Good news on gas prices

[disneysteve]

But all I'm trying to say is that replacing a non-reliable car with a hybrid is NOT necessarily an automatic "wrong" decision as people here are making it out to be. The numbers need to be run. And the mileage needs to be considered. And driving habits need to be considered.

Absolutely. I didn't mean to sound like I was disagreeing with that point. A hybrid could save enough to make it worthwhile. I was just saying that I think lots of folks have jumped to buy a hybrid or other high mileage vehicle without running the numbers to see how much, if anything, they will actually save.

The most ironic thing is that today's hybrids aren't even that good as far as mileage is concerned. The 1980 VW Rabbit got far better mileage than today's hybrids.

[billchrz]

Gas dropped another 8 cents here yesterday, from $3.37 on Sunday to $3.29.

Steve,

Where in Jersey are you? I'm in Princeton and we are still around 3.55

[disneysteve]

Steve,

Where in Jersey are you? I'm in Princeton and we are still around 3.55

Cherry Hill.

[atomicrc11]

on a side note.... my hubby and I were driving back from the beach this past weekend (which wouldn't have been possible if gas would have still been at $4) and we noticed a deisel sign for a gas station just off a hwy exit...

It kept blinking back and forth between $4.11 and $4.03. It changed every 10 seconds. I know it was some kind of mechanical error, but when you're tired and hungry, it makes for a very humorous site and funny speculations about which price someone would actually pay, how angry some customers might be if they only looked at that sign once (at the $4.03 moment), etc.

It wasn't an error. They were charging different prices for cash and credit.

[Seeker]

Absolutely. I didn't mean to sound like I was disagreeing with that point. A hybrid could save enough to make it worthwhile. I was just saying that I think lots of folks have jumped to buy a hybrid or other high mileage vehicle without running the numbers to see how much, if anything, they will actually save.

The most ironic thing is that today's hybrids aren't even that good as far as mileage is concerned. The 1980 VW Rabbit got far better mileage than today's hybrids.

Okay Steve, probably a lot of folks do jump into it.

But here in California, just work driving 250 days a year, if you can save one gallone of gas each day withyour commute, you've saved $1000 worth of gas (at $4.00/gallon -- if the price stays there).

The 41 mpg that DH gets, I honestly do not know if a VW can beat it. DH goes the speed limit of 65... and not the 75-80 mpg that everyone else does. He drives the right lane and probably pisses everyone else off... but it's the right way to drive, and he gets pretty near the mpg that was posted for this car.

Neither you nor I would get this benefit from hybrids because we very simply do not drive the amount of miles that DH does.

My mileage of 64/week he does more in one of his work days. And his work will be moving further away from us too.... so it will be a further distance at some point. My work is the opposite direction, so if we move anywhere in-between, the same miles will be driven, just more by me instead.

And moving really is not an option. We have finally cleared the house debt and the only debt we have is his car. By the end of the year, we will be free of all debt payments and have just the day-to-day and can save/invest the money for retirement. So we're ahead of this plan too.

[myrdale]

How come when gas prices were climbing, everyone was posting about how costly it had gotten and how much it was impacting the budget, but now that prices have dropped dramatically, nobody seems to be mentioning how nice it is to have less money going into the tank?

Though $3.63 is a nice break over $4.05 here in GA, it is still quite painful handing over $40 a week to drive strickly to work and around town.

The notion that we should be happy with $3+ gas is just not something that I can wrap my head around when only 5 years ago it was $1.42.

When I was a broke college student, I had no problem filling my truck up for $20 and riding with my friends all night. Now that I am working in the profession of the field I graduating in, I look at my wallet and wonder weither I really want to eat out today or if I should save that $8 because it is 2 gallons of gas. I am not a single mother, working 2 jobs to support 3 kids. I really am doing pretty well, but it still hurts, so I can not even imagine how others are getting by.

Honestly, I don't value a gallon of gas to be much more than $2, but I am forced to pay what it is worth to everyone else. While $3.63 gas is cheaper than $4, rest assure it will be $5, then $6 soon enough. Take that $0.40 your saving and well, save it.

And while we should keep conserving as much as we can, that is not going to stop world population growth. Every day there are several thousand more people than there were the day before. That many more people who want cars, and need to fly in jets, or heat their homes.

The one piece of advice for everyone, I have is this: "Go out this weekend, drive as much as you can, burn as much gas as you can, Enjoy it while it is this cheap!"

[cptacek]

DH just filled up our 600 gallon diesel fuel tank with farm fuel for $3.69 a gallon (farm fuel has no road taxes on it because it is used off road, so it is about .$50 cheaper than what the truck drivers have to pay). This is our second fill up of the year, plus, whenever we pass the gas station we fill up the tractors and swather so we don't take it out of the big tank. Fuel is definitely NOT cheap.

[disneysteve]

Though $3.63 is a nice break over $4.05

It has fallen faster around here, already down over 70 cents from it's peak a few months ago (and the last time I checked was 2 days ago - it may be even lower today).

[cicy33]

I just moved to North Carolina and here is it about $3.59. Same as it was in Illinois. Different towns vary by a few pennies. It is better than $4 but still not much better. I am still being very careful about driving too much if I don't need to. Like mentioned before, until it is back where it was about a year ago I won't feel better. and I am sure it won't be anytime soon! It is affecting me in the job market. I am not considering low paying jobs at all. the gas cost would eat it up. no benefit there! So it is still causing residual effects on everything I do.

[MomofFour]

Wow, disneysteve! How lucky are you! Gas around here hasn't dropped nearly that much lately. It actually went up last week, it is $3.71 right now.
Maybe eventually it will drop more around here!

[momof1in150]

I bought gas yesterday for $3.54 a gallon. It is down from $4.14. Home heating oil dropped from $4.50 to $3.65. If it hits $3.50 I will fill our tank. I know many have locked it for over $5 a gallon and for right now I am going to take the change and watch the prices.

I did stretch a tank of gas to 12 days. DS6 was out of camp so it was less driving.

[ceejay74]

I'm very happy about the prices temporarily falling! I don't own a car but I'm renting one on vacation in October and doing a LOT of driving, and when I planned my vacation back in July, I figured in gas at $5/gallon because I had no idea how high it would go in 3 months. Now it looks like I'll have money left over in that category, even if it's up around $4 in the DC area.

[Pitman]

Gas prices The Bronx is at about $3.83/gal. Its good that the prices went down, but I won't have a smile on my face until they drop to atleast $2.70/gal.

[MaxPowers]

Times like this I am glad I am deployed. I don't have to pay for gas, rent, food.... Come to think of it, the only thing I buy is stuff like toothpaste and gummy bears when I have to meet the 10 transactions a month for my bank.

[Well Spent]

Regular unleaded gas is $3.59 right now for me and I just got a home heating oil delivery of 105 gallons at $4.10 a gallon so I'm not happy about the drop in prices yet. It hasn't dropped low enough yet.