gas & guns

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wingman

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I would like some feedback as to how board members are effected by the price of fuel.
I do understand that income and perhaps age will come into
play here. As a senior on fixed income it does prevent me from buying
"extras" for my hobbies. However I am suprised that I read or hear very little
about fuel prices, with average household income in the mid 40's I am very
puzzled by how families survive. I know for myself if fuel reaches 3-$4 per
gal I will be limited to food buying trips and doctor. I see talking heads on
tv saying all is well gas price is where it should be however I believe it will
have an impact on the economy if it continues up.
Well for sure the Sig 40cal is on my far away wish list now.
 
I'm paying about .30 more a gallon. Two fill ups a month, 30 gallons a fill up. It's only $20 more a month. That's 4 lattes.

I notice the difference, it's a noticible change in the per gallon price but it isn't that big of a total expense.

I live a fairly budgeted life right now but $20 is easy to find out of discretionary spending.
 
Gas price for premium (91 Octane R+M/2) is up to $2.75/gallon. It makes hit when I fuel my '72 Monte, since it has a 20 gallon tank and gets about 9 miles/gallon (high performance engine) However, its driven less than 1000 miles a year. :)

The daily driver, a '91 Civic HB still gets 30.5 mph city/34 mpg highway, so daily fuel costs is not that bad yet. The extra $$$ its costing does have to come from the discretionary spending budget, which is pushing out the next firearms purchase. :(
 
Frankly, it's killing me. Shortly before we started seeing prices go up a nickel a week, I moved out to Madison from Milwaukee (WI) to be closer to my g.f., roughly a 90 mile move. I was counting on finding a job in or around Madison fairly quickly. Hasn't happened. So now my daily commute is 105 miles each way.

At $2.66 - $2.85/gal, even my 35+ mpg Corolla eats $15-$17 in gas every day.

The plus side is that a job in Madison paying me the same as I'm making right now would be an effective raise of around $4k, so I can afford to be a little less picky than I otherwise might be.

But I haven't been to a range in months, much less considered purchasing a gun. We've got a THR meet set up for Wednesday night, and the cost of the range time and ammunition is a real concern to me.
 
Today the lowest gas price here is $2.75 a gallon and I expect that to go up in the next day or two, due to the fact everybody else is quiet a bit higher.

We try to plan our trips to cover several chores to reduce the amount of driving. Reduced optional driving.

I don't like the higher prices, but I think that in the long run it can be good for the country.

The problem isn't just in the cost of gasoline, it is all energy cost is going up.

Reducing energy cost is NOT a job just for the government

Now maybe the government will let companies start building new refineries, since there hasn't been any built for over 20m years due to enviormentalist opposition. Ditto for drilling in ANWR.

The high prices may cause consumers to look for personal solutions for their own situations such as car pooling, moving closer to work, hybred vehicles, using motorcycles or bicycles, and other long term solutions.

Businesses may start looking for alternate fuels or produce gasoline from coal or other materials such as energy from trash,

Other solutions could include more mass transit, telecommuting, and home based businesses, work 10 hours a day 4 days a week instead of working 5 days.


Maybe we should figure out how to not drive one or two days a week.
 
If I wasn't scared to death of riding around without being surrounded by a steel cage I'd get a motorcycle. Most of my traveling is solo and doesn't require any luggage, so I'm still contemplating it.
 
If I wasn't scared to death of riding around without being surrounded by a steel cage I'd get a motorcycle. Most of my traveling is solo and doesn't require any luggage, so I'm still contemplating it.Quote

Rode motorcycle past years will not ride one in Austin.

While I do understand we need to conserve and I do believe companies
can build more fuel efficent cars I always believe fuel companies are
making huge profits but we the consumer hold the key.
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The high price of gasoline will drive up the cost of everything, but that is only the tip of the iceberg IMO. Look around you right now and identify things that are not made/derived from oil. The cost of manufacture as well as the cost of transportation will increase significantly on almost everything.
 
I'm retired, so daily costs aren't a problem; I just don't drive into town as often. From that standpoint it's a break-even.

I just drove I-10 from Tallahassee to San Antonio and then on west on US 90 to Alpine. The cheapest gas anywhere was $2.42 in east Texas. Mostly, $2.52 or so. West Texas is about 10¢ to 15¢ higher.

It's the "constant dollar", factoring in inflation, that makes it true that gasoline isn't all that high--which doesn't relly help a lot of folks.

A Toyota salesman in Thomasville, GA, said that many are trading in SUVs for econo-boxes. Needless to say, the trade-ins aren't getting high value. Dunno who's gonna buy those trade-ins, though...

Art
 
As a pizza delivery driver, it's crippling. I now spend more on gas than on rent. Please tip your pizza delivery driver.

or else.
 
$2.50 a gallon here in Oklahoma City which means it costs me about $13/week just to drive to work. A fill up is about $35. With two cars and two fillups a month that's $140 a month just for gas. AND THAT SUCKS. That's about $60 more per month than a year ago when gas was $1.70 a gallon.

So how does that impact my shooting - well - it's a 60 mile round trip to the range I shoot at which means it costs me $7.50 in gas just to drive there and back. AND THAT SUCKS!

To be honest my wife and I never really considered the price of gas into much of anything until the price hit $2.50 and for some reason that price point just pushed a button and we looked at what it was really costing to drive two cars. $140 really isn't that much but the $60 difference between now and a year ago means fewer movies, fewer times out to dinner etc etc (things are cheap in OK - two dinners for two on $60, or 6 movies on $60 or a bunch of a lot of stuff you poor suckers in CA or NYC can only dream about for $60).

Screw the polls that say Americans aren't cutting back on their driving because I am. I mostly go every where on my motorcycle now and my wife and I only use one car and mostly go everywhere together now (combine what once would have been two trips in two cars into one trip in one car). Hmmmmm... maybe the price of gas will have a good effect on American families.
 
because of the gas prices, i have dramatically changed my driving habits, and drastically cut down optional trips. i have also started riding a bicycle and walking more. because of that, in spite of the high gas prices, i spend less on gas now than i did when it was 70 cents per gallon less.

as for guns... i just picked up a 700 lss in 7 rum on saturday... gas prices will not affect my gun/accessory purchases or my hunting trips, but it affects everything else for me.
 
The people doing the most complaining tend to be the fiscally irresponsible with the self-inflicted problem of having a huge vehicle they don't need. That's not true for everyone but I am finding that to be the case quite often around here.

"Woe is me, I can't afford the gas for my Canyonero and I need my $5 latte!!"
 
I don't wanna hear any whining from anybody paying less than $2.80/gallon; that's the low end price around here. I bought a Toyota Echo in March and it consistently gets 40mpg, though. Can't afford to drive my Ford Ranger 4.0 4x4 @ 16-18 mpg :(
 
Little Guys

Just today I read of a Pierre, SD newspaper delivery lady who switched to a scooter. I'll bet those folks operate on a thin margin.
I wish them luck.
 
I hope you guys won't mind my contrarian position.

The high gas prices are GREAT!

While I don't particularly like having to pay more at the pump, in the long run I benefit personally.

1. I work for an energy company in Houston that almost went bankrupt after the Enron thing happened. We layed off more than half of our employees in the two years following Enron's bankruptcy. Because we have an inherent long position on energy we benefit from higher energy prices.

2. The Houston economy as a whole inproves when energy prices are high. Employment opportunities improve, real estate values increase, etc.

3. Even though I work in the fossil fuel industry, I like the idea of alternative energy and as long as energy prices stay high, alternative energy sources will become more and more cost effective.

fwiw, I drive over 50 miles each way 6 days a week to Houston. I drive a Jetta TDI :D
 
I'm working harder and getting less. It's starting to anger me.

Thinking of selling the beast, but need a car for groceries. I take public transportation to work.
 
It's going to get worse. Any bets on how much gasoline will increase in the next week or two after Katrina is done? How about we nationalize the oil companies and make Mater Dei a gubmint employee? :p

Hey, it makes sense. Highways are public property, why not energy companies? It works in Venezuela; gas is 12 cents a gallon.
 
The hurt is barely beginning - there is one mother load of trouble ahead - all but everything is ultimately costed back to fuel costs.

I am glad I do not have to travel too much and admit too I do have a fairly thirsty truck.

I am tho already not going over to shoot as often as I did at my favorite club, because as a 75 mile round trip, it is simply too expensive. If weather kind then I bike it and can happily accept the gas cost for that.

''Knock-on'' effects will be vast - just think of your utilty costs for starters, they will rise. The economy re spending generally will hit the stores - folks will make fewer journeys and when they do spend less. Disposable income will be decimated over the next several months at this rate.

Not a happy time ahead.
 
3. Even though I work in the fossil fuel industry, I like the idea of alternative energy and as long as energy prices stay high, alternative energy sources will become more and more cost effective.
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Long term, I agree. Higher gas prices will be good for the country eventually. In fact, you could make a solid case for it being beneficial to the whole world: significantly reducing our dependence on oil would put a whole new face on the Middle East.

But I still purely hate literally burning 15% of my take-home pay.
 
I find it amazing at how many persons say the recent increase in fuel prices is making a big impact on their driving habits.

The cost of fuel, as a portion of the cost of overall vehicle ownership, is small, somewhere between 10 and 20 percent, according to all the studies I remember seeing.

Depreciation, insurance, repairs, etc. are FAR bigger portions of the overall cost than is gasoline.

Yet, everyone bellyaches about the gas costs.

My theory is that they complain about the gas because it's the most obvious portion of the cost of vehicle ownership, and you are reminded of that cost every time you go to the pump.

I would bet that, if one had to make a CAR PAYMENT every 5 to 7 days, the price of gas would become insignificant in the overall scheme of things, as that payment cost would DWARF the cost of the gasoline. (Imagine taking your monthly car payment, for those of you who have one, and dividing it up into 6 chunks, payable equally throughout the month, and you see my point.)
 
Cost of gas around here?$2.70-2.80/gallon.

I parked the Caprice on friday after work & didn't touch it until this morning.
What did I miss?
a)a round of golf $15 for the gas & $25 for the greens fees
b)a trip to the pet store(feeders for my snakes)$8 in gas(I'll incorporate that trip on the way home later this week)
c)A trip to the range-indoors $8 in fuel,$15 range fee,& $30-40 for ammo

I have two handguns on lay-a-way.It's worth it to me to stay @ home & clean on weekends to add that Colt & S&W to my collection.

I'm just glad that I never developed an affection for the grape.

I need to get off of my can & fix the Suzuki too.43mpg vs.17 for the car.
 
Depreciation, insurance, repairs, etc. are FAR bigger portions of the overall cost than is gasoline.
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I bought my vehicle outright for $600 in 2002. I could probably sell it for ~$400 (possibly more) right now. Depreciation is not a significant cost for me.

I do my own car repairs and maintenance. This does involve some outlay for parts, of course, but the total amount of money I have put into the car over the last three years in repairs and maintenance is ~$1200 (rough estimate on the high end, composed mostly of four tires and one exhaust job I paid to have done). My car's blue book value is below any reasonable deductible, so I only carry liability insurance.

Assuming maintenance costs are spread equally across time, my monthly cost to use the vehicle (not counting gas) is $100 ($200 depreciation + $1200 maintenance + $2100 insurance + $100 for rounding purposes / 36 months). In contrast, I spend almost $350/month in gasoline at my current price of $2.66/gal.

Of course, I'm hardly the typical case. I drive a much older and more fuel-efficient car than average, offset by a much longer commute than average. But not all of us griping about higher gas prices are simply ignorant of the realities of the situation.
 
Well, we’re over a barrel—almost literally—on this one, aren’t we? We need gasoline and can only reduce our demand by so much. Simple economics.

Just this morning, I shot down one of those let’s-have-a-one-day-boycott e-mails that always go around when the gas prices go up. I guess a lot of people just don’t understand the situation.

My wife and I bought a hybrid car two years ago. We would have eventually bought a hybrid truck as well, if someone hadn’t wrecked my old Saturn before they hit the market. Vote with your wallets …

~G. Fink
 
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