$ gas prices = WOW!

[Tri Girl]

Muirenn- that's CRAZY! So silly to not let you come on base by foot or two wheels. If they're worried about security- I'm thinking someone on foot or on a bike is a whole lot more transparent than someone in a car with a trunk to hide things in. How dumb!

Two years ago I took a job (with a pretty good pay cut) that is 2 miles from my house (3 by bike). It was worth it to me to not have to be in my car for 1.5 hours a day and drive 60 miles just for work daily. I made the sacrifice because I was sick of being in my car that much. We cut back things like cable, excess spending, etc and made it work. We also spend less money on filling the car up- so the pay cut didn't hurt quite as bad.
Not everyone can do that, and that's OK. I'm glad that we could make it work. I'm MUCH less stressed and much happier being able to ride to work.

Now I do almost everything by bike. I fill the car up about every 3 weeks. My DH has his choice of two cars now (they are both paid off and are 11+ years old). I hope to eventually get rid of one of them, but he's not too keen on that idea. I'm working *really* hard to get him to see it would be OK to be a one-car couple, even though we have no public transportation. I mean- the furthest I'm going to get "stuck" from home would be a max of 10 miles- and I'm in good enough shape that if I had to walk that far- I could do so easily.

[7rider]

I really don't mind the gas prices, I know that a lot of people pay a lot more. We have just been spoiled in the US.

I wouldn't mind it so much if some of this increase were in taxes going into state and federal coffers. Instead, it's going into oil company pockets (and their speculating stock holders). If taxes were indexed to the cost of a gallon of gas, imagine all the infrastructure we could improve with increased revenue.

[indysteel]

Ugh. I used to live in walking distance to my job. As I've indicated in other threads (so forgive me for repeating myself), I moved almost two years ago when I got married to a town that's about 25 miles away from my office. DH's job is about 25 miles away in the opposite direction, so we picked a theoretical middle ground. I hate the commute even when gas prices are low. There's no safe route to take by bike, although I just read an article in our local paper that one is in the works. So, too, is a plan for light rail service.

I'm not sure how excited I am about the possibility of commuting by bike. Fifty miles of bike commute each day is probably more than I can really handle on a regular basis. More importantly, I'm not impressed yet with the city's bike lanes. They plan to link my town to downtown along some extremely busy roads that I already travel by car with a fair amount of trepidation. I'm not sure I'd feel particularly safe on a bike, nor would it be a relaxing commute by country road. I am, however, a huge fan of the light rail option. I'd be all over that and would gladly pay more in taxes to help make it happen.

I am set up to work from home, but my boss has never really led me to believe that he's a fan of it. Other members of our staff work from home at least once a week, but I get the feeling that my boss wants me here most days. I understand that. If prices go much higher, though, I may pursue the idea of working from home very selectively here and there.

Neither one of us has a desire at the moment to change jobs, so that's relatively non-negotiable for the time being. He works for one of the largest engine manufacturers in the world, and he really loves what he does. I work for a federal court in a position that, not only do I really love, but is almost impossible to replicate in either the private sector or at a state/county level.

[surgtech1956]

I agree we've been spoiled compared to outside the US. I might try to commute by bike a day or two a week. I have about 19 miles from work, and I work 630a-5p(I work 4 - 10s). Otherwise, I don't drive alot, just to work, shopping is within a 5 mile radius.

[soprano]

I was a senior in college in 2001. The price of gasoline in our area more than doubled that year, and my college-student budget had no room for expansion. These days, my husband and I have a nice household income, so the current gas price increases don't hurt nearly as much.

Coming into financial independence just as gas prices were starting to take off means that I have always made housing/work decisions with gasoline in mind. We bought a house that is well-served by public transit, and we share one car without hardship (and that car gets 45 MPG). Haven't really noticed any effect of the current gasoline prices on our budget. I feel sorry for those who are hurting financially because of the price of gas.

I hope to eventually get rid of one of them, but he's not too keen on that idea. I'm working *really* hard to get him to see it would be OK to be a one-car couple, even though we have no public transportation.

To demonstrate to my husband that we could ditch one car, I parked it for a month and got around by other means. I also pointed out to him that we live near a number of car rental counters (we also have carshare available) and that for the 13 days I had needed to drive so far that year, I had spent ~$2000 in car maintenance - WAY more than the cost to rent! Laying out some hard numbers really helped convince him.

[Miranda]

Great discussion, peeps. Thanks for chiming in.

DH has a 45min drive to his office. Our other vehicles are older and paid off as well. I know he is wanting to get another new one. But, gheez mileage and gas, I'm not excited about it. Trying to hold that one off lol.

Thanks for the input on the commuting. Well, my new xc bike is the one I considering riding. It still has xc type tires on it atm. I've looked at the busy road trying to figure out if I could off road it. But, some of it is yards of homeowners. That's destine to just piss off chasing dogs more.

Hmm, I'm gonna hafta look and see if I could ride an epic route of some sort. I've looked so many times. The other good thing for me is that I'm going to teach class. So, being sweaty is ok. I worry if I got a flat I would miss class. Not good. But, hopefully that's a remote statistic.

Our area is so bike unfriendly. If I ever moved, I'd def be looking for a bike friendly town.

[emily_in_nc]

We're fortunate now to live in a walkable, bikeable community that has many amenities nice and close, and we're close to public transportation as well. So, since moving here last June, my DH sold his truck, and we became a one-car household. I already worked from home once a week, and recently started taking the bus to work twice a week as well. I still drive in (11 miles each way) a couple of times a week so I can leave earlier and get in a bike ride, but our gas purchasing has gone WAY down.

My DH is retired so is able to bike, walk, or take the bus everywhere.

On weekends and my work from home day, our goal is always not to drive at all. We can't always do this if we have a party to go to in the next town or some such, but very often we achieve our goal by cycling, walking, and taking the bus wherever we need to go. We also get a lot of free entertainment hanging out with other people in our apt. complex, taking our dog outside to play with their dogs, and just taking walks around the neighborhood.

I only have to fill up the car about 1 to 1.5 times a month. Used to be 4-5x a month when we lived way out in a rural area.

So, higher gas prices aren't affecting us at all. In fact, in some ways it's a good thing if it gets more people riding, walking, and taking public transportation.

[redrhodie]

Like many of you, we're a one car house, mass transit and bike commuters as much as possible, so not so affected by the gas prices. But, the price of everything else impacted by the high gas prices, especially food, is really noticeable. Bread is crazy expensive. Many bakeries are going out of business. I assume it's becoming impossible to make a profit from a small bakery. It's sad that the lesser quality ones seem to be more profitable, more able to survive high energy and supply costs. I know, I should start baking my own bread. I'm nearing that point.

[Blueberry]

I know, I should start baking my own bread. I'm nearing that point.

I've been supporting a local restaurant that bakes fabulous bread (they sell it in their cafe). For that reason, I'm not baking my own right now.

I can't remember if you were a participant in the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes threads here, but I can't recommend that highly enough when you're ready to get started baking

[redrhodie]

I've been supporting a local restaurant that bakes fabulous bread (they sell it in their cafe). For that reason, I'm not baking my own right now.

I can't remember if you were a participant in the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes threads here, but I can't recommend that highly enough when you're ready to get started baking

I couldn't even read that thread, the pictures were just too yummy. I did not participate, but I think I might start. I actually like baking, and even have time to do it, but haven't worked with yeast very much. I think that's my block.

[KnottedYet]

Bread is crazy expensive. Many bakeries are going out of business. I assume it's becoming impossible to make a profit from a small bakery.

That's where the advantage to living in a city or town comes in. Folks can walk to their local bakery, supporting a local business and keeping their neighbors employed and keeping their local community vibrant - and save themselves the price of gas.

The big corporate bakeries ship bread to big stores, adding one more link in the oil chain. The store wants to maximize its profits, so buys the cheapest bread that can be shipped. The larger bakeries win with their cheaper bread that can dilute the cost of shipping.

We have a lot of independent bakeries that do counter sales. They also sell bread to the independent grocery stores. (Wal-Mart is not allowed within the city limits, thank goodness!) I can walk into my neighborhood market and find products from at least 4 local bakeries. One independent store in walking distance has its own bakery, but still sells stuff from local bakeries as well. I can walk to 2 free-standing bakeries easily (I'm not counting the one inside the independent grocery store... that would be 3).

Cheap bread may take less money from my pocket, but it is devastatingly expensive to my community and my quality of life.

"Keep it Small, Keep it Local."

[Mr. Bloom]

Many of us are not in a position to commute to work for a host of logistical reasons, but for those who can't, consider all the other short trips you can eliminate in your life and still save a fortune.

A DOT study indicates that 50% of trips are three miles or less

My car normally gets 25-30mpg, but on a three mile trip, it averages 10mpg because it never warms up. So, if my math is right, I break-even on the cost of a commuter if I eliminate about 300 short trips... That sounds like a lot until I realize that I have two grocery stores, 4 drug stores, 1 Target, 1 K-Mart, 1 post office, 1 mall, at least 16 fast foods, 3 bookstores, 3 Starbucks, and 1 COLDSTONE within an easy three mile radius of my house...so it's less than 1/day for a year.

[Tri Girl]

A DOT study indicates that 50% of trips are three miles or less

My car normally gets 25-30mpg, but on a three mile trip, it averages 10mpg because it never warms up. So, if my math is right, I break-even on the cost of a commuter if I eliminate about 300 short trips... That sounds like a lot until I realize that I have two grocery stores, 4 drug stores, 1 Target, 1 K-Mart, 1 post office, 1 mall, at least 16 fast foods, 3 bookstores, 3 Starbucks, and 1 COLDSTONE within an easy three mile radius of my house...so it's less than 1/day for a year.

I like the way you think, Mr.!
Since most of our trips are short- that's the best way to eliminate your dependence on the car. You can use the car for work and still save buckets worth of cash AND be doing something healthy for you and the planet.
It may take longer to get my bike ready than to just grab the keys, but I've never once regretted riding my bike instead of driving. Bikes are great- but we all know that here.
Now if I could just get my city to put bike racks out so I could stop locking my bike to signposts...

[badger]

I was just talking with co-workers how EVERYTHING is so darn expensive here in Canada, it's not even funny. I went down stateside last weekend and stocked up on groceries - bread is still dirt cheap there! $2.99 for an Ezekiel loaf that costs us $7 up here.

A lot of things defies simple logic, as our dollar is actually stronger than the US dollar right now, but I also know we're taxed to death on everything. The same $5 bottle of wine is $17 up here. Same with our gas, it's taxed, taxed, and then taxed some more. One of the taxes is for our public transit system; I wouldn't feel bad in paying it if we actually had a decent system, but it's apalling. They increase fees all the time, cut routes, and they often go "missing" and end up having to wait longer for the next bus. For some people the high cost to use transit is actually poor incentive to leave cars at home; it's actually cheaper to drive.

[Bike Writer]

Gas prices = grrrrrrrrrr!

I drive a car that gets good mileage but it's a poke up the road to visit my family. I can bike to work if the weather cooperates but these gas prices still get my goat!