I'd Like Some Gas

The bad news is that the market is tanking, the good news is that you can fill up your tank for less. So it really is true that there’s always a silver lining. Your bank accounts may be in the red, your house may be in danger of foreclosure and your credit cards may be maxed out, but you can now pay less for gas. I’m not knocking it though because words can’t express the joy I felt when I saw a gas station that was selling gas for $3.09 a gallon. I almost slammed on my breaks and made a beeline for the station, but I didn’t need gas because I had just filled up the day before. That marked the first time, in a long time, where gas went down that far. Usually I fill up and then the next day gas has gone up ten or fifteen cents, or I wait to fill up and the next day gas has gone up twenty cents. It was the best feeling to know that I would be able to buy gas for a little cheaper.

The funny part is I usually don’t do a lot of driving. I’ve been doing a lot lately because I’m teaching that class, but that’s supposed to be temporary. Anyway, gas has continued to go down. I’ve seen it for $2.95 a gallon and I’ve heard of local places selling it for $2.70. I hope my area reaches $2.70. It’s strange that it seems like it was a long time ago when I saw prices in the 2 dollar range, but in reality it hasn’t been that long. When I got my driver’s permit when I was 15, the price of gas was barely over 2 dollars. All the way through high school and even the first couple of years after I returned from college, the price was in the 2 dollar range. The price slowly crept up, but it was a progression over years as opposed to what happened when gas hit $3.00 a gallon. I swear the gas price started increasing much faster once the $3.00 threshold was crossed. It went from $3.00 to $3.30 in about a month and then they just played around with the prices. It made it to $4.09 at one point, but being the car-loving Clevelander that I am, I still got in my car and drove places. Fortunately, it didn’t stay in the $4.00 range for too long. The people on television said it was because people were trying to drive less and carpooling more so the gas price went down. I didn’t care, I was just grateful for relief.

Oddly enough I feel the same way now. I really don’t care why the gas prices are down, I’m just grateful that they are. I would probably care a heck of a lot more if a lot of my money was wrapped up in Wall Street, which it may be in a few years, but right now it isn’t. I actually wish I had money so I could invest right now while so many things are cheap because I figure the market has to rebound eventually.

Status: Wondering when the oil speculators are going to decide to mess with my gas prices again.