I've bought on sale or that I've stocked up on for recipes that use them. We had some of our frozen asparagus for dinner last night, roasted in the oven with olive oil and garlic. They're still good.

Great ideas! I'm not too keen on canning either and like to use the freezer since it's already running. There is nothing like grabbing a bag of sun ripened tomatoes and adding it to soup or stews. Asparagus is a favorite here, tossed in a little oilive oil and thrown on the grill, add a dash of parm cheese to it, delish! I use the grill whenever possible, cheaper than using the oven and doesn't heat the house up in the summer. I feel like a smarty pants when I come across a good conservative idea that works for us LOL.

Could we start a Thrifty Thread? I don't want to miss any of the great ideas here. It almost becomes a contest on how much I can cut back and save, something to feel good about & get excited about too, not to mention... and save a few bucks! There is a trash to treasures forum on DG, people used old latters to grown climbing veggies, it was an amazing use of space.

Michael, chicken scratch went from $8 to $10 for a 50 lb bag. That's quite a jump in less than a month. He said it had to do with the price of oil/gas, and hoped it didn't continue to climb.

A bale of grass hay here is usually $7.75 for the square bale, and between $50 and $65 for a large round bale. Last week it had not changed here.

I am moving to Texas!!

Does that mean prices are bad in Arizona MsJestr?

Back to Haystack's remark, I was thinking today, we need to make war on those crooks. Probably the best way we could do that is to stop feeding the corporations. John Todd, who disappeared in the early 80s, said that all these corporations all lead to Standard Oil. ALL the major corporations are owned by other corporations and as you follow the chain of command they are all owned by Standard Oil. Google "John Todd" and "audio tapes" and hear him for yourself. No wonder he disappeared. Kay Griggs on youtube is another one that is amazing to hear. No wonder our country is in this mess.

We should start making our own things, growing our own food, and barter or buy from locals when possible. Which is why many of us came to DG. We have become so dependant we have forgotten how to take care of ourselves.

IMO they fear this and is why they are currectly making laws to stop organic farming and farmer's markets. If we can't stop them from doing all this, our grandbabies won't have a very happy place to live.

I have limited freezer space.. I have to can.. I don't can a lot of veggies, mostly stock and sauces and meat.. especially chicken.

I just got a food saver and have been freezing stuff.. but quickly ran out of freezer space and it's an avalanche when I open the door! LOL

Sounds like time for a regular freezer. There are some very energy efficient ones... solar, regular electric, propane... although the cost of the freezer plus whatever you use to run it will run the cost of your food up, it may still be worth it because you'll know what is in and on your food, and what your food is (and is not)!

I am paying double what you pay for hay here 14.99 a square bale. The brokers are driving the prices out of the market, I have put my mustang up for sale now and will go down to two horses.... Sad to say but it has to be done.

Ooooooooooooooooh, that sucks!

Are you close enough to another state that you could get hay outside of Texas?

I don't know much about horses, so I don't know if this is realistic, but is there pasture someplace that you could use for the mustang and/or all three horses that would be less than the hay? Would that buy you eneough time to grow your own hay or find a different source? Could you barter for the hay?

Wishing you good luck and peace during this difficult time

Texas hay prices will be climbing. With the Texas drought, they haven't made the first cutting of hay in a lot of places. Many here are still feeding hay when the pastures should have already taken off but it is way too dry.

Jumped to $3.75.9 today and $4.00.9 for diesel. On Sunday, we wondered why we saw lines at the grocery store gas pumps in a larger town. They were still $3.58.9

That's true Podster. Glad I only have one donkey to feed. He eats like a horse though. :)

We have had no rain here either, and are under fire alert, and burn ban. Somewhere south they had over 100,000 Texas acres burn. Sunday we had the most horrible wind I think I've ever seen. It knocked down several electric light poles in Amarillo on one of the main streets. The sky was just brown from dirt flying and the wind so strong you almost couldn't walk. We were in a church with a metal roof and it sounded like rain the dirt was hitting it so hard. It did that for about six hours and then, thankfully, died down. I still have some of that dirt in my eye. I hope it will work it's way out soon.

I always think of the wind in the spring as God spreading the seed before he waters it. Surely we will get water soon.

There are lots of money-saving ideas on the Frugal Living forum, people.

Thank you green... I might take a gander.. :)

we are up to 3.68 gal

Regarding ways to save money so we can afford to buy gas....

My daughter recently took a one-day class and then shared what she learned with me, showing me one way to save some [serious] money. Now, don’t roll your eyes until you hear me out…. We’re saving big bucks via using coupons when shopping for our groceries, but it’s not the old-fashion way of couponing. For instance, Monday I went to Kroger’s and purchased $507.16 worth of groceries, toiletries, cleaning supplies, meat, fruit, treats, etc., and after my coupons and my in-store rewards card were scanned, I only paid $229.13. ….I saved $278.03 or 55%

Here in Michigan, we have some stores (Kroger’s being one) that will double your coupons up to $1.00; that's where we shop for sale items only. Here is the website we joined for here in Mid-Michigan www.savingsmania.net and therein we find out what sales the “double your coupon stores” are having and where we can get coupons for those items. I then buy 3 copies of the same Sunday newspapers that has all the coupons in it, and cut them all out. …..If you’ve ever watched an episode of “Extreme Couponing” http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/tv/extreme-couponing you’ve seen it in action. In just 4 shopping trips since February, I have saved a total of $717.42, and I only buy items that are on sale, that I have a coupon for, –and- I only buy items I will use or eat. My shelves downstairs are busting at the seams with items I NEED and I would have paid full price for in the past. …..Everything else I need I buy at Wal-Mart, Aldi, and places where the prices are lower than Kroger.

It might be worth looking to see if there is a group in your area that is similar to the one I joined, and find out where the closest store is that will double coupons. I’m still new at extreme couponing so the highest I’ve saved is 65%, but my daughter who is a whizz at this often saves in the 70-90’s%. We had to laugh and shake our heads; a couple weeks ago, she sent her husband into Kroger’s with a list of items to buy, a stack of coupons, and a $5.00 bill. Jason came out with a grocery cart FULL of things they needed, and brought her back the change from the $5.00 bill. No kidding! Anyways……money saved via extreme couponing, that you would have spent otherwise, can significantly help fill up your GAS TANKS!

I'm here to tell you, the cash you can save is no chicken feed! ;) ….I had to work the chickens into my money-saving tip! LOL ~:> Hope this helps!
~ Glenda

PS: I'd miss you too Hay! :( We want you here with us! ((hugs))

I can instead of freeze, a lot, --because, the long term power outages here are hard on frozen food, --

GreenhouseGal.. I went to the forum and read for hours! I loved it.. thank you!

Great idea, thanks so much for sharing it!!!!!

I'm so glad! I found it because there was a thread from that forum in one of the Latest Posts sections, so I followed it and thought it was very interesting. DG has all sorts of nooks and crannies to explore, doesn't it?