I was over at How I Save Money earlier and ran across this post where LuLuGal is giving away a free gas card in exchange for writing a blog post of your own about how high gas prices have affected you. I figured this would be fun to write about, since my stance on gas prices are totally different than most.
First off, as you may or may not know, I am not able to drive. Does that mean my opinion here doesn’t matter? Quite the opposite really, as I feel my opinion matters even more due to this fact. Hear me out.
Yes, gas prices are at a record high level, that is not breaking news. $4.00+ a gallon does seem like a lot of money compared to what most Americans are used to paying. But really, think about it. Think about what you get for your $4.00… the ability to drive 20 miles or more without effort (pressing the gas pedal isn’t considered effort in my book) in the comforts of your air conditioned / heated vehicle. You don’t have to walk like many people in the world who are less fortunate than most Americans. You simply hop in your car and off you go.
You have the ability to quickly and efficiently get to and from anywhere you want to go, which is essentially unlimited freedom. Imagine being stuck at home day in and day out - the only transportation you have is what is within “walking” distance or when friends visit and offer to take you places. Imagine not being able to get a job because you have no transportation, or not being able to get to the grocery store because again, you have no way to get there. Think of it as being on house arrest without the legality of it.
Suddenly, $4.00 doesn’t seem like that bad of a price to pay for freedom. Welcome to my world, where I would gladly pay $4.00 or more for the opportunity to do any of the above listed things.
Now consider the fact that gas prices are what, $1.50 at most more than they were a few years ago. Does an increase of $1.50 really wreck your budget?! On average, gas is 5.1% of your budget and gas only went up 1% since last year, which averages out to about $40.00 more per month. $40.00 more a month and people are flipping out… yeah, that makes a lot of sense. If you think gas is expensive, check out these other price-per-gallon liquids:
A gallon of Starbucks coffee - $53.00
A gallon of bottled water - $16.00
A gallon of Tabasco sauce - $95.00
A gallon of printer ink - $7,500 - $8,000!
When is the last time you heard someone complain about Starbucks? Most Americans can’t drink that liquid gold fast enough!
The last point I want to talk about is all these silly free or discounted gas promotions. I saw on the news just a few minutes ago that some gas station offered $.99 gas for the day, and before the store even opened, the line was miles long and people were waiting for hours on end. Are you serious? How about, instead of sitting in your car wasting precious time, you go to work and earn some money. Then you can afford gas at any price! Geez…
You can’t turn on the TV these days without being flooded with car commercials offering free or discounted gas if you buy a new vehicle. Things like this drive me absolutely mad! First, you don’t get free unlimited gas for a year or whatever. You receive a gas card with restrictions, based on how many miles the average person drives at a set rate. Usually this is something like 12,000 miles a year. Most people I know drive a lot more than that, so while you will save some money, you won’t get free gas. Also… if you are really hurting for gas THAT bad, why on earth are you buying a brand new vehicle in the first place? That’s just pure stupidity.
The next time you complain about gas prices, I encourage you to give it some thought and think about some of the things discussed here today. And before you say it, yes I do pay money for gas. I am more than willing to give my friends gas money when they help me out around town, etc. because A) I do appreciate their help and B) I appreciate the modern automobile and the luxuries and conveniences that come with its operating costs.
hehe
