Gas under $2 per gallon is a welcome sight!
As of this writing, I saw gas for sale at $1.92 per gallon. Just one day prior, I filled up my car’s tank at $1.99 per gallon – and thought that was a bargain. Little did I know that prices would drop about 3.5% in just one day.
Don’t worry, I didn’t lose any sleep over it. I’m not THAT frugal, despite past forays into extreme frugality 🙂
These prices are at levels that many of us probably thought would never happen again in our lifetime. However, they’re at those low levels now. So, it’s time to celebrate, right?
I think it’s a good thing, and it’s nice to see. Though as I wrote about several months ago when prices were closer to $3 per gallon, we should squirrel away that money saved on cheaper gas.
This might sound funny, but when I had the aforementioned gas purchase the day prior, I actually saw the $1.99 price on the sign and got a little bit fired up. It was irrational, I’ll admit it. You know, like an overly excited Black Friday shopper seeing a great deal at retail store.
Though I did have to laugh when at the pump I was asked whether or not I wanted a car wash. You know, when the temperature outside is literally 1 degree above zero, it’s quite the humorous question to ask a customer.
Anyway, back to gas prices. With prices at lower levels that in recent history, it’s a great time to remember that recent history. As in, remembering that those prices can go back to those levels at any time. As suggested in a post on Money Beagle, we shouldn’t count on prices being this low – and it might good to spend as if prices were that high.
This all came to mind in a very recent conversation where somebody was talking about buying a bigger house. These people live in a good enough house now, but for whatever reason they’re afflicted with dream home syndrome. The current place is closer to the city (Chicago), which all other things being equal means that prices will be higher than in more outlying areas due to jobs and other factors.
And what came up as a reason to consider moving further out? Gas prices!
It’s one of those exact things I had hoped people wouldn’t think of, but it looks like some are doing so. Memories are short with some folks all of a sudden, and low gas prices are causing people to get enticed to get more for their money buy considering a home purchase in a far flung suburb. Human nature, perhaps?
What will be interesting is if we see another wave of interest in such outlying, “exurb” type of places just as we did in the prior housing boom. You know, if gas prices stay at low levels for an extended period of time.
My take is that we ought to truly enjoy these low gas prices, but NOT count on them when making any budgeting decisions. So I’m doing just as I said in my prior post I referenced: suggesting that we save that extra money we have due to lower gas prices.
My Questions for You
How low have gas prices gone where you are?
Have you thought about how much you’re saving now in total, compared to how much you were spending before?
What are you doing with the extra money you’re saving?
Gas prices are super low where I live. We filled up yesterday at $1.74 I believe! However, we won’t be saving a ton as we both work from home and hardly drive anymore.
Wow, $1.74 is pretty good! At least you’re saving on whatever driving you do, even if it’s curtailed versus before.
Since my husband and I are retired, our gas prices haven’t really been an issue for us as our driving is very manageable. However, the low prices have really caused the value of our oil stocks to go down. When we refigured our budget for this year, we left the gas account at the same level simply because we know that someday it will go back up again and there will be extra money to pay the increase when it does. If we get too big a balance in the account, we will simply move a portion of it to another account that needs extra like groceries or medicine (which in spite of the government saying there is no inflation, has continued to increase).
I like your approach of keeping the gas budget at the same level. That’s what I’m talking about!
It always amazes me when I read that huge car sales are BACK through the roof because gas prices are (temporarily) low OR the inverse….that small car sales are skyrocketing because gas prices are high. I’ve seen stats that show because consumer confidence is up that people are now running up their credit cards. Really? What a non-sequitur. “The economy’s doing great so I’m going to run up a bunch of debt!” Yee-haw!
It’s amazing, isn’t it? Some of these lessons are simply not learned, no matter the pain people go through in the past. Us humans….we’re an interesting lot sometimes 🙂
Yes, it seems too good to be true with this low gas prices. This encouraged me to go on a long drive over the holidays. Hope it stays that way but I know it’s not.
You never know, maybe this will be a long-term trend. However, the macro factors that impact gas prices aren’t generally followed by most of us on a daily basis, so we might as well not count on prices staying low.
Living in Los Angeles, I will never see $2 gas! I am grateful that I do not drive very much. When I bought gas last week I paid $2.37 which is lower than average in my area.
Well, that makes sense that in different urban areas prices vary. Here in the Chicago area, prices are generally a fair amount higher in the city than in the suburbs where I am. So while I paid less than $2, people in the city probably paid somewhere between $2.20 to $2.40 on that day. In any event, that sure beats paying twice that amount.
Gas prices here, I just filled up, are 1.89 a gal. And I used a .10 coupon, on a Tuesday and got double coupon, or .20. And used my 5% cash back on gas, almost another .10.
These lower gas prices will be a great boost to the economy. Some people will be hurt by them, but 90% of Americans can put another $20 a week into their pocket.
Look for great retail sales!
Seems like you have got gas savings covered, with coupons and cash back!
The gas prices feel good but I wouldn’t count on them to make a big budget purchase like a house. I still remember how painful it was at the pump when they peaked. Will enjoy the extra money though – it will mean extra money towards the mortgage. Yippeee
Hey, extra money toward the mortgage you already have is a smarter choice than splurging. Good for you!