Are gas prices fueling your pain?

lemko

Pastor Comes Up Empty:

Brent Saba had just dropped a church group off at Philadelphia International Airport on Sunday morning and was heading north on Interstate 95 when it happened: His 15-passenger van ran out of gas.

Saba, a 24-year-old church pastor, made it to the shoulder just past the Ben Franklin Bridge and waited more than 30 minutes for someone to stop and lend him a cell phone. Then he waited a while longer for AAA to arrive with fuel.

With gas prices hovering at $4 a gallon, motorists like Saba are putting less fuel in their tanks - then coming up empty on the highway.

gagrice

what percentage of investment assets are held by what percentage of the population.

It has to be a lot higher now than it was 50 years ago. There are more millionaires and billionaires percentage wise. Almost every company now offers 401K with some matching percentage. It is not the fault of the employers if a person decides having a cell phone is more important than saving $50 per month.

This report says 1 out of every 125 Americans is a millionaire.

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - They're back!

The number of millionaires in the United States surged 14 percent in 2003, to 2.3 million, according to the World-Wide Wealth of High Net Worth Individuals survey released Tuesday by Merrill Lynch and Capgemini.

"High net worth individuals benefited from a strong stock market rally and solid, global economic growth," said James Gorman, president of Merrill Lynch's Global Private Client group. "They were able to capitalize on these trends despite a great deal of geopolitical uncertainty."

In 2002, when the S&P 500 stock index dropped 22 percent, the number of high net worth individuals (defined as those with $1 million or more in investment capital excluding home equity) fell 100,000. The S&P rallied 28.7 percent in 2003.

Worldwide, a half a million individuals joined the millionaire's club, which topped 7.7 million. Their overall wealth topped $28.8 trillion, a jump of 7.7 percent over the year before.

andre1969

my 2000 Intrepid, which had been out of commission for about a month now because of random stalling and refusal to start, is now fixed, and seems to be running reliably...so far. So instead of running around in a '79 New Yorker getting 10-12 mpg, I should be getting about 18-20 out of the Trep. And I won't have to take out a second mortgage if I want to go on a trip.

kernick

The number of people who invest in stock markets would be hard to determine since domestic stocks are owned by so many 401K funds, and international investors.

Where I work about 90% of the workers invest thru a 401K plan, and most of those people are in stocks somewhat. I would guess this holds true for most workers at companies over 50 employees.

The reduced investing is what people do with their own money. I work in an area where there are 6 people making about $12-$15/hr; I know 3 of them fairly well. Do they invest in stocks outside of 401K's - I don't think so. Did they have the money to invest in stocks like energy funds - yes? 1 of them has bought a Harley besides his families 2 cars. Another has bought a new GM pickup to pull his camper. And another rents without a roommate, and just spent $2K on a HD TV (and of course had to upgrade his cable).

I haven't seen any of these guys and many more with trucks and SUV's, crying yet. They come to work 5 days a week by themselves with these vehicles.

nippononly

Conserve, thereby using less?

gagrice

The number of households with $5 million or more in investable assets — excluding the family home — rose by 26 percent to a record 930,000, according to a study by Spectrem Group. That is the biggest jump since Spectrem began its survey in 1996. The number of millionaires rose by 11 percent, to a record 8.3 million – the second biggest jump in the decade since they were surveyed.

The overall affluent market – households with $500,000 or more – rose by 7 percent to a record 14 million.

14 million families with a net worth of half a million. That is about 15% of the families in this country. About 1% of USA families are worth more than $5,000,000.

Cities with the highest percentage of millionaires:

Los Alamos, N.M. 9.7%
Naples/Marco Island, Fla. 8.6%
BridgePort/Stamford/Norwalk, Conn. 7.2%
Vero Beach, Fla. 7.2%
San Jose/Sunnyvale, Calif. 6.9%
Sarasota/Bradenton/Venica, Fla. 6.7%
Easton, Md. 6.7%
Hilton Head Island/Beaufort, S.C. 6.6%
San Francisco/Oakland, Calif. 6.4%
Honolulu, Hawaii 6.4%

andre1969

The number of millionaires in the United States surged 14 percent in 2003, to 2.3 million, according to the World-Wide Wealth of High Net Worth Individuals survey released Tuesday by Merrill Lynch and Capgemini.

I'm sure there are many more millionaires today, as 2003 was not a particularly good year in the overall scheme of things. Sure, it looks great compared to 2001 and 2002. Looking back on my records though, it wasn't until late 2004 that I had fully recovered financially from the effects of the tech burst, the 9/11 tragedy, and the ensuing recession. But, 2003-2007 was a period of almost solid growth, so if people kept their money in the market and didn't make rash decisions, they should have done very well.

I'd guess that if you had $600K back in 2003, and kept it fully invested in a decent mix, you'd probably be above the $1M mark today.

But, the old adage is true...it takes money to make money. If you have $600K in 2003, you'd probably be sitting pretty right now, but if you only had $6K (and didn't add any more) then you're no closer to retiring now than you were 4 years ago. The gap between poor and rich just keeps getting wider, and even "middle class" ain't what it used to be.

lemko

Speaking of trips, are you planning on going to the Carlisle Ford Show this weekend? As soon as I get back with the loan officer on the bank, I let you know if I'm bringing the Brougham to the GM Show.

fintail

A million dollars today is also no outrageous fortune...it will only get one an above average house in my area, but not a mansion.

Income and wealth is consolidating, distribution is back to depression era levels. These are not trends that create a stable future

andre1969

Wow, that did come up fast, didn't it? Yeah, still planning on going to the Ford show. And I'll be bringing my 15-16 mpg (that's highway mileage ) LeMans to the GM show, come hell or high water or $5.00 gas!

andre1969

A million dollars today is also no outrageous fortune...it will only get one an above average house in my area, but not a mansion.

Yeah, it sure ain't what it used to be. I figure if I had a house that was fully paid off, I could probably quit my job and live off a million bucks, but I'd also probably have to have roommates for life. It wouldn't be an extravagant existence, either, and I'd probably run the risk of going back to work if we had a big enough economic downturn. Which is when it's usually harder to get back into the workforce!

lemko

To be honest, rain is more of a deterrent to me bringing the Brougham than even $5 a gallon gas. I guess you'll be bringing the 'Trep to the Ford show. Thinking of bringing my new Caddy if the weather holds.

What kind of fuel economy does your DeSoto get? There's an article on the 1955-56 DeSotos in the current issue of Collectible Automobile. Which of your New Yorkers will be in the Mopar Show?

gagrice

Income and wealth is consolidating, distribution is back to depression era levels.

Is it possible the results are skewed by those opting for the welfare roles rather than taking a job they consider beneath their dignity? I have an acquaintance that was making big bucks as a Sub-Prime mortgage broker. He is getting foreclosed on and has no job. He has turned down several jobs that he said did not pay enough for him to live on. I think as much as the wealthy getting wealthier, the entitlement mentality is destroying the will to work at whatever, to survive. I don't see anyone living at depression era levels in Southern CA. And we are one of the hardest hit by the housing bubble bursting. There was no $600 per month in food stamps in the 1930s. If people have to move in with relatives to get back on their feet, that is the way it is. I know we have my wife's brother and family living in our other home that we are trying to sell in this down market. Paying 3 mortgages cuts into my fun money. Oh, I forgot, I don't do anything fun... :shades:

lemko

Everyone has a price and mine is $10 million after taxes. At $10 million, I'd pay off my house, car and could quit work. Of course to the outside world, I wouldn't look or act any different except I wouldn't worry about money anymore. I'd stay in my current house unless the neighborhood went bad. I wouldn't buy another car. I might do something frivolous like restore my Park Avenue for the heck of it, but even then I couldn't be out more than $5K and my conservative investments would more than cover it. At $10 million, I wouldn't even need to touch the big money, but could live very comfortably off the interest. I would, of course, keep all my wealth a secret from my girlfriend. As far as she's concerned, I'm living a hand-to-mouth existence.

andre1969

Yeah, I'll be bringing the Trep up to meet you guys for the Ford show. I figure that would be the best test of it to see if it's really fixed. If it's going to break down on me again, it'll do it when I'm far away from home! :surprise:

My DeSoto might get around 12-14 around town, maybe 16-17 on the highway. Which isn't bad for a 50 year old two-ton beast with 341 cubic inches, no overdrive, and a fairly aggressive rear end.

Interestingly, it's actually faster, yet gets better fuel economy than my '76 LeMans, midsized car! But then, the LeMans really isn't much lighter. I think the DeSoto's about 4,000 lb, but I'm sure the LeMans is at least 3800. And it actually has more displacement...350 versus 341 CID. And the taller gearing might actually work against the LeMans, as it's going to be more likely to downshift, and I'm sure the secondaries on its 4-bbl carb are only too willing to open up. The DeSoto just has a 2-bbl.

I'm probably just going to bring the 5th Ave to the Mopar show. I hate to say it, but I'm still a little leery of my other one. It's been better behaved since I rebuilt the carb, but I want to see how it acts once the weather gets really hot. That was when it would always leave me stranded in the past.

lemko

Geeze, this brings up my girlfriend's older sister who lives in Connecticut. She hasn't worked in years and her husband is going to lose his job in a few weeks. She wants my girlfriend and her other sister to help her sell her house and its contents. She can get a job, but she claims she has a Master's Degree and wont do any job she considers beneath her. HELLO!!! You're about to lose your house and you're worried about taking a job that is beneath you? If I were about to lose my house, I'd be working 24/7 at whatever job is available to keep it from happening. I wouldn't be too proud to be a dishwasher at that point.

How did she sink to this low point? Both of them were not only trying to keep up with the Jones, but the Rockefellers as well. They live in a wealthy area of Connecticut that is very much unaffordable to ordinary middle class people. Who the heck are they trying to impress? My girlfriend and I? We think they are super-stupid! The wealthy people where they live? Those folks can easily see these two are poseurs.

aspesisteve

yep,
The big oil companies make you an 'independant' reseller of their product and have complete control over what you can earn. They basically let you have control over running the snack shack. As for gas, they are ruthless and will squeeze everyone who gets in their way. They really don't have competition.

larsb

I just don't feel sorry for people who run out of gas.

A little prior planning and understanding how long your vehicle can run on "E" is all it takes.

I went a lot of years barely scraping by on living expenses - but I never ran out of gas.

( And carry an empty plastic gas can with you if you are stupid enough to let it run out. )

bumpy

There is only one way to know just how far past the E you can go...

fezo

I think there is just a certain personality that will test the limits of what the E really means on a gas gauge. I've never run out of gas myself - even when we had a car without a working gauge. That was always fun. I was sharing the car with my brother who was of the opposite school of thought. Every so often you'd have to bail him out with the gas can. Once in a while you'd think you were heading things off at the pass, pull in for gas and it would take a quart. I was very happy when we replaced the gauge.

lemko

...even with the gas gauge on "E" newer cars have a low-fuel warning light. I would most definately fill the car when that light comes on. I think at that point you only have about 2-3 gallons left.

circlew

The answer never changes.

Regards,
OW

fezo

Yeah, it takes a major league bozo to run out of gas in a modern car.

The one we had the adventures with was a 54 Mercedes. We actually had to replace the instrument cluster. Nothing in it worked. We got one from a junk yard - it was metric!

In the early 70s a friend's dad had a new Mercedes that had no fewer than three fuel warning lights. One cam on with a few gallons still in there; another when you were getting seriously low and, my favorite, the last one came when you actually ran out of gas! Talk about an idiot light!

nippononly

as my friend put $80 worth of regular unleaded in his minivan yesterday, and the low fuel light had only just come on!

My own fills in my tiny car are up close to $40 now, which FAR exceeds the $15 or so I needed to fill it back when I bought it.

As far as lots of individual decisions to reduce useage adding up to society-wide change, I noted with interest on today's morning news that the speculators see a softening market for oil, as a result of very significant downward trends in consumption that have occurred recently, and the futures price of a barrel of oil fell almost $10 from its peak last week to around $126. I have not followed the news during the day today so I don't know if it has shot right back up, but clearly normal economic forces do apply to some extent even in this superheated segment of the market. Good work everyone, keep it up! ;-)

kernick

It'll be interesting to see how many places go to this:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/workplace/2008-06-01-work-week-four-day-gas-prices- - _N.htm

The thing is that if we had wanted to save fuel, these same places could have been doing this right along, until waitng for the problem to get bigger. And people will bring up all kinds of reasons why we can't change - people hate change. But that's human nature.

bumpy

The light in the Accent came on when it still had 2 gallons left. The smart doesn't have a light, but the dash readout will count down the final gallon in tenths (and there is supposedly another third to half a gallon below that, but I'd imagine that's to keep the fuel pump wet).

explorerx4

they lumped Bridgeport(most highly populated city in ct) in with the other 2, so people wouldn't be shocked at the percentage. :surprise:

andre1969

My own fills in my tiny car are up close to $40 now, which FAR exceeds the $15 or so I needed to fill it back when I bought it.

Heck, it doesn't seem that long ago that $40 worth of fuel would've gotten me through a busy Friday and Saturday nite of delivering pizzas in a Dart, Newport, or Gran Fury copcar, and I would've been pulling in about $280-320 over the course of those two nights.

If I did it in something like an Echo back in those days, I guess it would've taken $13-15 worth of gas at 30 mpg, and only about $10-12 at 40 mpg. Although I guess 40 mpg would've been tough to eke out in those conditions, even with an Echo.

As for running out of fuel, I have to confess that I've done it more times than I'd care to admit to. When I got my '68 Dart, the fuel gauge didn't work. I knew it had an 18 gallon tank though, and I also knew that my previous Dart, a 225 slant six, would get around 15-18 local, maybe 22-23 on the highway. I figured the 318 couldn't get THAT much worse mileage. Boy, was I wrong!

Even worse, eventually that Dart's fuel tank got punctured, but I still had the '69 sitting around as a parts car, so I took its tank off and put it on the '68. Suddenly the gas gauge worked again! Yay! Only problem is, with the '69, that needled could actually drop below the E and not run out, but in the '68, once it was working, the needle would sort of get hung up just before the E, at maybe 1/10 of a tank, and stay there till it ran out. I remember one time when I ran out of gas, I was doing about 50 mph, and luckily was able to coast to a gas station!

I ran out of fuel once in my Mom's '86 Monte Carlo. I had gotten spoiled, I guess, by newer, more luxurious cars. My '79 Newport had a low fuel light, and so did my '82 Cutlass Supreme. Grandma's '85 LeSabre did, too. But I found out the hard way, that Mom's '86 didn't! Luckily, I found that out about 200 feet from a gas station. :P

I ran out of gas once in the pickup truck. I could've sworn that it had 20 gallon tanks, as that's what Granddad's old '76 GMC crew cab did. So when the thing stalled out after only around 240 miles, I didn't even think about it running out of gas. After all, it got about 15 mpg, so it should've still had about 4 gallons left. I was about 1/4 mile from a Shell station, and I got their wrecker driver to come and tow me back. But first, he wanted to see if he could get it started. When I cranked it, he said it sounded like it was out of gas. I swore up and down that it couldn't have been that. But just to humor him, I pressed the button to switch tanks. And damn if it didn't fire right up! That was a $20 lesson in common sense.

Needless to say, Granddad looked at me like I was an idiot for thinking that truck had 16 gallon tanks! But I figured hey, and '85 and '76 are the same truck, so why shouldn't they? That truck's 18 years older, and not exactly showroom new these days, so 15 mpg nowadays would be a dream!

fedora

Wow --- what a conversation I spawned with my email. Enjoyed the read.

Yes, a lot of boomers are moving into RVs --- so are a number of families with kids. Mine has been my only retirement option for some time as my second husband took a ride at my expense. Since I have my own business I can work from anywhere as long as I have internet access.

Yes, I've thought about shortages. By starting out in Missouri, I am not far from my son and his family ---- and friends and a few relatives aren't too far. My whole idea in full-timing is NOT to be on the road a lot. I've worked for law firms for 30+ years and for the majority of that was stuck with a 2-3 week vacation per year limit. At times I traveled as a freelance journalist. I traveled on a mighty lean shoestring.

My idea is to be able to stay somewhere for a few months at a time so I can get to now the surrounding area --- or to go left instead of right at an intersection, if I chose. Not having to be somewhere on a deadline . . . . if gas becomes an issue, I'll stay where I'm at.

I was thinking of some sort of scooter or bike. The problem being finding one light enough to be able to get it into the trailer plus the added weight to the trailer. Any suggestions there are welcome. Haven't ridden a regular bike in years, but could probably manage it.

North Dakota --- not likely in the winter although I've always wanted to visit there. I hope to spend a few months each year in SoCal as it's been my home for nearly 20 years and I run a nonprofit located out here. So I figure I will likely travel cross country twice a year. Which is better for ND --- spring or fall?

I appreciate the obvious --- I'm the proud new owner of a gas guzzler at the worst time possible. Also no longer have my wonderful veggie garden at a time when it would be useful. Just have to make the best of it one way or another.http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/townhall/we- bxicons/emotorcons/emo_grin.gif
grin

texases

You bring up a good subject, here's a different tilt - a number of folks are buying 'mobile' home that never move, on say in the UP of Michigan, one on the Rio Grand, and splitting time between the two as the climate wills, commuting in a gas-frugal Corolla/Prius/whatever. No need to even have a rig to pull it/them.

tedebear

Brent Saba had just dropped a church group off at Philadelphia International Airport on Sunday morning and was heading north on Interstate 95 when it happened: His 15-passenger van ran out of gas

With all these stories of more motorists running out of gas, did their fuel gauge suddenly stop working when they started putting less gas in the tank? "E" still means empty (or darn close), whether someone fills the tank or puts in 5 gallons.

Edit: I hadn't seen the many replies about the stupidity of people who run out of gas nowadays before I typed that.

Anyway, there's an easy way to tell just how close to empty your tank is when the needle is close to "E". Look up the fuel capacity in your owner's manual and the next time you fill up when the needle is almost on "E" pay attention to how much gas it takes to fill it up.

With mine, I've determined that "E" really means EMPTY. I don't think that cheating the gauge by leaning all the way to the left and reading it would get me very far. Come on, I know I'm not the only person in the world who has ever done that.

oldfarmer50

"...got hit on their bike last year by an SUV..."

Darn those SUV's always going off on their own and hitting people. Those Hybrids are much better behaved.

Now if there had been a person driving that SUV we could blame him/her. Then we could say "got hit on her bike last year by this stupid driver". But alas, the SUV was driving around by itself. Can't trust 'em. :P

andre1969

With all these stories of more motorists running out of gas, did their fuel gauge suddenly stop working when they started putting less gas in the tank? "E" still means empty (or darn close), whether someone fills the tank or puts in 5 gallons.

Yeah, but I think it's a psychological thing. When you get hard-up and put less gas in the car, maybe you also start driving it more gently...or at least get it in your mind that you are, whether it's true or not. So you think you can go further. Dunno if that's the most rational explanation, but perhaps one possibility.

All I know is that I've learned my lesson. On my cars that have a low fuel light, I try to refill as soon as that light comes on. Although I learned with my Intrepid that it comes on once I've used about 13 gallons. And it has a 17 gallon tank, so there's 4 gal of reserve left. Some cars aren't so generous though. My '79 5th Ave has a 21 gallon tank, and its light will come on once I've used about 19 gallons.

On my cars that don't have a low fuel light, I just try to err on the side of caution. With my '85 Silverado, which only only as a 16 gallon tank (had twin saddle tanks, but both failed and I only paid to get one fixed), the needle will hit E but still have 3-4 gallons left. My '76 LeMans, which gets horrible mileage, thankfully has a large fuel tank...something like 21-22 gallons. Because I consider it a midsize, I think I subconsciously get it in my head that it only has a 17-18 gallon tank...nevermind the fact that it's an old-school midsize. The needle also seems to get to E pretty quickly, so there's usually plenty of reserve.

And now, for something really weird. My '67 Catalina's fuel gauge doesn't work. The needle doesn't show up, and I thought that the gauge was either broken, or the needle came off somehow. But then one day I let it get really low, and suddenly the needle showed up! What happens is that when I fill it up, the needle actually extends so far that it's off the face of the gauge. It goes up there and stays there. But when I get low on fuel, the needle appears, and will slowly sway back and forth across the face of the gauge. Weird.

andre1969

Wow, how'd you dig up that old fossil of a post? :shades: Actually, don't read too much into that. I said that someone got hit on their bike by an SUV, because, simply, that's what happened. That's all I know. If they got hit by a Prius, I'd say" got hit on their bike last year by a Prius." If they got hit by a '57 DeSoto, I would've said "they got hit on their bike by a '57 DeSoto".

I didn't mean for that post to demonize SUV's. Hell, one of the vehicles I own is an '85 Silverado, which a lot of SUVs were based upon. And some of my old mastodon cars would probably make an SUV seem petite, in comparison. :P

gagrice

My partner in Alaska was always waiting until the last minute to fill his tank. I went fishing with him and 8 miles back in on this dirt road he ran out of gas. We walked back to the highway. Luckily someone was headed back into our fishing spot and gave us a ride back to the truck. That was in 1975. I have not been in a vehicle since that has run out of gas. If I am riding with someone else which is rare, I check their fuel gauge out of habit. I never let mine go under 1/4 tank if I can help it. My wife's Lexus gauge went bad. I always reset the trip odometer to zero when I filled the tank. When we got to 200 miles I started thinking about refilling the tank.

I am wondering at what $$price parents will stop giving their teenagers gas money?

gagrice

California consumed 4.5% less gasoline, including aviation gas, in January 2008 than in January 2007, according to figures released by the State Board of Equalization (BOE). The BOE is able to monitor gallons through tax receipts paid by fuel distributors.

Total gallons of gasoline used in January 2008 were 1.234 billion—58.2 million less than in January 2007. For all of 2007, Californians used 0.97% less gasoline compared to the previous year. Californians used a total of 15.672 billion gallons of gasoline for the twelve months of 2007—a decline of 153 million gallons from the total of 15.825 billion gallons for the calendar year 2006. Gasoline consumption in the state has now fallen for two years in a row

explorerx4

i'm glad my older teenager started working. sort of not their fault. they got a job, but no hours to work. i was putting 10 gallons a week in the explorer and the gauge ended up lower than the last 10 gallons each time.

british_rover

The state agency my mom works for went to four day work weeks almost two years ago.

Also about a year ago I was talking to one of the managers at the the shopping center downtown and he had started giving his employees the option of doing a four day work week to save gas.

snakeweasel

Also about a year ago I was talking to one of the managers at the the shopping center downtown and he had started giving his employees the option of doing a four day work week to save gas.

I wonder if it really does save gas. Working a 4 day week gives one more day a week to do things. If you go somewhere that one extra day it could very well negate the gas savings of one day less of commuting.

laurasdada

My group at work has adopted an optional work from home one day a week "green" policy. With phones (including teleconferences), email and IM it's the next best thing to being there!

My wife's company, however, actually sends people to Europe to do their job there for a week or two. The exact same job, not interacting personally with the people that they communicate with using the above communication tools US to Europe. Rather, the US employees actually sit in a conference/training room in a different building at German HQ communicating with the German folks by phone, email and IM. Brilliant!

gagrice

Here is a way to enhance your diet and rid the planet of unwanted critters. You may have to run this by PETA. Not sure if they approve...

Scientists claim adding insects to our diet would be good for us and the environment.

Crunching into crickets or snacking on grilled caterpillar is apparently a means to a nutrient-rich diet that also helps reduce pests and puts less strain on the planet than eating conventional meat.

Some insects in their dried form are said to have twice the protein of raw meat and fish, while others are rich in unsaturated fat and contain important vitamins and minerals.

Experts believe they could one day be marketed as a healthy alternative to fatty snacks.

In most of Europe, bug-eating is largely restricted to the belated realisation that there has been an unwelcome addition to the salad.

It is common elsewhere, however, with some 1,700 species of bug eaten in 113 countries.

The rest of the Story

nippononly

Funny thing is, when I was reminiscing about a time when I could fill up my Echo for $15, I was remembering a time that was only about three short years ago - that's about how long I have had the car.

During the pizza delivery days, were you in the habit of leaving the car idling while you went to the door at each destination? I remember working delivery for about a year for this video place, driving my old Corolla, and I always used to leave it idling in the drive while I went to the door, unless I was in a dubious area. Just thinking about wasting that much gas now makes me slightly ill... :-P

Of course, that was close to 20 years ago. Gas was a whoooole lot cheaper then! I am sure now those delivery jobs are becoming not worth the money. Soon we will see a new result of the soaring gas prices: delivery surcharges for pizza.

phinneas519

fedora, hopefully I can give you some advice on visiting ND, seeing as how I'm a resident here. As far as winters go, ND winters aren't bad in terms of excessive snowfall. In fact, the roads are usually clear - the only downside is the wind. Anyway, if you're debating between visiting during either fall or spring, I have to recommend fall. It's still plenty warm here in August and September while being fairly balanced. If you do make it for fall, I'd like to recommend the southwest side of the state, namely Dickinson and Medora. Failing that, give the Bismarck-Mandan area a try. I'm a big fan of autumn and rest assured you'd be in for a treat if you tried a ND fall.

This is coming from someone who had previously lived in WI, so I'm a bit picky about my seasons!

gagrice

Did you move to ND to work in the oilfields that are being developed? Or do you have one of those 30,000 acre wheat farms?

phinneas519

Hahah, neither. I actually moved here because my fiancee got a really nice graphic arts job here and I managed to find something in technical writing - which is a godsend since the job market in WI stinks. I've always liked the weather out here. Nice and dry, never too terribly hot and plenty of breeze/wind.

In order to avoid a total thread derailing, my fiancee and I both had one car each. Our answer to rising gas prices was for me to find work that was 1.5 miles from home and we sold the second car. With that money, I bought a used '89 Yamaha Jog scooter with 3k miles on it - only $395. It gets about 80mpg and I'll be using that to "commute" to work. We try to avoid any unnecessary trips, etc - at least our car is a versatile wagon that gets 23/30mpg.

gagrice

Sounds like you are ready for anything the oil companies throw your way. I like success stories like that. Good luck.

phinneas519

I appreciate the kind words - but I wouldn't necessarily call it a success story. Just a couple of people making reasonable choices and trying to live within their means while cutting out unnecessary waste. Earlier in this thread, folks talked about how most people who are having a tough time with the economic downturn and the high gas prices are the ones who don't know how to budget and make smart financial choices.

Being a recently graduated college student, I am satisfied with the basics in life - decent food, a warm home, reliable transportation, a good internet connection and ingredients for home brewing beer. Beyond that, though, my fiancee and I try to evaluate our buying decisions and have realized that the best things in life are almost always free. For the sake of contrast, my fiancee's father brings in six figures and although he has everything he needs and then some, I look at his stuff and say, "That's nice, but I don't think I'd be any happier if I had these things."

Either way, the key is using restraint and financial smarts. Keeping up with the Joneses looks great until your car is repossessed and you put your kids through heck because you'll lose your house to a subprime mortgage. Whatever mode of thought that puts people in that sort of position blows my mind, though that excludes those who have lost their jobs due to no fault of their own. :sick:

lemko

But when I get low on fuel, the needle appears, and will slowly sway back and forth across the face of the gauge. Weird.

I had that happen to my Seville when I first had it. I was driving out to a Penn State game and it happened. It turned out to be the sender unit which was replaced under warranty.

lemko

I already give the pizza man a generous tip because I know how ridiculous gasoline prices are.

larsb

Does PETA really support insects too?