The Gas God says: Stick 'em up!

Gas pushed up to $3.99 a gallon for the holiday weekend. Imagine that! Just in time to take advantage of our propensity to travel on holidays. It is down 15 cents today, one day after the holiday weekend is over. Something is rotten with how this played out. No rhyme or reason other than the holiday creates an opportunity for the Gas Gods to stick it to us one more time! Over $50 to fill up your tank.

There are 46 gallons of gas that get processed out of a barrel of crude oil. Crude is going for over $128 a barrel. Divide that by the 46 gallons of fuel and you have approximately $2.78 a gallon. What makes up the rest? Federal taxes, state taxes, the cost of additives, and distribution costs to mention some of the contributing culprits. Everybody is getting a cut. Somebody is getting rich. Any guesses as to who that may be. Stick 'em up!

Where is superman when you need him?

Do you know how much the rising cost of gas is taking out of your pocket? Think of it this way. Every penny the price of gas goes up, it takes $6 out of your pocket for each vehicle that is used regularly in your family. That assumes you drive an average of 15,000 miles per year. If you have 2 vehicles, a 10 cent increase in the price of gas will cost your family $120 per year. From May of 2007 until May of 2008, the average cost of gas has risen from $3.14 to $3.81 per gallon. That cost each of us an average of $402 per vehicle.

But wait! It doesn't stop there. You have to consider the impact on the trucking industry. Virtually everything we buy as consumers has transportation costs factored into their price. The American Trucking Association claims that every penny that diesel fuel goes up costs the industry $391 million per year. The price of diesel has risen 49 cents per gallon over the past year. That amounts to $19,159,000,000. I am guessing that the trucking industry has not absorbed that absurd amount of incremental cost.

Any thoughts on where that cost is being paid for? You guessed it. You and I are paying more for almost everything we buy. It may be only a penny here and a nickel there, but I can assure you there are few products that have escaped the clutches of the fuel choke hold. We the people, certainly have not escaped that choke hold. Where is superman when you need him?

Gas cans and empty wallets...

At least in my family, I think gas prices have finally hit the proverbial nerve. Over the weekend I was lectured twice, first by my wife, and then by my 26 year old son, about how my driving habits were needlessly consuming gas. It seems that I tend to go from a dead stop at traffic lights and stop signs up to the speed limit in sling shot fashion. Also, my exercising of the 7 mile an hour safe zone over the speed limit is also creating some controversy in my family. Speed wastes gas. Quick starts waste gas. I know that, but it took a couple of subtle barbs from family members to snap me out of the bad habits that are sucking the dollars out of my wallet.

You too may be suffering from this slow draining of your financial well being. Drive slower. Accelerate slower. Coast when you can. Slow down when approaching a red light. You may be able to time the light so you don't have to come to a complete stop. Make sure your tires are properly inflated. These are small things, but they add up. Do your part! Take a look at your driving habits. Are they fueling the war?

We are at War! Make the right choice! Choose to Fight!

Today I paid the most I have ever paid for a gallon of gas, a whopping $3.75 per gallon. I am amazed that we, the people of the United States, are standing still for this slow and deliberate attack on our economy. We have been gradually pushed to our threshold of pain. Just when we are just about to go over the top, things stabilize just long enough for us to build up some more tolerance. What fools we are! Wake up America! We have got to break out of our hubris thinking and go on the offensive before it is too late. Individually and collectively, we need to cut our usage of the evil gas pill. Be it from car pooling, being better organized and eliminating wasteful extra trips to the store, letting our kids walk to school, if your job allows, working out of your home once a week, etc., etc. We have to get creative. Nothing is sacred! This is war my friends. War! Drive the speed limit for God's sake! Park your car one day a week. We can do it. Hit 'em where it counts. They are hitting us in the wallet. Hit 'em back. You have been challenged! You can choose to let it continue to happen, or you can make a difference. What are you waiting on????

Top 10 reasons to give your Mom flowers for Mother's Day...

1. Flowers come in all shapes and sizes
   
2. They smell wonderful
   
3. You can have them delivered almost anywhere
   
4. They can usually be delivered the day your order them
   
5. They come in all price ranges
   
6. Anyone can buy them
   
7. They will make your Mom smile
   
8. They don't need batteries
   
9. Flowers don't need to be walked 3 times a day
   
10. Every Mom loves flowers