This is not meant to cause panic (LOL)--gas prices.

[Jean in Wisc]

But my bil was talking to someone working in the U.S. oil fields who claims that gasoline will be $5/gal by fall and up to $10/gal by Christmas. (BIL use to work with him in Alaska.)

 

Now bil thinks he is "talking big"--but my question is, "How do we prepare for such if and when?"

 

I have a wood stove.

 

We plan to buy a fuel tank and fill it for my dd's commuting to college so that her price is "fixed" next year.

 

I'm putting in a bigger garden this summer...

 

What about putting a crop into the ground for us farmers? We aren't making ends meet as it is!

 

Well, I thought this might give us something to discuss and be creative over...

 

So what could we do to make our life more affordable if this happens? How would you change your lifestyle (other than the obvious of leaving the car in the garage! LOL!)

 

J

[JFSinIL]

I believe it - we picked a crummy time to teach a kid to drive - all those required hours of practice with his permit!!!

 

Not looking forward to paying for gas on vacation in California - we have to drive from Redlands to Yosemite to Oceanside.

 

I am just consolidating my errands. Hubby rides a commuter train, and next year three of the kids will qualify for various school buses here (I am only homeschooling the youngest....at present.) At least our 9-yr-old van is paid for - so the car payment $ can go towards gas, etc. :confused:

 

Hey - thought of another way to save a little $$$ - I will put dd into Videotext - which I already own - instead of getting her TT7. Sorry, kid - it is cheaper to put you straight into algebra! (evil maternal cackle!!!)

[pixelroper]

This would be difficult as we already have cut down. Gardening is being stepped up. I imagine I'll hit the second hand stores more often. Cut down on any extra hs supplements.

[Old Dominion Heather]

Uggh... that is just scary. I can walk to the grocery store... so that is something, I guess. Dh has an almost 20 year old car and is about 5 miles from work in little traffic, so we can't do much there. We are on a major bus route, so that would be a possibility, I suppose. I would just never go anywhere.:confused::glare:

[Colleen]

But my bil was talking to someone working in the U.S. oil fields who claims that gasoline will be $5/gal by fall and up to $10/gal by Christmas. (BIL use to work with him in Alaska.)

 

Did your bil ask him the basis for his prediction? (Not saying I necessarily agree or disagree with him, just wondering.)

 

So what could we do to make our life more affordable if this happens? How would you change your lifestyle (other than the obvious of leaving the car in the garage! LOL!)

 

I can't think of many changes I can make, to be honest. Like you, we have a wood stove. We have a fuel tank. My oldest has become quite involved with the vegetable garden so we're planting more than usual. The big thing for me, of course, is driving a carbon footprint-expanding. Most of what we do is within a few mile radius and at times, weather and time permitting, we ride bikes to town. But once a week I drive further to soccer games and my food co-op; I'm conscientious about consolidating trips not only because of the gas issue but because I don't like making multiple shopping trips.

 

I'm considering what to do in the vehicle department. I really dislike that we own such a gas guzzler, but the majority of the time we make use of all the space. Our other vehicle, the farm truck, is a Ford F350, so that's no improvement. I am considering the feasibility of either downsizing the Suburban or adding another, much smaller vehicle for trips that involve just one or two people.

[beansprouts]

Typically gas prices peak around Memorial Day then back off a bit. Right now I am seeing $3.75 a gallon in my area. I think we could be up to $4.00 for Memorial Day, then prices will "normalize" at around $3.50 a gallon. If they continue to cycle as they have for the past few years it will take another year or two to reach $5.00 a gallon.

 

That is, unless something catastrophic happens to break that cycle.

[Cheryl in NM]

We have a woodstove so we could use that for heat. Then we'd only have to use propane for cooking and the water heater. Of course, that would mean shorter showers and less casseroles.

 

We already have a garden and I can all our surplus. We can exchange extra surplus with the neighbors. When I help her can she shares with me. So I guess we'll do more of that.

 

We have chicks on the way for eggs and meat. We need to go to auction and get a steer or cow/calf pair. My mom gave us half a side of pig.

 

The hardest thing will be staying home. All of our hs activities are at least 20 miles away. Baseball and football are 10 miles and Jui Jitsu is 15 miles. We just could not continue these trips into town if gas prices were that high.

 

I already have my Saxon for the next 3 years and that's my biggest expense. We had extra income last year so I bought tons of curriculum to last for 2-3 years. I would just have to find extra resources online because the nearest library that has a decent kids section is 20 miles away.

 

Ds just bought a commuter truck so we were able to park the 1/2 ton diesel. We'll only need it to haul hay in for the horses. We are in the process of selling my Impala and buying a Subaru to save on gas. Then all of our vehicles will be paid off.

 

Thank God for internet! I would feel absolutely isolated without it!

 

I can't think of any other changes we would make. We already conserve trips into town and limit the hs activities in town. This could really be like the pioneer days. Hitch up the horses to the wagon and ride into town! I guess we should build a wagon and teach the horses to drive!:001_huh:

[EarleneW]

I drive a gas guzzler too. I was doing some research on trading it this weekend and alot of dealers are not giving anything on SUV trades b/s they don't want them.

 

With the cost of food rising as well......we will definitly be staying home more.

[Jennifer in NH]

Dh and I were discussing this just a few days ago. We had to fill up our oil tank at $4 a gallon.:eek: The bill was $600! He complained when we moved here about 99 cents a gallon! Puts that in perpective!

Anyway, dh will drive his motorcycle most of the summer and into the fall to commute to work. About 4 years ago now he bought an old used Celica (as a commuter car) that gets 40 mpg. The motorcycle gets better mileage than that!

we have a wood stove in one room only and unfortunately it really only heats that one room. We have tried all sorts of ways to get the heat out of that room and into others, but without success.

Our sunroom has a pellet stove. We need to buy about 2 tons of pellets before those prices go up too. (they will).

My garden will be overly large this summer with crops we like that can be frozen or canned.

next winter, the heat may not be turned up past 62 degrees..we will waer more clothing. We've done this before but have gotten away from it.

I intend to find more fun activities for our family to do at home. This is more for weekends when dh is around. During the week we pretty much stay home anyway, but on weekends, dh gets a bit bored and I like getting out too...well, I'll just have to come up with some boredom busters that dh will like. Funny that its not the kids, but my hubby!;)

a few windows in the house need curtains so that heat won't escape so easily.

I cannot think of any more ideas right now, but would be intersted in any the rest of you have! I plan to "borrow" any neat ideas I can!

[Colleen]

We are on a major bus route, so that would be a possibility, I suppose.

 

I can tolerate Very High gas prices if it results in significant differences in our lifestyles and transportation expectations. Being on a major bus route is a big deal. Take advantage of that!:)

[Robin in Tx]

Jean, there was a study/report released in the last couple of weeks that predicted that gas will double in price by 2012. And that they expect prices to be $7 - $10 a gallon by then. That sent off a lot of alarms about gas going up to $10 a gallon (which was the high end of the estimate). And then I think that people have begun to ignore the "in four years" time frame.

 

The reason for the estimated spike in prices is that production/reserves are not keeping up with demand. But even this study is being challenged by other experts in the field who believe that gas prices will go down by the end of the year, etc.

 

When I started driving, gas was about 35 cents a gallon. If anyone would have told me that in thirty years, gas would be ten times as much, I would have never believed it. And the last time we had $1.75 gas was only four years ago... so gas has doubled in priced in four years... it does seem probable that it could double again in four or five more years.

 

Keep your eye on discussions about reserves... that seems to be a driving force behind this. Also, if the value of our dollar would adjust up, that would help a bit.

[beansprouts]

They were saying during the summer after Katrina that gas may spike up to $5 - $6 a gallon or more. They were wrong then too. In the years since there has only been a slow spiral upward. We can handle slow increases in the cost of living because our wages will also rise to keep up with it.

 

I am in favor of being frugal, of course! But I see no reason for panic or excessive hoarding.

[Robin in Tx]

Colleen, I do not have a link to the report, but here is a link to a commentary about the report from the CIBC which predicts prices to double in four years:

 

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2007308/posts

 

You can google and get different reactions to the report.

[beansprouts]

Jean, there was a study/report released in the last couple of weeks that predicted that gas will double in price by 2012. And that they expect prices to be $7 - $10 a gallon by then. That sent off a lot of alarms about gas going up to $10 a gallon (which was the high end of the estimate). And then I think that people have begun to ignore the "in four years" time frame.

 

 

That fits in with my own observations. Gas prices in my area seem to be increasing steadily at a rate of $0.50 or so a year.

[Gamom3]

I don't see much driving at all for anyone! They would not be able to keep it at that price.

 

If it did do that, I don't know what we would do. Dh works 28miles from home which takes him an hour+.

He has a small car, but it takes premium!!

 

Ds will be starting college soon, it is 15miles from home. He just got a car a few weeks ago and it is pretty good on gas.

 

For me! I drive a SUV, it is paid for and I only go out right now on Tuesday and Thursday(ds drives us for now).

 

I usually fill up every 2wks.

[Colleen]

Jean, there was a study/report released in the last couple of weeks that predicted that gas will double in price by 2012. And that they expect prices to be $7 - $10 a gallon by then. That sent off a lot of alarms about gas going up to $10 a gallon (which was the high end of the estimate). And then I think that people have begun to ignore the "in four years" time frame.

 

That's what I'm thinking.

[beansprouts]

Also, if the value of our dollar would adjust up, that would help a bit.

 

Well, that's the scary part. The dollar is highly inflated. It can only "adjust" down...

[percytruffle]

 

I can tolerate Very High gas prices if it results in significant differences in our lifestyles and transportation expectations.

 

This is exactly what dh says all the time! He would love to see gas prices go through the roof so that the amount people drive is actually affected. Lifestyle change will only happen when it hurts enough in the wallet.

 

We have a truck that is parked most of the time and a Subaru that gets pretty good mileage. Dd also has a Subaru. After dh's many trips to Asia for work we have seriously considered, and may still decide to, buy a scooter. A red Vespa would be nice! I could do most errands with it and dd could use to to go to classes at the cc. We'd have to park in for NY winters though.

 

We already garden, but would consider canning instead of running the freezer. We heat with natural gas, which typically runs opposite oil prices, but will also rise this time. Hopefully not as much.

 

My biggest worry is the affect the oil prices are having on our grocery bill. It has gone up significantly in the past few years.

[percytruffle]

 

Gas prices around the world. Very interesting.

[beansprouts]

My biggest worry is the affect the oil prices are having on our grocery bill. It has gone up significantly in the past few years.

 

I try not to "worry" but I have to say the grocery prices do have my attention. I have seen our bill go up by at least 1/3 over the past year. (and not just because I have another child eating now).

[Elisabeth in IL]

If gas prices continue to go up, my dh who carpools once or twice a week will carpool more often. I don't drive a whole lot but I can see cutting it down even more by perhaps quitting some of our activities like Spanish.

[beansprouts]

This is exactly what dh says all the time! He would love to see gas prices go through the roof so that the amount people drive is actually affected. Lifestyle change will only happen when it hurts enough in the wallet.

 

 

Well isn't he a thoughtful guy! Tell him I will think of him when dh is out of business, and my children go hungry... ;)

[Robin in Tx]

Cindy, I'm talking about the dollar's value against other world currencies. It is down right now.

[Sharon in SC]

We can handle slow increases in the cost of living because our wages will also rise to keep up with it.

 

I am in favor of being frugal, of course! But I see no reason for panic or excessive hoarding.

 

Yes, the problem right now, though, is that gas prices are rising but wages are not (at least not for everyone). Dh is a "state employee" and will NOT be receiving a raise this year. :sad:

[JennifersLost]

We're already paying about $5.00 a gallon here. And it has changed the way I do things. I never, ever drive just to "go for a drive". We always think twice about errands that take us across town. My kids ride their bikes everywhere they can as soon as they're big enough and now that my youngest is learning to ride I'll get a bike, too, next year so we can all ride.

 

I feel very doubtful about that $10.00 number, though - that seems to be pushing things a bit much. When/if that comes to pass I think we'll just all see our expectations drop - just like they would during wartime. Everyone will scale back and "we'll all be in it together."

[LizzyBee]

This is exactly what dh says all the time! He would love to see gas prices go through the roof so that the amount people drive is actually affected. Lifestyle change will only happen when it hurts enough in the wallet.

 

Well for most people it already hurts and everyone I know has already cut back on the amount of driving they do. Don't worry, though, soon people will not be able to afford gas to get to work and then we can stay home and have our welfare checks direct deposited. Only large cities have mass transit systems so that is not even an option for most people.

[percytruffle]

;)

 

I'll pass along your sentiments.

[chiguirre]

Cindy, I'm talking about the dollar's value against other world currencies. It is down right now.

 

Yes. If Opec makes good on the threat to price oil in a basket of currencies instead of dollars, we would be hard hit. The US has always been fortunate that it could pay for energy in its own currency. Countries that don't have that luxury and have been hit with devaluation get a double whammy when their fuel bill goes through the roof.

[beansprouts]

Yes, the problem right now, though, is that gas prices are rising but wages are not (at least not for everyone). Dh is a "state employee" and will NOT be receiving a raise this year. :sad:

 

I guess I meant "we" as in my family. My dh owns his business and has the freedom to raise prices as his cost of doing business rises. However, his customers also have the freedom to decide that they can no longer afford his rates.

 

I know for others the wage per cost of living increases come much slower. :(

[Mekanamom]

Now bil thinks he is "talking big"--but my question is, "How do we prepare for such if and when?"

 

J

 

Well, we are looking into a solar panel rental program for household electricity. (No wood stove in this house, and they're trying to outlaw them here anyway.)

 

We're planning a big garden this year, and I already have all my canning supplies (I just haven't used it for a few years.)

 

Thinking about upgrading to more energy efficient appliances.

 

Mostly all this stuff we've been planning to do anyway, kwim? I already consolidate my driving into one errand day/week. We do try to stay local.

[Faith]

http://www.nysun.com/news/business/gas-price-may-soon-cost-sawbuck

 

Found this. I pray it doesn't get this high.

[beansprouts]

Don't worry, though, soon people will not be able to afford gas to get to work and then we can stay home and have our welfare checks direct deposited. Only large cities have mass transit systems so that is not even an option for most people.

 

And here we see why it is politically advantageous to some to have these prices as high as possible ;)

[beansprouts]

;)

 

I'll pass along your sentiments.

 

And make sure you quote me on this:

:001_tt2:

[beansprouts]

I am potty training my toddler. Diapers are expensive! I am planting my first garden this year. If it would quit freezing that could actually get going.

 

Yes ma'am I could do without spending that extra $25 every month or so for diapers. Unfortunately we have at least another year of them.

[beansprouts]

Thinking about upgrading to more energy efficient appliances.

 

 

You mean buy a new stove???

[MJN]

will even have jobs if it gets that high. There is no way we could afford gas that high, much less food. We're barely making ends meet now. My dh travels for his job and I'm pretty sure his company would cut his route back to even closer to home, but his customers wouldn't be able to afford his services. I'm going to try to stop reading posts like this as it creates too much anxiety in me.

[ckweyant]

That really concerns me. Where we live in FL, there are no bus routes. Although the stores are relatively close, with three children, and one starting college, I wonder what all I can do. My dh owns his own business that travels around town all day. Something needs to change, at what level, I just dont know.

 

Cassandra

[MJN]

to start stocking up on the wood. I'm sure the price of firewood will soar as well.

 

Just a friendly reminder :001_smile:

[beansprouts]

That really concerns me. Where we live in FL, there are no bus routes. Although the stores are relatively close, with three children, and one starting college, I wonder what all I can do. My dh owns his own business that travels around town all day. Something needs to change, at what level, I just dont know.

 

Cassandra

 

I just checked out the fares in my town. Right now with my 2 boys under 5 it would cost me $1.40 one way anywhere in town. That means a trip to the grocery store *and back* is already almost $3.00. (and then where will I put the groceries?) Add to that $0.70 per child per one-way trip once they turn 5 years old. A bus trip to the next town is $1.30 per one-way trip per person over 5 years old. Compare that to 20 or so mpg even at $4.00 a gallon, and it still costs me less to drive.

 

I can't imagine that as fuel prices rise bus fares won't go up also.

[Sara R]

OPEC president sees $200 barrel oil possible. Says it depends on the strength of the dollar.

 

Decreased demand because of the higher price would lower the price if it were only Americans that were buying fuel. Demand is greatly increasing in Asia. The Chinese are buying their first cars (2.58 million cars bought in the first quarter of this year alone--most of those are not replacing old cars so that represents new fuel consumption). So even if Americans greatly decreased their consumption it wouldn't affect the price too much.

 

Plus Americans can't decrease their consumption all that much without desperate measures (selling all the new homes that have been built in the boondocks in the last few years; selling and replacing the family car; quitting the second income job because fuel costs too much to get to work and Mom can save more money by baking bread and gardening at home). If families are strapped because of high debt (and most are) those kind of moves are going to be very difficult--

 

Anyway, to answer the question--

 

we just got a woodburning efficient fireplace insert (our heating is natural gas which is relatively reasonable, but I can't be sure it will stay that way)

 

we have food storage and a garden

 

I'm stocking up on yard sale clothes in the sizes my kids are growing into for the next several years (we aren't moving and clothes aren't getting cheaper than a quarter per item)

 

we are looking into CNG, a good deal in Utah (63 cents per gallon equivalent of gas!--and there's supposed to be some board that has to approve price increases, which should limit how fast prices go up--and it's a domestically produced clean fuel--and there is a market of used CNG cars that are in our price range, and a tax credit for buying them)

 

If you wanted to get creative and are willing to accept the risk, you could invest a little money in oil futures as a hedge against rising oil prices. "Futures" has a risky reputation because investors could use leverage (i.e. debt) at much higher levels than is allowed in the stock market. Because of that, a lot of people lost their shirts when the last commodity bull market crashed in the early 80s (remember "Risky Business" and orange juice futures?) But now there are ETFs (exchange traded funds) that get sold on the regular stock market that allow you to invest very small amounts so you don't need to use leverage. According to Jim Rogers, commodities and the stock market tend to work opposite of each other. Now, as in the 1970s, the stock market is in a bear market and commodities are in a bull market. If you had the money sitting in savings, you could put your yearly budget for fuel into oil futures. If the price of gas goes up further, those futures should have increased enough to cover your increased cost. That's if it works the way it should, and it might not (especially if the government puts profit taxes on the oil companies). So there's risk and don't invest in anything you don't understand. I found the Jim Rogers book linked above to be helpful.

 

If you think the dollar will fall further, Everbank offers CDs and money market accounts denominated in foreign currencies. They are FDIC insured against bank failure but not against currency risk (the risk that the dollar will quit falling someday).

[pixelroper]

to start stocking up on the wood. I'm sure the price of firewood will soar as well.

 

Just a friendly reminder :001_smile:

 

We already saw an increase last year- it was due to the increase in gas, for chainsaws and hauling. Wood is weird in my area anyway. It is usually cheaper to heat with electric than wood, at best a draw--at least for now. We have really cheap electric rates, a publicly owned power co. The rates have been steadily increasing, but nowhere near most other areas.

[Holly IN]

Yes. If Opec makes good on the threat to price oil in a basket of currencies instead of dollars, we would be hard hit. The US has always been fortunate that it could pay for energy in its own currency. Countries that don't have that luxury and have been hit with devaluation get a double whammy when their fuel bill goes through the roof.

 

 

Don't forget that the gov't tax price tag is included in the gas prices. Remember that the tax price tag is much more than what the oil companies recieve in profit. ;)

Holly

[Sara R]

Yep. This is what's causing a lot of the inflation. The worth of each individual dollar is less, so it takes more of those dollars to purchase things from the world market than it used to. OPEC knows the dollars aren worth less, so they demand more of them per barrel. Same for other things on the world market.

[Mekanamom]

You mean buy a new stove???

 

I was thinking mainly of replacing the old, inefficient fridge and very very old, inefficient upright freezer with one "energy star" fridge with freezer drawer on the bottom. This would save me a lot of space as well as energy. ;)

 

We need a new one anyway. Many of our appliances here are either old and on their last legs anyway, and/or very inefficient. I'm just looking at replacing them with more efficient models as needed or slowly over time as we can afford it.

 

Probably not the stove, but YES- the oven really needs to be replaced.

 

8 years ago we slowly replaced all our light bulbs with the energy efficient ones, and by the time we had switched them all out, our energy bill was $100/month lower. It takes a while for the upfront cost to be paid for by the energy savings. But over time we came out ahead on that one for sure!

[Tammyla]

We are looking at trading in the van:001_unsure:, but I'm torn about it being paid in full this summer. I was so looking forward to no more payments. I've already cut back, and drive the smaller Honda when ever possible. My city isn't friendly or designed for walkers or bus riders & I sure wish it was.

[beansprouts]

I was thinking mainly of replacing the old, inefficient fridge and very very old, inefficient upright freezer with one "energy star" fridge with freezer drawer on the bottom. This would save me a lot of space as well as energy. ;)

 

We need a new one anyway. Many of our appliances here are either old and on their last legs anyway, and/or very inefficient. I'm just looking at replacing them with more efficient models as needed or slowly over time as we can afford it.

 

 

I was teasing about saving money by purchasing new appliances :D It does sound like you need them anyways. Mine are only three years old.

[LizzyBee]

8 years ago we slowly replaced all our light bulbs with the energy efficient ones, and by the time we had switched them all out, our energy bill was $100/month lower. It takes a while for the upfront cost to be paid for by the energy savings. But over time we came out ahead on that one for sure!

 

Dh replaced most of ours over the course of the past year, and he is shocked at how much lower our electric bill is. He also replaced our windows and siding, and he added a layer of Tyvek under the new siding, so we're not sure how much savings is from the light bulbs vs. the new windows and insulation. But we are very happy with the savings.

[dragons in the flower bed]

Hm. Gardening, chickens, and bicycling. Already at work on the super-insulated house with south-facing windows.

[Mekanamom]

I was teasing about saving money by purchasing new appliances :D It does sound like you need them anyways. Mine are only three years old.

 

Hee hee, yep... though I do have a "new" washer that needs to go!! My front loader died a year or so ago, and all we could replace it with at the time was a cheapie energy hog.

 

That thing dims all the lights when it changes cycles. And we use it a lot! Ack! It doesn't clean as well as the front loader did, either. :glare: LOL.

 

Oh yeah, yours I'm sure are a lot more efficient than most of ours. My upright freezer is 30+ years old (It was my mom's when I was a kid). I will not miss manually defrosting that beast. The oven is getting close to 20. The fridge is only 12, but it's falling apart.

[hsmom]

Now if prices keep going up like they do I don't know what we will do. Dh drives over 350 miles one way to work. (Every other week) That would/ is really putting a dent in our pockets. The only plus is he makes enough to make it worth the amount we put out to get there.