Blah blah blah, living is expensive nowadays.
If you don't want to hear/read me bitch, skip to the end now.
Seriously though...we're busted broke. It's not fun. Here's why...
Gas prices here are over $3.35 per gallon of regular unleaded. Milk is $3 a gallon on sale. Bread, the good kind, is about $3 a loaf. The crappy kind is almost $2!
Eggs are almost $3 a dozen on sale.
Not to mention that the price of energy has gone through the roof.
When we moved into our house, just a little under four years ago, our average electric bill was about $150 a month. Now it's around $250 a month. We have no air conditioning and our heater (that we don't use) and our stove are both propane. WHAT THE HELL!
That's just straight up ridiculous.
When we first moved to Arizona, about 4.5 years ago, gas prices in our area were around $1.65 for regular unleaded. Now they are twice that. TWICE!
I'm friggin sick of it. But what the hell can I do?
I just stay home as much as possible. I don't drive anywhere at all unless I have to. I combine our appointments and errands as much as I can so we're just leaving the house once or twice a week instead of every day.
It's really getting out of control.
Two weeks ago gas was $3.25, now it's at least a dime more per gallon. About six months ago it was back into the $2s albeit the high $2s.
How are families like mine supposed to absorb that kind of cost inflation? Double the price for gas in four years?? That's crazy.
Bob fills up his truck two or three times a week depending on where he's working. Figure three times a week. And a 12 gallon tank.
That's $120 a week on gas. That's almost $500 a month. WE DON'T HAVE $500 TO SPEND ON GAS EVERY MONTH...but we have to find it so Bob can get to work.
Even if he fills up only twice a week...that's $80 a week, $320 a month. Same story. Where does that money come from? Out of our food budget, and other bills that we short to pay the immediate expenses of gas and food.
That $500 water bill, well, they'll just have to wait.
A three year old ER visit that we never paid for, eh, guess what. That money's not coming any time soon.
Bill collectors have given up on us and largely have stopped calling. Good.
I don't know how many times you have to tell people that there's no money to send before they understand.
Eleventy billion?
Our tax refund helped. We paid our mortgage to current. Now we're behind again. Tra la la la la la!
I will not stress out. I will not stress out.
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6 comments:
I take comfort in the fact that our eggs are $3 a dozen as well, which I just noticed last week. At least it's not living in Alaska. I saw yesterday that they are only $2 at Wal-Mart. Sigh, I hate Wal-Mart. But I just paid $1600 in taxes. Ahh yes, that "free" trip last year cost me $1,000 in taxes. I just paid $500 to take my sister on vacation with me. Ugh.
Thank you for this post. I was just having a gas price meltdown to my mom... I think we are all feeling it, and as we get into summer months, it's going to keep getting worse. Wes has to fill up his Diesel ($4.40/gal) to drive all over the mountains to get to construction jobs- and we pay our gas bill monthly. Well, we used to pay it monthly... now they're scary huge and have formed a mountain on my desk. We're drowning, too. I'm like you, I stay home, or walk when I can- but it's just not making things better. I'm sure my comments aren't helping at all, but just know you aren't alone.
It really is horrible. I think you Anne Marie understand it the best because it seems like we live in similar places and our husbands are in the same field. Construction is SOOOO feast or famine, it's ridiculous.
We've never had a big enough feast to really build up a good enough savings to get us through the famines, know what I mean.
We pay all the bills current during the good times and pick the meat off the bones during the lean times.
Here's a tip though, don't put off the electric company too long. They came out here and shut off our power for about five hours today over $80. Even though we just paid them $200 not even a week ago. Very nice.
We're back in business now. Dylan has a Spongebob movie running in his room that he can totally ignore again! Yay!!
It costs $160 to fill the suburban's gas tank. (Regular is $3.75 in St. Helena!) Luckily we still have the little toyota truck to drive most of the time. I am with you on food too! I'm trying to eat organic as much as possible - healthy for the baby. So we have hamburger like 3 times a week. I kind of feel like the food prices are the worst - you can try to cut down on driving - but you have to eat! I have noticed a hig increase in our food budget ove the last year.
- Joan
I'll send over some of your eggs when the chicks start laying!!
The scarry thing is I dont see it getting any better any time soon. Let me know if you need anything.. and we definitley need another play date! Just moms.. no kids! Ha!
$4.25/gal for supreme at the four corners of gasoline by my house. The cheapest in my 'hood was $3.85....
it makes me want to cry, just a little bit.
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