$61.27

[SoCalDem]

That's what it cost to fill my gas tank last night.. Granted, it's a bitter pill to swallow, but the people at the other pump were literally, digging through pockets & the lady's purse to find enough money to pay for the gas for their bedraggled old rusted van.. It was an '80s chevy van with balding tires & smoked like a dirty fireplace..

They came up with enough, and did not ask for money, so I did not embarrass them by offering, but sheez louise..

I only fill up once a month, so it's no biggie to us..and we can afford it (grudgingly)...but how on earth do poor people afford it?

they buy less food, they don't fill prescriptions, they don't take their kids to the dentist ( or go themselves).. they cancel life insurance policies, they turn the heat down (or off..It's Calif)..

and diesel??? $4.25 a gallon :grr:..

[LynneSin]

1. I just started taking the bus to work and honestly, I hate it

But I know that the $15 monthly bus pass (subsidized thru work) is going to save me a ton of money both with gas and parking downtown.

I just wish more people would consider public transportation because the gas prices aren't gonna get better anytime in the near future.

[madinmaryland]

3. I would take the bus here, but given the sparse service and routes

it would take me 40-50 minutes vs. ten minutes by car to get to work. And, I would also have to pack my lunch rather than going home for lunch. The cats need to see someone during the day, before my wife gets home.

[Kittycat]

6. Outside of the schools - we don't even have a bus here (far west Chi burbs)

I think it's just crazy that we don't have a bus. There is a park n ride for the train, but it's so far from us, that DH just drives to the train station about 20min away. Fortunately for us, he only commutes to the city 2day/week - we both used to commute 5days before kids. He also walks from Union to North State/Michigan because the city bus is now $2/ride (one way). Back 5 years age, it was only $1 for the express bus. I don't even know what he pays for his train pass anymore, but that's gone up as well.

Oh, and it cost me $60 to fill up our van the other day, but gas is *only* $3.45/gal here right now.

[shanti]

25. i do that too

and only pay $20 for a monthly subsidized pass on our light rail system. been doing it for the past 10 years, 20 years off and on. yes, there are negatives, but the positives outweigh them immensely. no rush hour stress, less wear and tear on the vehicle, lower gas bills, better for the environment...

[KansDem]

28. Just curious, but why do you "hate it?"

I've tried taking the bus, but whenever I arrive at my destination, I feel like I need the services of a chiropractor. And the buses tend to be dirty (food and litter on the floor) and not very comfortable. Also, the bus always takes off before I get to a seat, causing me to sway precariously.

Does this sound familiar?

[lapfog_1]

2. I quit driving...

I filled up in late January and still have about 1/4 tank. I figure it will take me to May. I only drive to town (10 miles) for essential groceries about once a week now. No frivolous trips (I did have to drive 60 miles to a neighboring city last month). I work from my home office and rarely leave to do anything.

[Selatius]

4. Yeah, diesel is more expensive, but many diesels, like Volkswagens, are far more efficient.

In some cases, you can get 40mpg or higher out of a Jetta. Diesel engines are theoretically more efficient than regular gas-powered engines.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2004-06-10-diesel-vs-hybrid_x.htm

[taught_me_patience]

16. They also pollute the hell out of the air

Thankfully, you can't buy diesel in Los Angeles.

[DCKit]

17. Just because the particulates from a diesel engine are visible...

doesn't mean they're any more dangerous than those from a gasoline engine, which are much smaller. The smaller they become, the harder they are to filter when inhaled or expel from the lungs once they're in.

"Out of sight, out of mind" and "Don't believe everything you hear."

[kentuck]

5. "they buy less food"

Even junk food is too expensive to buy anymore. i fear that many Americans are not eating very well and we may have a nation of malnourished people soon. They cannot afford to buy enough to eat. They cannot eat healthy. That is the direction we are headed.

[Kittycat]

7. I noticed a ravaged end cap at our grocery store last week.

I thought it was a little odd.. The end cap was 1/2 Ramen noodles (5/$1), and 1/2 cans of generic mixed vegetable (2/$1). It was all a mess and picked around. Clearly people were stocking up on what was the cheapest food they could find.

We have a little more money to spend on food, but we did a walk-thru at Costco this past weekend and plan to get a membership. I am working on meal plans, so I can just go in and buy bulk for everything - come home and make up dinner packs, then freeze them. It's only the two of us, and the baby that eat (DS1 has a g-tube, and eats special nutrition) - so it's hard buying bulk. But we just decided that if we make up meal packs for the freezer (we're fortunate enough to have a chest freezer), that we can save money to make it through the gas crunch.

[gilpo]

12. You think this will end?

You say "make it through the gas crunch."

Wish I could believe that it would end, but there is NO way gas ever comes down below $3 for any length of time. Get used to it folks, find your alternatives....

Ramen and veggies, one of my favorites from my "Dead Head" days... living on $3 a day (plus consumables, of course :smoke:)

[Divernan]

9. I absolutely cannot BELIEVE the cost of food in the grocery stores!

When my kids were growing up (in the 70's)I fed a family of five (and a dog & a cat) on less than $50 a week. And that was with steaks, roasts, chops - not cheap cuts of meat - for supper every night. Unlimited ice cream, snacks, soda, etc. - goodies from a specialty bakery too.

Now, with just me, one cat and cooking dinner for my Sign. Other twice a week - it's $80 a week, and I'm eating cereal, a sandwich or soup for supper most nights. I never buy steaks - the only beef is ground beef used for lasagna, chili, etc. I do all my own baking now too. I stock up on specials and buy ahead, on the assumption that the prices will continue to go up every week.

It has to be a nightmare to shop for a family, with the prices going up every week, and the kids asking for their favorite cereals, snacks, etc.

[Muttocracy]

10. Food prices are jumping up in big leaps too - hard to budget

There was a pretty long lag time before the cost of gas behind the food transport kicked in, but it's making up for lost time in a hurry.

[spinbaby]

14. It's almost unbelieveable

I used to just stop at one store once a week to pick up everything. But now I'm making multiple stops at Aldi's, the Mennonite bulk store, the feed store, etc. to get the best prices. Of course that takes gas, too, but I try to work it in with other trips.

Things I used to buy without even thinking don't get bought now. Yesterday I picked up a chunk of blue cheese--over $7 for a small chunk. I put it back. We're still working the same jobs we did eight years ago, but the pay isn't going nearly as far.

[datasuspect]

11. how can there be hunger in the US

when McDonalds has double cheeseburgers for .99?

an afternoon of focused panhandling would yield a motherlode of "food."

[Javaman]

13. You have consider what they believe a cheeseburger actually is...nt

[Muttocracy]

8. what's also hard is cheaper housing is often further from work

I'm weighing that same tradeoff myself. I'm trying to buy a house so I quit paying someone else's mortgage, but the houses I can afford are 15-25 miles from work, whereas I'm under 2 miles from work now.

For people much worse off than me, I'm sure they made tradeoffs to rent or buy further from where they work.

[Subdivisions]

15. And right this minute oil is $111.88. Aslo,

RBOB Gasoline has been on a daily record-breaking run.

I'm going to say this again. It is NEVER going down again in any meaningful way.

[Ilsa]

23. I was about to say, "$112 a barrel". But it may have been your # rounded up. nt

[Horse with no Name]

18. Funny you mention this because I was walking through the parking lot the other day

and please don't ask me why...but I noticed on more than one later model car...very worn tires.
Preventative car maintenance is one thing that people also give up...which is dangerous to all of us.

[w8liftinglady]

21. used tire stores are huge here..

[Horse with no Name]

22. Yep and I shudder everytime I pass one

Look at this
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x7558553

I took my tire back and they didn't ask for a receipt or ANYTHING. They replaced it (but wouldn't let me keep the old tire) and I was in and out in 10 minutes. They also cleaned the side of my car with some gunky stuff.
You can't even trust NEW tires these days.:scared:

[Bill219]

19. My wife and I both agreed...

When Bush hornswaggled his way into a second term that we were going to trade in the BMW for a hybrid. The main reason was to cut back on some of the damage we were doing to the environment because we both knew that Bush would do nothing to help the climate change situation but also because we knew that prices at the pump would keep increasing because part two of Cheney's secret energy plan would be implemented due to the moron in chief keeping his job.

We bought a 2007 Prius and and it is the best car we have even owned. We average about 52 MPG and at today's prices it takes a little more than $27 to fill the tank. $27 still sucks compared to what we were paying back in the 90's to fill a tank.

Our X-terra has now basically been relegated to hauling duties and I have not had to put any gas in it for two months.

[The2ndWheel]

20. Most of us wouldn't be on the planet without cheap non-human energy

And if our non-human energy isn't cheap, it's going to be tough to keep most of us on the planet.

On the flip side, if our cheap non-human energy is cheap, then we'll carve up more of the planet.

We all have made the bed, and have had the bed made for us. We are all victims of it, and we're all perpetrators of it too. We keep trying to escape, but we end up making the chains tighter. We make the problems bigger each time we try to solve the problem.

[Jed Dilligan]

24. I just took the Metro from Pasadena to Union Station

5:30 pm on a weekday, I was there in about 20 minutes for $1.25. If it runs where you live and you haven't tried it, you should; it's really a great system.

[cliffordu]

26. After 9/11 I dumped my auto and moved to a small town and

now my wife and I ride bicycles exclusively. - I had ridden all my life but she started at 55 years old and now rides 20+ miles a day commuting, every day she works.

This year we spent ZERO dollars on gasoline.

You can do this kind of thing if you want to. You just have to be willing to change EVERYTHING to enable you to live outside the influence of the oil companies as much as you can.

We don't have to make $65,000 just to make the mortgage and car/insurance/etc payments anymore.

It is an amazing change from the slavery of the middle class, terrifying but worth it.

I bought an old Airstream trailer and moved out of town five miles. I live on under $12000 a year now.


I have to smile when I see the people with the quarter million dollar mortgages slide into the gas stations and look at how much it's going to cost to fill up......

I get about 80 miles per cheeseburger.

:patriot:

[avenger64]

27. that an suv?

n/t

[SoCalDem]

29. Nope ... one of these

[NNN0LHI]

31. Good taste

And 10-year/100,000-mile warranty too.

Don

[SoCalDem]

32. Yup.. It's dreamy to ride in too

Doesn;t get the best mileage, but we're oldies who don't drive that much :)

[NNN0LHI]

33. I know I have driven one before

I would not mind in the least driving it again.

Don

[NNN0LHI]

30. They just started making people pre-pay at our 2 gas stations in this tiny town after someone...

...drove off with fifty dollars worth of gas yesterday. Worst town in the world to do this in too. One way in and one way out with cops on the prowl up the kazoo around here. I couldn't believe it when the cashier told me.

Don