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Bought My First $4.00+ Gas Today

ScotsmanScotsman
edited April 2008 in The Economy
Preston (Issaquah) area, $4.09 a gallon for premium. I Joked with the guy next to me about prices jumping faster than we could keep up. Got a candy bar to soothe the pain- my favorite had jumped from $.75 to $.99. WTF!! Thank goodness some things never change, like...... it's a great time to buy a house!! :roll: :lol:

Comments

  • SeattleMooseSeattleMoose
    The most galling thing is that Helicopter Ben cut interest rates knowing full well it would weaken the dollar. Why? To save his "big bank" buddies. Aren't these the same bums who always crow about "free trade and "free markets" and "let the market handle it"? Oh yea, and "we don't want government involved in business".

    Except of course when WE are in trouble.....

    Now if you or I had a business that we steered onto the rocks do you think anyone would give a hoot? No, nor should they. Incompetence and fraud should not be rewarded. And yet....

    So by saving his buddies Helicopter Ben has accelerated rampant inflation in gas and food prices for Americans by purposefully weakening our purchasing power..

    In the end, all policy decisions will favor big financial houses to the detriment of all of us "little people".

    "Let them eat cake"....
  • Lake Hills RenterLake Hills Renter
    If I remember correctly, last year there was a big spike in gas prices before Memorial Day and everyone was predicting record high prices all summer. But then after Memorial Day, it went back down. Wonder if that will happen this year as well.
  • deejayohdeejayoh
    Lake Hills Renter wrote:
    If I remember correctly, last year there was a big spike in gas prices before Memorial Day and everyone was predicting record high prices all summer. But then after Memorial Day, it went back down. Wonder if that will happen this year as well.

    We are in the "Summer-blend" switch-over time frame. Most people aren't aware that refiners have to change over to a different blend every spring and fall due to fluctuations in temperature. When they do this, they have to draw down their inventories at the refinery and clean out pipelines - which can cause short term supply disruption and price spikes at this time of year.

    Do a google search for "summer-blend gas" and you'll find articles about price blips every year for the last 4 or 5.

    I'm not saying this explains everything, but it probably accounts for 20 or 30 cents of the run-up we've seen lately.
  • TJ_98370TJ_98370
    I talked to my 82 year-old aunt yesterday. She is still living independently, drives, and has her own apartment in Rohnert Park, CA, which is near San Fransisco. Other than some relatively minor health issues, her only real worry is that items of necessity are becoming unaffordable. She told me that she had to pay $5.00 for a loaf of bread recently and that she may have to move because it is becoming increasingly difficult to pay rent. Price increases of things like gas and food are really going to adversely affect those who live on fixed retirement income.
  • wreckingbullwreckingbull
    On top of that, 3-year CD rates are not paying much more than 3% now. That's negative rate territory in real terms. Benny and the Inkjets are really sticking it to our senior citizens.
  • rose-colored-coolaidrose-colored-coolaid
    Yeah, you'd think if seniors really control so much of the vote, that they'd have some say in 'inflating our way out'. I'm surprised this hasn't come up much yet, but seniors do not benefit from rising housing prices, and they suffer from rising food/gas and from falling interest rates.
  • TJ_98370TJ_98370
    More than a few of my boomer acquaintances have to chip in to help mom and/or dad make ends meet. I'm fortunate that I don't have that worry.

    When I run the numbers for myself, it's a little scary. I've been a consistant and conservative saver / investor all of my work life, and I think I'm going to be okay, but if we see double digit inflation like what happened in the late 1970's, I and a whole lot of others are going to have to seriously rethink their respective long range retirement plans. That's assuming that eating dog food is not part of your planned life-style as a retiree.
  • rose-colored-coolaidrose-colored-coolaid
    TJ_98370 wrote:
    if we see double digit inflation like what happened in the late 1970's, I and a whole lot of others are going to have to seriously rethink their respective long range retirement plans.

    If that happens, I'll just put my money into 16% T-Bills like you could at the end of the 70s. I figure 20 years of such huge safe gains should help make up for it.
  • TJ_98370TJ_98370
    RCC - good point. You could actually get a 3 mo CD paying 16.7% in October of 1981.
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