Rising Gas Prices

March 4, 2011

I’m starting to worry about my decision to put the $1000 into our emergency savings account two weeks ago.  I probably should have kept a reserve in the checking account to give us some extra grocery money, since this week our son is home for Spring break and we’ll need some extra groceries.  I’ll have to keep a close eye on the bank balance and transfer money from savings if needed.

Part-time Paycheck: $163.94

Expenses:    $ 59.01 gasoline

                        47.08 gasoline

                          9.10  milk and snacks

 11.60 co-pay to eyedoctor

                         10.00 special offering at church

The $10 for the special offering at church was given to support the school where our missionaries educate children in Africa.  This is an annual fund drive, so it is very infrequent.  I wish we could have given more.

The gasoline has jumped to $3.49 on average this week and we decided we’d better fill both cars before it went any higher.  I’d estimate we are spending an extra $15 per car to fill up.  I was hoping to go visit my relatives with the new baby next week, but now I’m wondering if we should just mail the baby gift instead. They live about 100 miles away, but we haven’t seen the new baby yet, or any of the rest of the family since Christmas. 

We really aren’t using that much gasoline, since my husband’s full-time job is only about 5 miles from home and I am not working.  The higher gasoline prices did give me a moment’s hesitation about submitting a job application yesterday, for a position which would only partially reimburse my mileage for visiting clientele. The position is for a non-profit and while it is an acceptable pay-rate, it certainly won’t put us in a higher tax bracket.  I finally decided to submit the application and sift through the details if and when I get an offer.

How are higher gas prices impacting your life?