gas prices

30 Mar 2007 at 6:03 pm

I remember growing up with my parents always complaining about gas prices. This was way before I was old enough to understand things like income, budgets, and how much gas added up. It was also at least a decade before gas cost more than a dollar a gallon.

In the years I’ve been driving, I’ve seen it go past one dollar, then two, then three. It’s been a steady climb, and it’s made a lot of people really upset. I mean, when you think about it, to have something you used to pay one dollar for five years ago more than double in cost to the present day is a bit ridiculous.

But that’s where we’re at; there’s no going back.

The ridiculous thing is that I find myself fretting over a few cents at the pump. If I see gas somewhere for $2.55 a gallon, and I know I can get it somewhere else for $2.49 a gallon, I’ll wait. Why? That’s only 6 cents a gallon. At my typical tank filling volume of 13 gallons, the difference comes to only 78 cents. I’ll save 78 cents over what? A week? Maybe two? Is all that worry and bargain shopping worth saving less than a dollar twice a month? Doesn’t that seem ridiculous?

And yet, I still find myself doing it.