Gas Prices Redux

[eupher61]

2.64 on the MO side of KC

[eupher61]

Haven't been to the MO side in a coupla days...$2.64 on the KS side, which means $2.5x in MO.

[tubatooter1940]

Found gas for $2.70 at a little country store.
While I was filling up we saw four police cars roll up and surround the house across the street. My tank was half full when the cops piled out of the cars and began ducking under the windows.
At 3/4 of a tankfull, we saw them pull out their guns and start peeking in the windows.
My son and grandson were with me. I stopped the pump at 3/4 full and eased on out of there.

[lgb&dtuba]

It's still running around $3.39 around here. !@#$%^&*()

[eupher61]

$2.659 in Tulsa

BTW....does anyone know why the 9/10 cent on every gallon? I know it was something to do with taxes at some point, but I can't find anything about it on line. Who has a link, or factual knowledge?

[eupher61]

$2.55 on the KS side tonight! A co-worker had $2.47 near his house in MO, but in South St Louis County it's still $2.73

[Tubaryan12]

$2.33 in Cleveland, Ohio.

[Tubaryan12]

The question is: Are you driving *more* again, now the gas prices are going down?

No.

I also still shut my car down if the light or line is longer than 20 seconds, make as few trips as possibe, drive no faster than the speed limit (usually 60 mph) on the freeway, and I got 37 mpg last week.

[Tubaryan12]

Here's another question. Some might interpret it as "political", but it is not "political" (as it is, rather, seemingly inevitable)...It only involves "economics" and "human nature"...

Over the years as a higher-and-higher percentage of your income is confiscated, which of the following do you find yourself doing?

- working like a dog (overtime/two jobs/three jobs/etc.) to try to make it up (much like someone frantically bailing water out of a sinking boat)

or

- relaxing a bit, avoiding overtime, and trying to make enough money to get along...but not enough to push you up in a tax bracket where even more of it is taken away?..also, when possible, trying to shift income sources away from wages (to legally avoid paying Social Security/Medicaid/unemployment taxes on some of your income).

bloke "I can *assure* you, *not* putting in 15-hr. days anymore...though there is *plenty* I *could* be doing)

We just talked about this at work the other day. I use the same line as I have always used when this topic comes up.

"I can't wait until the day that I make enough money to be mad about how much the tax man takes away"

When I was poor enough to get earned income tax credit, I couldn't wait until the day that I could no longer get it. Now that our income has passed that point, I couldn't be happier and hope I never go back. Hopefully, if I am ever lucky enough to reach the maximum tax bracket, I will feel the same way.

[steve_decker]

Here's another question. Some might interpret it as "political", but it is not "political" (as it is, rather, seemingly inevitable)...It only involves "economics" and "human nature"...

Over the years as a higher-and-higher percentage of your income is confiscated, which of the following do you find yourself doing?

- working like a dog (overtime/two jobs/three jobs/etc.) to try to make it up (much like someone frantically bailing water out of a sinking boat)

or

- relaxing a bit, avoiding overtime, and trying to make enough money to get along...but not enough to push you up in a tax bracket where even more of it is taken away?..also, when possible, trying to shift income sources away from wages (to legally avoid paying Social Security/Medicaid/unemployment taxes on some of your income).

bloke "I can *assure* you, *not* putting in 15-hr. days anymore...though there is *plenty* I *could* be doing)

I fairly recently figured out I've been fighting this the wrong way by struggling to climb the ladder in order to increase income in order to "get ahead". With a few phone calls to the dreaded mortgage company, I have now managed to rearrange my budget so that I can accept a job that gives me a $25k pay cut. Why would I do this? It's a 40hr/week job as opposed to 60-70. With the new mortgage plan, different tax bracket, and significantly lower health insurance premium; my financial situation will actually improve significantly. So, in this case, less money is actually more money!

[MaryAnn]

People who fly beneath the radar are favorite targets of the IRS.

I personally like the approach of figuring out what $$ inflow gives the max ability for $$ best usage.

MA

[Thomas Maurice Booth]

$3.12 in Buffalo tonight for Regular Unleaded...

TMB

[steve_decker]

I fairly recently figured out I've been fighting this the wrong way by struggling to climb the ladder in order to increase income in order to "get ahead". With a few phone calls to the dreaded mortgage company, I have now managed to rearrange my budget so that I can accept a job that gives me a $25k pay cut. Why would I do this? It's a 40hr/week job as opposed to 60-70. With the new mortgage plan, different tax bracket, and significantly lower health insurance premium; my financial situation will actually improve significantly. So, in this case, less money is actually more money!

I'm starting to realize that a new definition of "rich" is a group of people who fly below the radar...

...They find extremely good deals on hard merchandise (equipment, etc.), cars, and houses. They figure out ways to use fewer resources (and thus pay out less money) than most. They position themselves to buy things and resell them quickly for mo' money without creating waves.

The typical "rich" person is *not* the seen-on-TV movie star/celebrity who is kept doped up by their handlers who steal most of their money. Rather, it is the shrewd/quiet/unknown person.

Very true. Regardless of how much I earn, if I am living at or beyond my means any economic disruption can quickly become catastrophic. However, if I minimize or eliminate my debt and have actual savings then economic turmoil like we're in now is much easier to endure.

I've heard it said that in order to become wealthy you must make decisions like a wealthy person. I can see some wisdom in that but it sure does seem like simply sustaining a modest lifestyle while living nearly debt-free results in much more tangible and real wealth. I simply do not buy into the idea of home equity equating to wealth, that value can change much too quickly to be real.

[tubaguy9]

Amazingly, where I'm from, gas is around $1.90 a gallon...

[Todd S. Malicoate]

FINALLY...

A station that is along my beaten path has (OK, it's the crappy stuff with up to 10% piss, but whatever) $1.89 gas.

It doesn't do you any good if you get 15% less MPG than you get using gas without the "piss." That's how much less I get (goes down from 20 MPG to 17 MPG).

Pay the extra 5 cents (or so?) for the ethanol-free, unless it's terribly far away. You'll end up saving $$$ if your vehicle reacts in a similar way as mine to ethanol-tainted gasoline. I'm fortunate to have found a station here that has the same price for both...$1.95 at my last fill-up.

10% ethanol-blend...I get less MPG with it, so I have to buy it more often...what the heck is "green" about that?

[Chuck Jackson]

Holy Hi-Octane Batman, gas was sighted in the Vegas Valley at $2.21 yesterday. Surely a sign that the apocalypse is coming!!!!

Chuck

[Todd S. Malicoate]

Bloke,

You seem like a details-oriented (ok, I was going to say anal) guy like me. Reset your trip odometer each time you fill up and chart your mileage for three or four tanks each of the ethanol-free and the ethanol-tainted gas. It might not matter on a 1998 Ford Escort, but then again it might make one or two MPG difference. Your gas tank is quite small (around 12.5 gallons?), so it won't take you long to chart the difference.

For the record, my car is a 1993 Dynasty with the Mitsubishi 3.0L V6 engine. My mileage is pretty good for that model, especially because of the high miles (247,000) and using it almost exclusively as a "daily driver." I very rarely get it out on the open road, but I do change the oil every season (3 months) and keep an eye on the regular maintenance.

$1.87 here today! I love my red-state lifestyle!

[Thomas Maurice Booth]

$2.71 in Buffalo. There was just an article in the Buffalo News stating that Buffalo has the highest gas prices in the Continental US... I am very glad the lease is ending on my car in a couple weeks and will then begin to use public transit (bus and rail) to and from work.

TMB

[eupher61]

$1.84 and less on the Kansas side; $1.76 on the MO side, of KC.

[OldsRecording]

$2.04. West Springfield, MA.