gas here in Hattiesburg MS is $3.459 a gallon, groceries at wal mart are going up and up. I live 8 miles from work, and 3 days a week I stay at work during lunch to make the gas last. I don't know what poor people are going to do at least I have a decent paying job. Fabric is high to me. Our Walmart has it for $5.97 and some for $2.00 not anything I would want.

It is so sad that this is happening. Wonder why it is? Work at a convenience store and people are not happy already and it's just starting.

I got gas a while ago today at $3.53 and when I went to get change the guy said it was going up - went up to $3.63. It will get crazy. I spoke with some relatives up in Northern Va and they said on the news it was mentioned $5 a gal by end of Spring. Yikes, that will shut down the country at some point. And they thought that unemployment was bad before, they are going to make it double etc.

$4.13 for regular today. Yikes! Time to cut out unnecessary trips and plan the necessary ones in a big loop.

They need a good spanking, it's going to get crazy. They can learn to live on less without all that profit or bonus money. Many businesses will either find new places to do business or close down. The Joanns here, is thinking of moving out of the strip mall they are in due to the high rent for the space they have. Tuesday Morning already did as their rent was too high and the new place gives them lower rent for more space.

The price of gas is terrible!!! I drive 25 miles to work one way. My DH wants me to find a job here in town. Even if I worked only part time for minimum wage, I would make more than paying for the gas to work now. I love my job and will work as long as I can and drive but if the gas costs more than I make....what choice do I have?

I live ne of ft worth, bought gas on monday @3.41/gal. on tuesday it was up to 3.59. what a state this nation is in!!!
yes there are way 2 many cars with only 1 person. the buses i see around here don't have anymore than 4 or 5. the city of arlington is probably the 2nd largest in tarrant co & they have no public transit. go figure!!

WHO needs a good spanking?

Those who raise gas prices - oil companies! (and places that are threatening war etc shutting down straights)
When gas is $3.60 plus in most places on the East Coast, it's 50 - 60 cents sometimes MORE on the West coast. With this being an election year, it will be interesting to see how the politicians play on this, what kind of promises they make to get elected.

I just put gas in my car $3.75 a gallon. This morning it was $3.65!!! Hubby and I car pool even though he works longer hours than me. I just bring a good book or hand sewing and wait for him. We do what we can and still try to have fun without compromising the fun!

I wonder how long it will be before we start seeing don't buy gas from this station or that one, or don't buy gas on such n such day.

What does "shutting down straights" mean?

Do you remember gas rationing under Pres Nixon? It worked.

I wonder how many people think that the oil companies are privately owned companies? They are traded on the stock market, are part of mutual funds, investors in them are in the hundreds of thousands. Those of you who have IRA's for your retirement savings probably own shares in oil companies. You are the owners - not some unidentified rich person. The amount of shares you own determine the amount you earn. Each share owner has the opportunity to attend every meeting and to vote their shares. You can vote with only one share, 10 shares, 100 shares, whatever. You own the company. If you don't like the way the company is being run, you can make your viewpoint heard. You can run for an office in the company. This is the difference in a publicly held company and a private company. All the big companies are publicly held companies.

Where I live it is already 3.99 a gallon I just paid the most i have ever paid today I guess we will be bussing it for a while.

well said Tanya!! I think a lot of people forget we live in a free market economy, there is no one around who is going to "spank" the oil companies because they are charging too much. They are a business just like any other business. They can set the prices and the public buys more or less of their product depending on the cost.

Now I know for most it is a necessity and not a luxury to buy gasoline, but look what happened during the energy "crisis" back in the 70's - all of a sudden small economy cars became very popular. And gas prices went back down.

In a free market society the question is not why are some making a profit on Wall Street. The question usually is" Why have you not made a profit on Wall Street?" The opportunity is there for everyone.
Bigger profits are made with bigger investments, but profits can be made with small investments. Almost all retired people who are living with income from other than SS are living off of Wall Street. Either they have invested personally or the people responsible for their retirement fund have invested. Few have invested entirely in bonds. If they have retirement that is earned from a company, a teacher's fund, a public fund, like a policeman's , etc., their retirement fund is diversedly invested in Wall Street.

Very well stated!! I was at a meeting where a State Pension Fund Manager was present and he was asked by one of the attendees- "Did you have any Enron stock in the pension fund?"- Of course, YES was the answer. In order to generate a lifetime income, there has to be investments- some with risk and those with less risk- diversity is the way to go. Tanya, I wish more folks were as informed as you are about the way retirement income generation truly works.

Alot of reasons you still see large trucks on the road is the bottom $$ line. My truck is paid for, 1999 model F350, the only thing it cost me is insurance. Yes, it costs a fortune to fill it up. But by the time you add a payment for a more economical care, insurance and then STILL have to buy gas...I come out cheaper. Plus my truck will do things that I could not do in a car. BTW...I would never own a car. I want something big enough so that if some fool hits me, I have a chance of survival. Just my 2¢ worth. So having a payment and a car is NOT always the most economical decision...

Barb, when you own a Diesel engine, it is much better to leave it running then constantly starting and stopping the engine. Trust me, it is much more expensive to replace a diesel engine than a gas engine anyday. Believe it or not people, there a a valuable use for large trucks and SUV's. Not every one is a soccer mom and lives in the city. I NEED a (large) truck. I would replace it with an SUV if I could afford to run 2 vehicles. I wouldn't own a car if you gave it to me. For me, it is absolutely useless.

It is the big oil companies and the stupid WALL STREET speculators who control the gas prices. I wish the government had let wall street fail.

As long as fuel is high, we will never get out of the recession. Oil effects every aspect of our lives, from the farm, to the store to our wallets. Therein lies the problem....GREED....

I totally understand the one tank a month budget. I do all my running at one time. I never leave the house unless it's for a DR. appt and then on the way home, do all my errands. Sometimes I will go a couple weeks without ever leaving the house. Wonder if that is why I spent the weekend in the hospital with BP thru the roof.

Our gas prices hit 4.25 Weds, since we live in a resort town they raise the prices for the weekends, can not wait to see what it is today, when I hear the gas will hit 5.00 a gallon I am sure in my area we will see close to 6.00, just my guess though. My worry is how are people going to drive to work, feed their family while trying to pay their mortgage/rent?

I'm to the west of you milikaa1, in the San Gabriel Mtns. near Mtn. High Ski Resort. Prices since Monday are $4.50 for regular. There is only one gas station in my town, but the owner is honest in his pricing. I'm sure he's paying a lot more for his gas deliveries, too. While I try to support local businesses, I usually buy gas when I go "off the hill" to run errands. Even at that, I paid $4.20 last weekend.

Yesterday I heard an economist explaining how food prices are tied to gas prices. Food will go up as they use petroleum products for fertilizer, tractors, transportation. The bottom line, is if gas goes up 20%, food will be going up 40%.

I agree with you that being in a resort community will have a big impact on commuting costs. I think we will see that it will have a big affect on the real estate market locally. Who would buy in a town when they have to commute a long distance to work? No demand; prices will fall.

There is so much waste in this country that it is a crying shame. I live in a low income area, so have to watch every nickle & dime. Then with prices going up & up really makes it hard. I do belong to a gleaner group that gathers end crops, that would normally rot in the fields, to help feed many family's. We also get from companies that would dump good products if we didn't go after the stuff. We get a portion for our members & the rest is donated to two food banks, Soup kitchen, senior center, New Hope Farm (a place that houses Downs adults) & any other place that needs help. We never have to buy bread, potatoes, onions, vegges, fruits, chips, eggs & many more odds & ends products. So I do lots of canning & drying foods. We do have to go out & pick the crops, but the gleaners pays the gas for this. We have a $10.00 monthly fee to belong to the group, & that is what pays for the gas for the picks. Everyone has to take their turn working the crops & if you refuse to work after being ask 3 times straight in a row then you are dropped from the group. After all, it is a group effort not just a few doing all the work for everyone else. It would be nice if this was available in all areas.

I got this in an email this afternoon.
http://www.dickmorris.com/blog/gas-p...v-lunch-alert/

I think Halo your group of people has the right idea I wish we had something like that here!

With me being at home on disability and down to one income we've changed a lot of our old patterns and habits. We used to eat out a lot that has stopped, we have gone from two vehicles to one, we only go out on Saturday's to do our errands and we don't go all over the city like we used to or just buy everything at one store. I shopped around for better insurance rates for our car & home, got a 20% discount on all of our other household bills, I plan our meals out for the week and make large potions of foods and freeze them all. I bake more now I am getting pretty good at making breads and rolls, in the spring and summer I plant our garden for veggies and herbs.

I find there are more people now going to the final sale rake in the grocery stores at one point in time you never saw that many people checking those racks out. I buy veggies that I can take home chop up and freeze right away, buy bananas to make bread and muffins with. I don't know what to say about the economy anymore it's all totally out of control. I'd like to think it can't get much worse in our society but I know it can.

When I go to the grocery store, I always look for the manager special tags that are discount prices as the product is about to expire on shelf life, yet can be frozen etc.
I have gotten bread for a quarter or less at times doing this.
Gas going up will mean thrift shopping everywhere.

since folks cannot keep their political views out of this conversation, it's time to shut it down.