Feedback: How Are You Coping With High Petroleum Prices?

We’re in the middle of an oil crisis that is terribly similar to the one our parents enjoyed in the early 70’s. The oil companies have almost doubled the per gallon price of gasoline, at least in the states, and inflation across the board has followed as consumer prices in nearly every sector have risen.

You don’t need to be an economist to recognize that the problem is global. Just bounce around the blogosphere and see what our peers in Malaysia and the Philippines are saying about food prices. Everybody is feeling this, and we are in for another 6 to 9 months of economic unpleasantness, unless the worse happens and we end up riding this recession straight into a global depression. God forbid.

My wife and I complain about how our money isn’t going as far at the store, but in all honesty it really makes me more grateful than anything. I know that we are fairly well off, and we are definitely feeling it. Imagine all the people who aren’t situated as well financially, and you wonder how people get by during tough times.

I am very much affected by prices at the pump, as I have a 104 mile round trip commute to work every day. In the States, outside of the heavily populated Northeast, public transportation isn’t as well developed as it is elsewhere in the world. We have big, open spaces, and we are accustomed to owning cars and driving. I have no option but to drive my 104 miles a day. There is no train.

Moving to the city where I work isn’t really on my radar. Because of the nature of rural economies, my mortage is so low living where I do that I still come out way ahead, even with high gas prices. On top of that, I like raising my kids in a sleepy, little town.

Because of the nature of my day job there is usually a fair amount of overtime to be had. I have always taken advantage of that to work a 48-56 hour work week in four days and spend an extra day at home with my family to compensate. My mother lives in the city where I work, and on the days I work 16 hour days I go to her house and sleep in the guest room. It’s a handy arrangement that saves me time and money. I need that more than ever now.

My next step is to pay down my big, gasoline thirsty SUV so that I can trade it in on something sensible to commute in. After that, outside of working more overtimes for money and tightening our belts, I think there isn’t much more we can do to streamline our finances for higher costs.

How bad is the economy affecting you where you live, and what changes have you had to make to get by? Is it business as usual with less money in your wallet at the end of the month, or have you made some changes that are helping to allay the squeeze that higher consumer prices are giving us all?

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