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Seventy

Since gas prices have gone up, I have intended to fill my tank when it gets half empty. That way, it’s not as upsetting. But I didn’t get around to doing it this time. Yesterday my fuel light came on, so I finally had to stop to get gas. The gas station right across Harford Road from my house has some of the cheapest gas prices in all of Baltimore, so at least that’s convenient. But I guess “cheapest” is a relative term. I hit a new record yesterday for total sale at a gas station:

Zoinks!

Seventy dollars?!? AAAAHHH! I haven’t often thought about it before deciding to drive somewhere, but I will now. Driving to the water garden place in western Maryland will save me “x” dollars in shipping costs, but will cost me “x + 30” dollars in gas. Which is cheaper? That’s an easy one…

7 Comments

  1. Lauren

    Hey, I was going to say ‘Zoinks!’, too! That is a chunk of change out of your pocket.

    As to your math question, it all depends on how the water garden ships their stuff. Do they use courier birds? ‘Cause that can get pricey.

  2. Carol

    Sounds to me like it’s time to consider that 4-day school week – I mean, we already put in at least 40 hours by Thursday, right? One less trip to and from…hmmm…Students in sports are already missing a ton of end-of-day class time, so what’s another hour or two if we lengthen the school day? Wouldn’t parents appreciate not having to find coverage for the hours between when school gets out now and when they get off work? I think I could even get used to a three-day weekend…it might be tough at first, but I think I’m still flexible at my age.

    • Peggy

      I love that idea Carol! But not just for the schools….for everyone. Think how far I drive everyday back & forth to work. It makes me sick on how much I have to spend on gas.

      Maybe I’ll get a motorcycle.

  3. Lloyd

    Just out of curiosity, I did the math a few days ago: every $0.01 increase in the cost of a gallon of gas costs me $7.00 per year. And that’s in a car that gets 38 mpg.

  4. Peggy

    Can someone explain to me in layman terms just why the gas prices are so out of control?

    • Mark

      Supply and demand.

      Demand for gasoline is skyrocketing in China and the third world, who used to not rely so much on cars and trucks. There is simply more competition for a limited resource. And the price of oil-related products is inelastic because there are few if any substitute goods.

      Supply is limited, both by how much oil is being pulled out of the ground and by the number of refineries that can turn it into gasoline. Even if there was more oil being pumped, the capacity to refine it isn’t there.

      And, in certain parts of the country, you run into compounding problems. Pipeline limitations and (for us) flooding in the Mississippi River valley which affects barge traffic. Also, there is the increased cost of the diesel fuel used by the big fuel trucks to get gasoline from the producer to the gas station. That cost is getting passed along to the consumer.

      The solutions are fairly simple: pump more and refine more, increasing supply to meet demand; or, use less in order to decrease demand in relation to the available supply. Or, find an alternative.

      • Peggy

        Thanks Mark.

        But a bit depressing isn’t it…..and scary.

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