Gas Prices Detrimental to Relationships
Jun 6th, 2008 by Alex
People are going out to the movies less due to gas prices. That fact has been all over the media. I haven’t seen any stories and photos about the gas lines at the wholesale clubs, but they’re there. With gas prices hovering at $4 per gallon, people have also begun to realize the cost of visiting friends and family. What normally would be a simple decision involving time (it takes 30 minutes to get to Joe’s house) is now also being weighed against the money in our pocket (it’s going to cost me $8 to get to Joe’s house and back). I know our income is relatively fixed and that car expenses are going up, but I think it’s sad that we’ve come to a point where we have to make the comparison between cash and company. That we are in a place where we could be putting ourselves in financial peril just in order to make it to the office or keep up with those we care about most.
I’m headed to two weddings this year, both several hours away. I was invited to the bachelor party for one of them and I declined due to the time and distance. I couldn’t take two weekends off work to make the 14 hour round trip drive. I It was only afterwards did I do the math to figure out the cost. Assuming I get 35 miles/gallon and $4/gallon, the trip to New York would cost me $100 alone.
If I were driving a 2008 Lexus ISF — that required the high grade octane — that same trip would cost over $150.
I’m really glad that my car doesn’t take premium.
Some of my friends have said it. So have I. I’m guilty of it too. Logic and finance sense aside it makes me feel crummy, like I’m being a crappy person just for thinking about it in these terms.
I totally understand. My friend, Wes, has asked me to visit him in Nashville. Let’s just pretend that the 12 hour drive each way and the cost of boarding the dog really didn’t mean anything - the gas round trip would be about $200. Who has that kind of money? And now I’m the bad friend for quantifying the trip in terms of dollars and cents. Hmpf.
Charissa: At that point it’d probably be cheaper to fly to Nashville, both in dollar and cents and your time.