This morning I went to the grocery store (military commissary) and just finished unloading (with the help of my husband - another plus to retirement), putting away, and preparing food for individual meals. These days the prep once I get home takes almost as long as shopping and unloading the car. I'm using that Reynolds Shrink Bags and buying my fresh fruit and vegetables and dividing them up into serving sizes so that nothing goes to waste by going bad in the refrigerator. This has worked out very well. I buy for a month plus at a time and rotate the food as it's put away. I spend about $400 a month on groceries and it feeds the two of us and dinner for my father-in-law at least 3x a week. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, it also feeds 2 critters.
All things considered, I think I'm doing pretty good and could do better if I shopped with coupons.
I saw retirees in there buying multiple carts full of food - they are buying for the future at today's prices. I understand their logic as most are on fixed incomes and had plans for their retirement that didn't include paying so much for fuel (the fuel costs are afterall the reason for the higher prices with everything else).
I have a question for everyone. I'll admit I'm no economist but I think I'm a logical thinker and I cannot for the life of me, understand how the oil companies are making these huge profits if their cost for the fuel (isn't that the reason they are gorging us) is the reason they are charging the consumer so much.
Where is this headed and can a change in Washington equate to better prices at the gas pumps or are the politicians regardless of which side of the fence they sit on all wishful thinking?
3 hours ago
7 COMMENTS:
I'm afraid things are going to bet worse before they get better. And as long as gas prices go up, food prices will go up. I read an article the other day that said gas may hit $10 a gallon before this is over. I can't even imagine.
I don't know about $10 a gallon but I have no doubt it will be $5 a gallon by Independence Day.
How is it that oil companies still record increasing profits while some have to give up something (and not fancy luxuries, but something like meals) just to afford gas to get to work because the price has gone up so far beyond any increase in paycheck over the past handful of years? Because our government has allowed it to happen. I won't get political, but that is just one symptom of so very many things that are wrong right now. Not a day goes by that I don't worry and wonder how close I am to complete financial ruin, and I am smart, educated, employable, hard working, frugal, relatively financially prudent and have my eyes wide, wide open in terror. Scary, scary times. None of this was a logical argument and mostly just my frothy emotions, but I have the same questions. And fears. Today in particular because tough times hit a little closer than makes me comfortable. I feel fortunate to even have a job.
This is a world wide problem and is hitting us all. On an up note I was reading that someone in Canada has invented a sort of motorcycle that is run using a gyroscope - hardly any fuel consumption and at the moment a speed of 25mph. Birmingham University, England has a further project of a car running on hydrogen and just releasing water vapour out of the exhaust. They currently have these running around the campus. Perhaps this will filter over to the general car market and enable us all to travel virtually free and emission free. Let's hope it's soon though - or we'll be eating those hawthorn leaf sandwiches that were apparently commonplace a few hundred years ago!
Unfortunately I have no idea if anyone can do anything about the gas prices. It's not as simple as not driving anywhere anymore, it's making everything's (except at Kohl's) prices go up. The only thing B and I have going for us is that we do not have children. Couldn't afford to have them even if we wanted them. Any who could afford cigarettes nowadays? I think they are over $4/pack (though I'm sure if I were still smoking I would have found a way.)
I look at it very differently. I think government is part of the problem. I think the capitialist system works when government stays out of it. Oil is going for almost $120 a barrel. Of course the cost of gas is going to be high. The government and environmentalists won't let the gas companies upgrade a lot of their facilities so they are producing gas with 30 year old technology. The gov. and environmentalists won't let even the thought of drilling for our own oil enter the picture. We are sitting on the world's largest supply of low sulfur coal yet Bill Clinton made it impossible for us to dig it up. That would power our electric plants for years thus reducing the demand for oil. Once the demand for oil goes down the price will go down. More importantly, I think, is there is no real research being done into alternative fuel. Hybrid cars are a joke. The fuel cell has possibilities but it's a ways away yet. And nuclear power would be a fantastic way to supply our electrical needs but again the environmental wackos have made it a no go. They been using nuclear energy in Europe, safely, for years. The technology has advanced since Three Mile Island. It's safe, clean, and would reduce our dependence on oil. But no, because of a bad movie in the 80's people are afraid of it. Okay, I'll stop here. Didn't mean to hijack your blog but as a scientist I think I view things slightly different from most people. And just remember, they've been paying $5 a gallon in Europe for years.
Flo, I think what you have to say is very interesting and I'd love to hear more. My husband has always said the same thing about the cost of fuel elsewhere.
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