gas prices and the way it will affect your lifestyle........

[elnutsmalljaws]

Not just gas prices that is putting the pinch on all.

Food prices are thru the roof
Household consumables like clothes detergent, paper goods, dishwashing liquids are thru the roof
Meat prices are going up and will continue to go up 20% by the end of the year.

The only thing not going up is salaries, cost of living increases and such. Foreclosures at an all time high, families going thru struggle after struggle after struggle. Somebody better do something about it and QUICK for the rich will keep on getting richer, the middle class will not exist anymore. Sad shape

[kygorski]

The second year with out a cola on SS. And who ever figures out the bench mark fo0r that adjustment, is completely out of touch with realality.But here we go, we are going to feed the refugees from tunisia, great! What about our under fed people???And now we might start another adventure in another far away place.Hope china has enough money to bank roll our peace loving country.

[artcarney_agr]

Very few trips to KY Lake this year with the bass boat. I'm not a fan of bass fishing the Ohio River, but it looks like it will be home for this summer....since it's about 15 minutes from the house. Woo hoo! Bring on the 12" beasts! Ha ha ha!

[offdtop]

I think we need to start "Boat Pooling" like car pooling, think it's time to sit in the back seat a few more times this year!!! I too will trailer more often. Last time it was $4 a gallon it cost me about $300 to fill the truck and boat - Luckily I made the boat gas last a couple weeks.

[Chubminnow]

Not just gas prices that is putting the pinch on all.

Food prices are thru the roof
Household consumables like clothes detergent, paper goods, dishwashing liquids are thru the roof
Meat prices are going up and will continue to go up 20% by the end of the year.

The only thing not going up is salaries, cost of living increases and such. Foreclosures at an all time high, families going thru struggle after struggle after struggle. Somebody better do something about it and QUICK for the rich will keep on getting richer, the middle class will not exist anymore. Sad shape

Everything you wrote is pretty much true...except for foreclosures, I think they may have leveled off and might even be on the down hill slide from what I've heard. Salaries sure as heck ain't going up. Still a TON of folks laid off. The last time gas hit the $4.00 mark most everyone had a job...this time around that ain't the case.

I'm surprised Hurricane Bob ain't chimed in here on this thread, he usually offers up rare, unique and quantifiable solutions to things.

[elnutsmalljaws]

All I know is 2.8 Millions homes were foreclosed on in 2009, 1 in every 45 in america.

I have not seen numbers for 2010 but estimates were anywhere between 2.4 Million and 3.5 Million. Either way, this would mean 5+ Millions homes went into foreclosure in 2009 and 2010 combined. Keep gas at $4 a gallon and food cost going up an estimated 20% by the end of the year and you can add another 3 Million to that number.

[MrSplitshot]

My F150 has a 36 gallon tank and get's 12/18. That's nobody's fault but my own, so I don't blame anybody for my choice of an inefficient vehicle for a daily driver that isn't paid for yet...but it still *****. I will stick with my little creek boat, and might pick up an old used jon for a little local lake that is 5 minutes from my house. That'll probably be the extent of what I do this year...might take a planned trip or two, but who knows.

To add to elwood's list...In my industry (tires), tire prices are going through the roof too...we are taking 6-8% price increases every couple of months on the passenger and light truck tires. A tire that cost the consumer $100 a few months ago, now costs more like $125. Seeing even higher 10-12% increases on the bigger commercial truck tires...and every indication is that they will keep coming until sometime late this year. I have received at least 10 letters from our suppliers over the last couple of weeks already announcing the next round of increases for April.

A combination of flooding in Southeast Asia where all of the rubber trees are, the Chinese market growing and consuming more of that rubber for tires, and the value of the dollar...means tight supply. Throw in increased oil prices (there are petroleum products in a tire) and we now have never before seen price hikes. I work with guys that have been in the business 40 years - They've never seen it.

Folks are going to (a) drive less miles, (b) not buy tires for their vehicle as often, and (c) not be able to afford to replace worn/dangerous tires.

Also, because the value of the dollar ***** compared to some other countries, some of the foreign manufacturers that we now rely on are starting to ship product to other countries before the U.S. because they can make more money with the exchange rate. That means tires are getting hard to source, so supply is smaller than demand, and prices skyrocket. I'm sure other industries are seeing similar issues.

The price (and profit) of oil is all about speculation. When the price on the sign at Speedway jumps .30 overnight, they don't actually have .30 more in the gas that is already in the ground. It will be some time before the crude oil that the refineries are buying right now at a higher price will actually make it's way to your local gas station. It's a Wall Street controlled game...

That one price...a barrel of sweet crude oil...makes us or breaks us. It's the starting point for what determines so much of our economy.

Axe the unions, fire up American plants, and tap our own oil supply in places where we know it exists!!!!!

[Tyme2fish]

I've already reduced Mrs. Tyme's spending. I've got her washing our clothes by hand, wringing them out by hand, and then dragging the wet clothes to the porch to dry. No hot water for this chore either just to save more money.

It's 9 miles to the closest grocery store so she nows walks with the little yellow garden wagon behind her to shop for our food needs. She should be back sometime today. At least I hope so, because she needs to bring in some more wood for the stoves.

I've fixed the bicycle generator and have it hooked up to the T.V. She better be back in time to start pedaling so I can watch Nascar today.

[BASSKING]

I've already reduced Mrs. Tyme's spending. I've got her washing our clothes by hand, wringing them out by hand, and then dragging the wet clothes to the porch to dry. No hot water for this chore either just to save more money.

It's 9 miles to the closest grocery store so she nows walks with the little yellow garden wagon behind her to shop for our food needs. She should be back sometime today. At least I hope so, because she needs to bring in some more wood for the stoves.

I've fixed the bicycle generator and have it hooked up to the T.V. She better be back in time to start pedaling so I can watch Nascar today.

LOL !!!!!

Thast when my wife would probably shoot me !!!!! but classic none the less !!!!

[HURRICANEBOB]

I've already reduced Mrs. Tyme's spending. I've got her washing our clothes by hand, wringing them out by hand, and then dragging the wet clothes to the porch to dry. No hot water for this chore either just to save more money.

It's 9 miles to the closest grocery store so she nows walks with the little yellow garden wagon behind her to shop for our food needs. She should be back sometime today. At least I hope so, because she needs to bring in some more wood for the stoves.

I've fixed the bicycle generator and have it hooked up to the T.V. She better be back in time to start pedaling so I can watch Nascar today.

You got a generator?!?!?!?!!!??!.....you glutten!